Central Caspian
The Central Caspian Basin lies on the Turan Domain of central Asia. The basin fill includes a Mesozoic to Cenozoic succession that represents the offshore extension of the South Mangyshlak Basin of Kazakhstan to the east, and the Pre-Caucasus and Kuma basins of southwestern Russia to the west. Mesozoic petroleum systems, in particular in the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, are present in the underexplored offshore Central Caspian area. In contrast, the main hydrocarbon systems are Palaeozoic in the North Caspian Basin and Cenozoic in the South Caspian Basin.
Map of Region
Regional Expertise
CASP research in this region grew out of our work in Azerbaijan. Research started with a comprehensive regional review of the Mesozoic evolution of the Turan Domain in 2002, involving published literature and examination of seismic lines donated by JEBCO. This review led to fieldwork examining Mesozoic exposures in the eastern Caucasus in 2003 and in Mangystau in 2004. This research focused on using sandstone provenance studies to constrain sediment dispersal pathways across the basin. Research recommenced in the region in the late 2010s, culminating in the release of an extensive, literature-based, petrographic and heavy mineral data set of sandstones from around the margins of the basin, as well as petrographic and provenance results from Jurassic sediments from Turkmenistan.
Most Recent Reports
- Detrital zircon U-Pb age data from Jurassic to Cretaceous sediments of the greater Caspian region: Insights into sediment source areas and dispersal patterns CASP.GCPP2019-20.4
- Defining source area signatures in the greater Middle and North Caspian regions CASP.GCPP2017-18.2
- Late Jurassic review of the Black Sea – Caspian Region. Part 3: The Caspian and Western Central Asia CASP.BlackSea2010-12.41
- Late Jurassic review of the Black Sea – Caspian region. Part 1: Tectonic overview CASP.BlackSea.III.27
- Integrated Mesozoic sediment dispersal patterns from Azerbaijan and Kazakstan: Implications for the Central Caspian Basin CASP.CCP.16