Morphometric parameters of relief and localization of hydrocarbon deposits within the Volga-Ural anteclise

The paper describes a complicated relationship between the relief and the oil and gas occurrence within the Volga-Ural anteclise. Our geomorphologic studies have shown that the eastern part of the structure, with a large number of oil and gas fields, is marked by increased values of the following morphometric parameters: 1) the difference between the base surfaces of the first and second orders, constructed according to V.P. Filosofov’s method at the scale of 1:2 500 000; 2) the length of watercourses of the second order; 3) the density of watercourses of the first order; 4) the depth of the vertical dissection; 5) the steepness of slopes; 6) the maximum curvature of the relief surface; 7) the density of the elongation lines constructed in the A.A. Zlatopolsky’s LESSA program. It was found that the median values of these parameters within oil and gas fields exceed the corresponding values calculated for the entire territory of the Volga-Ural anteclise, and the confidence intervals of the medians do not overlap. Using the automated analysis of the digital terrain model, a general pattern of orientations of linearly elongated oil and gas fields and slopes is revealed. The predominance of two main directions – north-west and north-east could be explained by the activation of the diagonal system of planetary fracturing. In our opinion, the relationship between the relief and oil and gas fields is due to the features of the recent tectonic movements influencing the shape of relief and the migration of hydrocarbons. The significance of neotectonic movements as factors of relief formation is evidenced by the fact that the epicenters of modern earthquakes are confined to the areas of increased horizontal and vertical dissection of relief. The relative amplitudes of compressive stresses were calculated using computer geodynamic modeling in the Roxar’s RMS 2013 program. There is a numerical correlation between their values and the coefficient of total erosion dissection of the relief with the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient being 0,48. It is achieved if the latitudinal horizontal compression is set as an external load. Probably, this type of stress state manifests itself in recent times and is associated with the influence of the Urals mountain structure.

1. Dragunov A.A. Kompleksnoye izucheniye geodinamicheski aktivnykh zon zemnoy kory s ispol’zovaniyem materialom distantsionnykh i geofizicheskikh issledovaniy v Volgo-Ural’skoy neftegazonosnoy provintsii [Comprehensive study of active geodynamic zones of the earth’s crust using the material of remote sensing and geophysical studies in the Volga-Ural oil and gas province], PhD dissertation in Geology and Mineralogy, Kazan, 2005, 182 p. (In Russian)

2. Filosofov V.P. Kratkoye rukovodstvo po morfometricheskomu metodu poiskov tektonicheskikh struktur [A short guide to the morphometric method of prospecting for tectonic structures], A.A. Korzhenevsky (ed.), Saratov, Izd. Saratovskogo un-ta, 1960, 91 p. (In Russian)

3. Filosofov V.P. [Calculation method and geologicalgeomorphologic interpretation of the relief dissection coefficient], Voprosy morfometrii [Questions of morphometry], 1967, vol. 1, no. 2, p. 112–146. (In Russian)

4. Fiziko-geograficheskij atlas mira [Physical-geographical atlas of the world], Moscow, Academy of Sciences and GUGK USSR Publ., 1964, 300 p.

5. Gavrilov V.P. Kak ustroyeny i chem bogaty nashi nedra [The structure and wealth of the entrails of the Earth], Moscow, Nedra Publ., 1981,191 p. (In Russian)

6. Golodovkin V.D. [Experience of using a map of the rugged relief for predicting the tectonic structure of the southern part of the Kuibyshev region] Geomorfologicheskie metody pri neftegazopoiskovyh rabotah [Geomorphological methods for oil and gas exploration], Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1966, p. 126–128. (In Russian)

7. Gorelov S.K. Morfostrukturnyy analiz neftegazonosnykh territoriy (na primere yugo-vostoka Russkoy ravniny) [Morphostructural analysis of oil and gas territories (case study of the southeast of the Russian Plain)], Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1972, 206 p. (In Russian)

8. Goryunov E.Yu., Ignatov P.A., Klimentieva D.N., Khalikov A.N., Kravchenko M.N. The show of present hydrocarbon inflow into oil and gas complexes in the Volga-Ural oil and gas province, The geology of oil and gas., 2015, vol. 5, p. 62–69.

9. Kazantsev Yu.V., Kazantseva T.T. Sovremennaya geodinamika i neftenakopleniye [Modern geodynamics and oil accumulation], Geologiya, 2008, vol. 12, p. 76–83. (In Russian)

10. Khubaeva O.R. Morfostrukturnyj analiz doliny reki Paratunki po dannym morfometricheskih metodov [Morphostructural analysis of the Paratunka river valley based on the data of morphometric methods], Vestnik KRAUNC. Nauki o Zemle, 2003, vol. 1, p. 141–146. (In Russian)

11. Kolodyazhnyi S.Yu. The Structure and Evolution of the Sura– Kama Strike-Slip Zone in the Cenozoic (the Volga–Ural Anteclise of the East European Platform), Geotectonics, 2015, vol. 4, p. 30– 53, DOI: 10.7868/S0016853X15040049.

12. Kopp M.L., Kolesnichenko A.A., Makarova N.V. Strukturnokinematicheskiy analiz risunkov gidroseti dlya rekonstruktsii i datirovaniya noveyshikh paleonapryazheniy v platformakh (vostok Russkoy plity) [Structural-kinematic analysis of hydraulic network patterns for reconstruction and dating of the latest paleostresses in platforms (east of the Russian Plate)], Byulleten MOIP. Otdel geologicheskiy, 2017, vol. 92, no. 5, p 33–49. (In Russian)

13. Kopylov I.S. Morfoneotektonicheskaya sistema otsenki geodinamicheskoy aktivnosti [Morphoneotectonic system for assessing geodynamic activity], Perm: Izdatel’skiy tsentr Permskogo gosudarstvennogo natsional’nogo issledovatel’skogo universiteta, 2019, 131 p. (In Russian)

14. Korchuganova N.I. Noveyshaya tektonika s osnovami sovremennoy geodinamiki [Recent tectonics with the foundations of modern geodynamics], Moscow, Geokart, GEOS Publ., 2007, 353 p.

15. Kostenko N.P. Geomorfologiya [Geomorphology], Moscow, MGU Publ., 1999, 379 p. (In Russian)

16. Lozin Ye.V. Glubinnoye stroyeniye i neftegazonosnost’ VolgoUral’skoy oblasti i smezhnykh territoriy [Deep structure and oil and gas content of the Volga-Ural region and adjacent territories], Litosfera, 2002, vol. 3, p. 46–68. (In Russian)

17. Map of geomorphological-neotectonic zoning of the non-black earth zone of the RSFSR. Scale 1 500 000, V.I. Babak (ed.), Moscow, GUGK USSR, 1980.

18. Mardia K. Statisticheskiy analiz uglovykh nablyudeniy [Statistical analysis of angular observations], Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1978, 240 p. (In Russian)

19. Meshcheryakov Yu.A. Rel’ef SSSR (Morfostruktura i morfoskul’ptura) [Relief of the USSR (Morphostructure and morphosculpture)], Moscow, Mysl’ Publ., 1972, 518 p. (In Russian)

20. Mingazov M.N. Otsenka perspektiv neftenosnosti osadochnoy tolshchi paleozoya na osnove neotektonicheskikh issledovaniy (na primere mestorozhdeniy respubliki Tatarstan) [Assessment of the oil-bearing prospects of the Paleozoic sedimentary strata on the basis of neotectonic studies (case study of the fields in the Republic of Tatarstan)], PhD dissertation in Geology and Mineralogy, Kazan, 2004, 237 p. (In Russian)

21. Mingazov M.N., Strizhenok A.A., Mingazov B.M. Neotektonicheskiye aspekty glubinnoy degazatsii geostruktur Tatarstana [Neotectonic aspects of deep degassing of the geostructures of Tatarstan], Georesursy, 2012, vol. 5, p. 51–55. (In Russian)

22. Morozov V.N., Kagan A.I., Kolesnikov I.Yu., Tatarinov V.N. Prognozirovanie mest lokalizatsii uglevodorodov v gradiyentnykh polyakh tektonicheskikh napryazheniy [Prediction of hydrocarbon areas localization in gradient fields of tectonic stresses], Ekspozitsiya Neft Gaz., 2012, vol. 5, p. 57–60. (In Russian)

23. Moshkin I.V., Fadeyeva T.I., Zaytsev V.A. Trekhmernoye komp’yuternoye modelirovaniye Predural’skogo krayevogo progiba [3D computer modeling of the Ural foredeep], Dinamicheskaya geologiya, 2019, vol. 3, p. 70–79. (In Russian)

24. Netrebin P.B. Morfometricheskij analiz rel’efa Bol’shogo Kavkaza [Morphometric analysis of the relief of the Greater Caucasus], PhD dissertation, Krasnodar, Kubanskij gosudarstvennyj universitet, 2012, 227 p. (In Russian)

25. Panina L.V., Zaitsev V.A. The Influence of the Basement on the Formation of the Newest Structure of the East European Platform, Moscow University Geology Bulletin, 2019, vol. 74, no. 4, p. 342–348, DOI: 10.3103/S0145875219040100.

26. Primenenie geomorfologicheskih metodov v strukturnogeologicheskih issledovaniyah [Application of geomorphologic methods in structural-geological research], I.P. Gerasimov (ed.), Moscow, Nedra Publ., 1970, 293 p. (In Russian)

27. Shcheglov D.I., Gromovik A.I. Osnovy geomorfologii [Fundamentals of Geomorphology], Voronezh, Izdatel’skij dom VGU, 2017, 178 p. (In Russian)

28. Simonov Yu.G. Ob”yasnitel’naya morfometriya rel’yefa [Explanatory morphometry of the relief], Moscow, GEOS Publ., 1999, 251 p. (In Russian)

29. Spiridonov A.I. Geomorfologicheskoye kartografirovaniye [Geomorphologic mapping], Moscow, Nedra Publ., 1975, 184 p. (In Russian)

30. Sudarikov V.N., Kalinina O.N. Deshifrirovaniye yuzhnoy chasti Volgo-Ural’skoy anteklizy po melkomasshtabnym kosmicheskim snimkam [Interpretation of the southern part of the Volga-Ural anteclise using small-scale satellite images], Vestn. Orenburgskogo gos. un-ta, 2015, vol. 1, p. 181–186. (In Russian)

31. Zevenbergen L.W., Thome C.R. Quantitative Analysis of Land Surface Topography, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 1987, vol. 12, p. 47–56.

32. Zlatopolsky A.A. [Technique for measuring the orientation characteristics of remote sensing data (LESSA technology)], Sovremennyye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa [Modern issues of the Earth’s remote sensing from the space], 2008, vol. 5, no. 1, p. 102–112. (In Russian)

33. Web sources Analysis Package Reservoir Modeling System (RMS) User Manual, 2020, URL: www.geodisaster.ru/index.php?page=uchebnye-posobiya-2 (access date 07.12.2020).

34. Digital Elevation Model, 2020, URL: https://topex.ucsd.edu/cgi-bin/get_data.cgi (access date 07.12.2020).

35. Digital Topographic Foundations, 2020, URL: https://vsegei.ru/ru/info/topo/ (access date 07.12.2020).

36. GOST R ISO 16269-7-2004. Statisticheskie metody. Statisticheskoe predstavlenie dannyh. Mediana. Opredelenie tochechnoj ocenki i doveritel’nyh intervalov [Statistical methods. Statistical presentation of data. Median. Determination of the point estimate and confidence intervals], URL: http://docs.cntd.ru/document/1200035332 (access date 07.12.2020). (In Russian)

37. Seismological Catalog of the American Geological Survey, 2020a, URL: www.earthquake.usgs.gov (access date 07.12.2020).

38. Seismological catalog of the Unified Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2020b, URL: http://www.ceme.gsras.ru/new/catalog/ (access date 07.12.2020).