UNCONVENTIONAL OIL AND GAS RESOURCES ASSESSMENT IN KAZAKHSTAN: A CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPMENT

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Date

2023-07

Authors

Nurbekova, Riza

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Publisher

School of Mining and Geosciences

Abstract

The territory of contemporary Kazakhstan encompasses six proven and nine prospective petroleum-bearing basins, representing a significant portion of the country's geographic expanse. Despite being a globally important producer of petroleum, organic-rich strata in most of these basins remain understudied due to a lack of well data or the low economic value of the reserves. This doctoral thesis aimed to address this knowledge gap through a comprehensive study of organic-rich strata in sedimentary basins in Kazakhstan, with a specific focus on assessing their unconventional petroleum generation potential and production capacity. Based on the findings of a literature review, the availability of research materials, and the research scope, the Zaysan Basin was selected as the primary area of focus for this study. Through a thorough collection of organic geochemical and organic petrography data, coupled with sedimentological observations and a literature-based tectonostratigraphic framework, this study successfully identified world-class source rocks within the upper Carboniferous to Permian successions of the Zaysan Basin. The results of the oil–source rock correlation studies demonstrated that these source rocks did not contribute to the few conventional oil accumulations found in the basin. This intriguing discovery has significant implications, as it suggests the existence of considerable unconventional hydrocarbon resources in the basin, offering strong grounds for conducting thorough investigations of the studied formations...

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Keywords

Type of access: Restricted, Kazakhstan, gas resources, assessment, oil resources

Citation

Nurbekova, R. (2023). Unconventional oil and gas resources assessment in Kazakhstan: a conceptual analysis framework for development. School of Mining and Geosciences

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