Carbonaceous Deposits (Carboniferous) and Oil and Gas Potential Prospects of the Magnitogorsk Trough (South Urals, Russia)

The oil and gas potential prospects of the Magnitogorsk trough in the South Urals were studied and substantiated using the data of the geological survey and deep-well drilling. Based on the results of the seismic, gravity, and magnetic explorations, a large unit was detected in the Lower-Middle Carboniferous carbonates of the Kizil zone. The oil and gas blowouts were registered in the drill holes. To further explore the oil and gas potential of the region, the features of black shales were analyzed. It was shown that the Kumak ore field shales are promising sources of oil, depression analogues of the Lower-Middle Carboniferous shelf carbonates. Therefore, we recommend that the black shales of the South Urals should be further studied for their oil and gas potential. The major tasks for future research are as follows: localization of facies of the carbonate sedimentation basin within the Magnitogorsk trough and the East Urals uplift, as well as development of its geological and geophysical model; assessment of the oil and gas potential prospects of the region with the help of the developed model; substantiation of regional CMP seismic surveys.