Fundamental challenges of the location of oil and gas in the South Caspian Basin

Subvertical and subhorizontal bodies were identified in the South Caspian Basin. They are a new class of geological structures with a complicated form, which can serve as migration pathways and hydrocarbon accumulation zones. The basin incorporates a few autonomous sources of oil and gas occurrences with their own distribution areas and spatial–temporal evolution. HC generation sources are displaced relative to each other. The lower boundary of the oil and gas occurrence reaches depths of more than 12–15 km, while the upper boundary of the “oil window” is confined to hypsometric depths of 5–7 km.