U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2007–3096

November 2007

World Assessment of Oil and Gas Fact Sheet

Assessment of Undiscovered Petroleum Resources of the 

Laptev Sea Shelf Province, Russian Federation

Printed on recycled paper

Introduction

In 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed an 

assessment of potential undiscovered, technically recoverable (assuming the absence of sea ice) crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas 

liquids (collectively referred to as petroleum) resources in the Laptev 

Sea Shelf Province of the Russian Federation. As with other areas 

assessed in the USGS Circum-Arctic Oil and Gas Resource Appraisal 

(CARA), this area shares important characteristics with many Arctic 

basins, including sparse data, significant petroleum-resource potential, 

geologic uncertainty, and technical barriers that impede exploration and 

development. As defined for CARA, the province includes an area of 

approximately 500,000 km2, most of which underlies less than 500 m 

of water offshore of northern Russia between long. 110o and 150o E. 

and between lat. 70o and 80o N.

Assessment Units

The Laptev Sea Shelf Province contains a composite sedimentary 

basin, in which sediments were deformed by compression during 

Early Cretaceous time; later, in Paleogene and Neogene time, a 

superimposed rift/sag system developed in the area. The province was 

subdivided into three geologically distinctive assessment units based 

on structural style—the West Laptev Grabens, East Laptev Horsts, 

and Anisin-Novosibirsk Basins assessment units (AUs) (fig. 1). The 

West Laptev Grabens AU was evaluated using two different geological 

scenarios (table 1) because geologic models for petroleum occurrence 

considered for this AU are mutually exclusive. The differences between 

the two scenarios are so extreme that the populations of undiscovered 

accumulations cannot be statistically combined into a single 

distribution. The Anisin-Novosibirsk Basins AU was also assessed. 

The East Laptev Horsts AU, although defined, was not quantitatively 

assessed because of the extremely low assessment-unit probability for 

the existence of an undiscovered accumulation exceeding the defined 

minimum size of 50 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Petroleum System Elements

Onshore field work and interpretation of geophysical data 

gathered from offshore areas by geologists from several countries and 

organizations indicate that two or more total petroleum systems might 

exist in the study area. Because of possible mixing of petroleum, the 

Jurassic-Cretaceous-Paleogene Composite Total Petroleum System 

(TPS) was identified for the West Laptev Grabens AU. Geologic 

^

!

!

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Laptev

Sea Kotel'nyi

Island

Bol'shoi

Lyakhov

Malyi

Lyakhov

Novaya

Sibir

Taimyr

Peninsula

East Siberian

Sea

De Long

Islands

Arctic Ocean

Tiksi

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EXPLANATION

Siberian Craton

Yenisey-Khatanga

Basin

Anabar

LenaVilyuy

Basin

110o 120o 130o 140o 150o

70o

75o

East Laptev Horsts

12180102

West Laptev Grabens

12180101

Anisin-Novosibirsk

Basins 12180201

Lena Delta

Pakhsa

Peninsula

Taimyr fold and

thrust belt

Verkhoyansk fold and

thrust belt

Severnyi transfer fault

Olenek fold zone

New Siberian Islands

Assessed arctic province area and boundary

Other provinces in the area not assessed

Arctic assessment unit boundaries

Population point

Water depth (meters)

-1,000

-500

-100

Oil and gas fields (IHS Energy, 2006)

Oil

Gas

Clarke 1866 Stereographic North Pole

Stereographic North Pole

False Easting: 0.000000

False Northing: 0.000000

Central Meridian: 130.000000

Standard Parallel: 1:75,000,000

0 200 KILOMETERS

LAPTEV SEA SHELF (1218)

The Laptev Sea Shelf 

Province was assessed 

for undiscovered crude oil, 

natural gas, and natural 

gas liquids/condensates 

resources (collectively 

referred to as petroleum) 

as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s CircumArctic Oil and Gas Resource 

Appraisal. Using a geologybased methodology, the 

USGS estimates the mean 

undiscovered, conventional 

petroleum resources in the 

province to be approximately 9,300 million barrels 

of oil equivalent, including 

approximately 3,069 million 

barrels of crude oil, 32,252 

billion cubic feet of natural 

gas, and 861 million barrels 

of natural gas liquids.

Figure 1. Map showing location of the Laptev Sea Shelf Province and assessment units.
References

IHS Energy, 2006, [includes data current through December, 2005], 

International petroleum exploration and production database: IHS 

Energy; database available from IHS Energy, 15 Inverness Way East, 

Englewood, Colorado 80112 USA.

For Further Information

Assessment results are available at the USGS Central Energy 

Team website, http://energy.usgs.gov/arctic, or contact Donald L. Gautier, Task Leader for the USGS Circum-Arctic Oil and Gas Resource 

Appraisal (gautier@usgs.gov).

Laptev Sea Shelf Province Assessment Team

T.R. Klett (assessing geologist), Kenneth J. Bird, Philip J. Brown 

II, Ronald R. Charpentier, Donald L. Gautier, David W. Houseknecht, 

Thomas E. Moore, Janet K. Pitman, Richard W. Saltus, Christopher J. 

Schenk, and Marilyn E. Tennyson

Acknowlegments

Geographical Information System analysis was performed by 

Feliks Persits.

scenarios evaluated for the assessment were based on the existence 

and distribution of source rocks of these ages. The Paleogene TPS was 

identified for the Anisin-Novosibirsk Basins AU. The greatest geologic 

uncertainty for the assessment of both assessment units is with respect 

to the petroleum charge.

Analyses of natural gas collected from bottom sediments and 

near-bottom waters of the Laptev Sea Shelf indicate the presence of 

mature oil-prone marine source rocks, presumably of Paleogene age. 

Upper Jurassic (Volgian) organic-rich mudstone might also be an 

important petroleum source rock in the study area, as are synrift Lower 

Cretaceous and Paleogene carbonaceous and coaly rocks. Major synrift 

reservoir rocks are likely to be shelf and slope siliciclastic sediments 

deposited by deltas of the paleo- and present-day Lena River. Whether 

prerift reservoir rocks are present is uncertain. Traps for petroleum 

accumulation could include extensional structures and stratigraphic 

traps associated with shelf sediments.

Resource Summary

The U.S. Geological Survey assessed undiscovered conventional, 

technically recoverable petroleum (discovered reserves not included) 

resulting in the estimated mean volumes of a probability distribution of 

approximately 3,069 million barrels (419 million metric tons) of crude 

oil, 32,252 billion cubic feet (913 billion cubic meters) of natural gas, 

and 861 million barrels (117 million metric tons) of natural gas liquids 

(table 1). The greatest volume of undiscovered petroleum is estimated 

to be in the West Laptev Grabens AU.

Table 1. Laptev Sea Shelf province assessment results (discovered reserves not included). 

Jurassic-Cretaceous-Paleogene Composite TPS (121801)

Gas

West Laptev Grabens AU Oil

(12180101)

Scenario 1, 0.1% probability

[MMB, million barrels; BCF, billion cubic feet. Results shown are fully risked estimates. For gas fields, all liquids are included under the natural gas liquids (NGL) category. 

F95 denotes a 95-percent chance of at least the amount tabulated. Other fractiles are defined similarly. Fractiles are additive under the assumption of perfect positive

correlation. TPS, total petroleum system; AU, assessment unit. Gray shading indicates not applicable]

Gas

West Laptev Grabens AU Oil

(12180101)

Scenario 2, 0.9% probability

Gas

West Laptev Grabens AU Oil

(12180101)

Aggregate *

East Laptev Horsts AU

(12180102)

Anisin-Novosibirsk Basins AU

(12180201)

Total undiscovered petroleum

resources, TPS 121802

Total undiscovered petroleum

resources, Laptev Sea Shelf

LAPTEV SEA SHELF PROVINCE (1218)

Paleogene TPS (121802)

Total Undiscovered Resources Total Petroleum Systems

and

Assessment Units

Field

Type Oil (MMB) Gas (BCF) NGL (MMB)

3,344 12,790 38,691 15,861

0 0 4,251 1,127

4,221 17,699 62,602 23,545

0 0 6,587 1,660

111

0

470

0

1,694

177

633

45

18,947 76,933 245,801 97,337 493 2,028 6,624 2,593

0 0 59,147 16,886 0 0 1,583 450

2,600 3,849 104

24,931 664

0 0 1,837 469 0 0 2,901 693 0 0 79 19

0 0 10,694 2,779 0 0 286 74

0 0 1,837 469 0 0 13,595 3,472 0 0 365 93

3,069 32,252 861

F95 F50 F5 Mean F95 F50 F5 Mean F95 F50 F5 Mean

AU

Probability

Not quantitatively assessed

Total undiscovered petroleum

resources, TPS 121801 2,600 28,780 768

Gas

Oil

1.00

0.49

0.03

0.43

* Aggregate means for the entire assessment unit equal the means times the scenario probability of each scenario.