Siberian Platform: Geology and Natural Bitumen 

Resources 

By Richard F. Meyer and Philip A. Freeman 

U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2006–1316 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

U.S. Geological Survey 
U.S. Department of the Interior 

Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary 

U.S. Geological Survey 

Mark Myers, Director 

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia 2006 

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Meyer, R.F., Freeman, P.A., 2006, Siberian platform: Geology and natural bitumen


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CONTENTS

Summary 1 

Introduction 1 

Geology 2 

Resources 6 

References 11 

ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure 1. Sedimentary basins of the Siberian Platform, Russia 23 

TABLES 

Table 1. Siberian Platform name equivalents 19 

Table 2. Bitumen resources of Siberian Platform 20 

Table 3. Oil fields of the Siberian Platform 22 

i
Siberian Platform: Geology and Natural Bitumen Resources 

Richard F. Meyer and Philip A. Freeman

Summary: The Siberian platform is located between the Yenisey River on the west and the Lena 

River on the south and east. The Siberian platform is vast in size and inhospitable in its climate. 

This report is concerned principally with the setting, formation, and potential volumes of natural 

bitumen. In this report the volumes of maltha and asphalt referred to in the Russian literature are 

combined to represent natural bitumen. The generation hydrocarbons and formation of 

hydrocarbon accumulations are discussed. The sedimentary basins of the Platform are described 

in terms of the Klemme basin classification system and the conditions controlling formation of 

natural bitumen. Estimates of in-place bitumen resources are reviewed and evaluated. If the 

bitumen volume estimate is confined to parts of identified deposits where field observations have 

verified rock and bitumen grades values, the bitumen resource amounts to about 62 billion barrels

of oil in-place. However, estimates of an order of magnitude larger can be obtained if additional 

speculative and unverified rock volumes and grade measures are included. 

Introduction

The Siberian platform (fig. 1) is well defined physiographically. It is located by the Yenisey River 

on the west and the Lena River on the south and east. The Yenisey River separates it from the 

western East Siberian lowland. As is commonly the case, the drainage rather closely delimits the 

geology. Elevations of up to 200 m above sea level extend from the Western Siberia Lowlands to 

the Yenisey-Khatanga, Anabar-Lena, and Verkhoyansk basins (Dewdney, 1982). Much of the 

rest of the Siberian platform is covered by the East Siberian Plateau. This East Siberia Plateau 

consists of a series of dissected plateaus at elevations of 350-700 m, with isolated mountains to 

1700 m. The Yenisey and Lena rivers, with catchment areas of 2.4 million km2 each, drain north 

into the Kara and Laptev Seas, respectively. Just east of the Verkhoyansk basin in the marginal 

fold belt, the mean temperature is above freezing ( 0°C) for only five months, with a maximum of 

15°C in July and a January mean of -50°C. Annual precipitation is 102 mm. 

Three of the oil, gas, and bitumen provinces of Russia are found in eastern Siberia (Dickenshtyn, 

and others, 1983). The Yenisey-Anabar province coincides with the Yenisey-Khatanga and 

Anabar-Lena basins and the Lena-Vilyuy province with the Vilyuy basin, while the Lena-Tunguska 

oil and gas province incorporates the balance of the region. 

1
Because the Siberian platform is vast in size and inhospitable in its climate, the geology is not 

fully understood. Table 1 is intended to help in the discussion of resources by indicating 

equivalences of nomenclature, no simple task. Figure 1 is a map of the area encompassed by the 

Siberian platform. In the discussion that follows, references to “feature x” refer to locations of the 

geologic features referenced in Figure 1. The geologic features within the basin outlines are 

shown in their approximate geographic locations. Of particular importance with respect to 

resources are the Aldan (feature D) and Anabar arches (feature K) and the Nepa-Botuoba 

(feature C) and Baykit (feature F) anticlines. No available maps locate these features in detail but 

neither are these point locations. In most Russian publications, maps regardless of scale or area, 

are reproduced page-size and usually without coordinates. However, rivers are commonly shown 

to indicate locations. 

This report is concerned principally with heavy oil and natural bitumen. Heavy oil is defined as 

that oil with an API gravity1

 of 10-20 degrees. Natural bitumen includes all oil with API gravity of 

less than 10 degrees; the term includes oil called extra-heavy as well as oil sands (tar sands). 

Heavy oil also has a viscosity greater than 100 cP and natural bitumen has a viscosity that 

exceeds 10,000 cP. However, viscosity measurements are too seldom reported to permit their 

use for statistical purposes. In Russia heavy oil is generally termed high-viscous oil and has a 

density of 0.92-0.96 g/cm3 (15.8-22°API). Still heavier oil is termed maltha, which is viscous, has 

a density of 0.95-1.05 g/cm3 (3.3-17.4°API); it also is comprised of 40-65% oils and 35-60% 

asphalt and tar (resin). Asphalt has a density of 1.00-1.12 g/cm3 (10-(-3)°API), with 25-40% oils. 

Such chemical analyses are not routinely made on petroleum outside Russia. In this report 

quantities of maltha and asphalt are combined to represent natural bitumen. 

Geology

The Siberian platform is an ancient structure, with its roots in Precambrian time. It is found in the 

northeastern part of the Eurasian plate (Simkin, and others, 2006). The Siberian platform thus

stands as a buttress against the strong folding around its borders. 

Gol’dberg, Lebedev, and Frolov (1981), leading geologists and geochemists of the Former Soviet 

Union, have predicted the prospective additional oil, natural gas, and bitumen resources of the 

Siberian platform on the basis of: (1) tectonic history; (2) distribution of regional seals in the cover 

rocks; (3) assessment of the oil, gas, and bitumen capability;(4) composition of the hydrocarbons 

1 API gravity is computed as (141.5/sp g)-131.5 where sp g is the specific gravity of oil at 60 

degrees Fahrenheit.

2
and bitumens; and (5) the times of generation and loss of those hydrocarbons and bitumens. 

Much of the following discussion follows their report. 

In their assessments, Gol’dberg, Lebedev, and Frolov (1981) argue that the following geologic 

elements were important in hydrocarbon formation: (1) the great stability of the major structural 

elements that are distinguishable at all stages of development on the basement and in the lower 

cover beds; this stability would imply a constant position of the main zones for hydrocarbon 

generation, accumulation, and migration; (2) extensive development of volcanic trap magmatism; 

(3) accumulation of the greatest thickness of cover in Vendian and Early Cambrian time; (4) 

development of thick salt deposits in the Lower Cambrian rocks over a substantial part of the 

platform, and in Lower Devonian rocks in the northwestern and eastern areas; and (5) maximum 

subsidence of the crust below the salt of about 6.5 km and of the crust outside the limits of salt

deposition of 2-3 km. 

The formation of the sedimentary cover on the post-Lower Proterozoic Siberian platform had 

begun on a broad scale at the start of Upper Proteozoic Riphean time. At this point intense 

differential movements, both contractual and extensional, led to the creation of the principal 

structures, including the Anabar (feature K) and Aldan (feature D) arches, Nepa-Botuoba (feature 

C), and Baykit (feature F) anticlines, the Sayan-Yenisey (feature B) and Evenkiy (feature G) 

synclines, and such regional depressions as the Patom-Vilyuy (feature E), Yenisey-Khatanga 

(feature L), Teren-Dyupkun (feature H), and Lena-Anabar (feature A). In Riphean time the 

generation of the first hydrocarbon accumulations on the Siberian platform commenced. 

Unfortunately, these deposits largely were destroyed because of the lack of a regional cap-rock 

and the long period of denudation of the overlying sediments. Later in Riphean time, apparently 

only small amounts of natural gas were generated in areas of greatest subsidence. 

Generation of present-day oil and gas accumulations took place in Middle to Late Cambrian time, 

when the Vendian and Lower Cambrian deposits, the most important generating complexes of

the platform, had subsided to depths of 2.5 km. Bazhenova, Belyayeva, and Shumenkova (1982) 

estimated that during this period more than 800 million tons of oil and 900 trillion m3 of gas were 

expelled from source rocks. The main negative areas were the Evenkiy (feature G) and SayanYenisey synclines (feature B), the southern part of the Patom-Vilyuy depression (feature E), and 

the western, northern, and eastern folded margins of the platform. By then, hydrocarbon 

accumulations had formed in the Vendian and Lower Cambrian sediments below the salt and 

migration to the flanks of the positive structures, particularly the Nepa-Botuoba (feature C) and

Baykit (feature F) anticlines had begun. In this area the thick Lower Cambrian salt deposits 

sealed the accumulations, whereas over the Aldan (feature D) and Anabar (feature K)arches the 

3
absence of the salt cap permitted loss of the light components and the start of heavy oil formation 

on the structural crests. 

Differential subsidence of the platform continued throughout Late Cambrian, Ordovician, and

Silurian time. During this time, oil, gas, and gas-condensate generating systems developed, but 

the lack of sealing beds allowed further degassing and heavy oil evolution over the Aldan (feature 

K) and Anabar (feature D) arches. 

With initiation of the Devonian, the overall oscillatory subsidence of the platform changed to a 

regime in which the both favorable and unfavorable elements to hydrocarbon formation 

intensified. The distribution of these elements was little changed but large-scale intrusion of 

volcanic traps was introduced over the western platform and is described as the Tunguska 

structural-volcanic zone. 

During Carboniferous, Permian, and Triassic time, structural evolution continued as during the

Devonian. Over much of the platform little generation of new hydrocarbons took place but existing 

deposits were further transformed. In the Nepa-Botuoba anticline (feature C), gas-condensate 

fields with oil fringes developed and were preserved. In the Evenkiy syncline (feature G), 

intensive volcanic trap intrusion, accompanied by increases in vertical permeability of the 

sedimentary cover, caused destruction of heavy gas condensates and formation of light oil. 

Evidence of the condensate destruction takes the form of deposits of ozokerite and hatchettite. 

On the east flank of the Aldan arch (feature D), adjacent to the platform margin, deposits of heavy 

oil continued to be generated. In the area of the Anabar arch (feature K) the existing heavy oil 

was metamorphosed into asphaltic bitumen. Natural bitumen now forms large deposits on the 

flank of the Anabar arch, and in other, smaller, parallel folds. Apparently the redistribution of oil 

beyond the boundary of the Lower Cambrian salt cap over the Anabar arch occurred during the 

post-Devonian period, and the natural bitumen deposits associated with the Anabar arch formed

during the Middle and Upper Cambrian age. 

The present day distribution of oil, gas, and bitumen in the Vendian-Lower Cambrian complex of 

major structural elements of the Siberian platform was essentially complete at the end of the 

Triassic. Substantial loss of natural gas due to vertical migration is typical of the Mesozoic and 

Cenozoic. Thick argillaceous Mesozoic sediments, rich in organic matter, accumulated in the 

large marginal depressions, the Yenisey-Khatanga, Anabar-Lena , and Verkhoyansk (fig 1 ). In 

the Anabar-Lena basin the narrow structures with steeply-dipping limbs, and the absence of cap4
rock led to the loss of gas and to formation of predominantly oil accumulations in the Permian and 

Mesozoic sediments.

During the Mesozoic and Cenozoic periods oil from synclines, which were filled with thick 

sequences of Upper Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic rocks, migrated laterally. Heavy oil and 

bitumen deposits were formed in the Vendian-Lower Cambrian formations on the north slope of 

the Aldan arch (feature D), in the Jurassic deposits on the southeast slope of the Anabar arch 

(feature K), and in the Permian on the north slope on the Aldan arch. These bitumen deposits 

differ from those developed in the pre-Devonian subsalt periods of migration and accumulation in 

that they are less variable in composition, with fewer asphaltenes, no metamorphosed varieties 

as a result of trap intrusions or hot springs, and with higher saturations, of up to 10-12wt% in 

Jurassic deposits. 

The regions of preferential bitumen occurrence currently are the Aldan (feature D) and Anabar 

(feature K) arches and the Turukhan-Norilsk ridge (feature J). Stratigraphically, bitumen-bearing

rocks include the Vendian-Lower Cambrian, Middle-Upper Cambrian, Permian, and Jurassic of

the Anabar arch; the Vendian-Lower Cambrian of the Aldan arch; and the Lower and Middle 

Paleozoic of the southern part of the Turukhan-Norilsk ridge. 

The Evenkiy syncline (feature G), central and northern parts of the Nepa-Botuoba anticline 

(feature C), and the Katanga saddle (feature M) are areas of conventional oil and gas deposits. In 

the Nepa-Botuoba anticline and the Katanga saddle the oil and gas deposits have been protected 

by the Lower Cambrian salt seal. The oil and gas in the Evenkiy syncline has been similarly 

protected on the south and by the Devonian salt on the north. 

Gol’dberg, Lebedev, and Frolov (1981) conclude that the southern part of the Nepa-Botuoba 

anticline (feature C) and the Angara-Lena bench (feature A) are regions of concentration of 

mostly gas and gas condensate. 

The Siberian platform (fig. 1) includes four types of basins, as defined by Klemme (1980a, 1984). 

Type I basins are found in the interior of the craton and include the Olenek and Tunguska basins. 

Type IIA basins are those on the margins of cratons. Here are included the Anabar-Lena, AngaraLena, Irkutsk, Kansk, Verkhoyansk, Vilyuy, and Yenisey-Khatanga basins. 

Type IIB basins are formed of rocks accreted to the craton margin and are represented by the 

Kuznets, Laptev, and Minusinsk basins (fig. 1). The Kuznets and Minusinsk basins are important 

coal-producing basins but are not known to include deposits of natural bitumen. They may 

5
perhaps belong more naturally with the young West Siberian platform rather to than the Siberian 

platform. Although the Laptev basin (fig. 1) has no known bitumen deposits, based upon seismic 

profiles, Vinogradov (1983) contends the geology and stratigraphic succession is remarkably

similar to that of the Siberian platform. The Riphean is not expected to exceed one km in 

thickness. The Vendian-Middle Paleozoic complex should include domanik-type organic shale in 

the Vendian and Middle Devonian and marine and lagoonal carbonates and salt in the Middle and 

Upper Devonian. The complex is estimated to be 3 km in thickness. The Upper Paleozoic-Lower 

Cretaceous is probably comprised of about 3 km of marine and continental clastics and coal. 

Lastly, the Upper Cretaceous-Cenozoic complex may be 3-3.5 km thick in the trough (Ust’-Lena) 

along the mouth of the Lena river. With analogy to onshore, the rocks should be clastic, with plant 

fragments. 

Lastly, there is a single type IIIB basin, the Baikal, comprised of strata accreted to the craton and 

rifted. Lake Baikal occupies a deep rift valley. 

Resources

Numerous deposits of natural bitumen are found on the northern portion of the Siberian platform. 

Most are attributable to the absence of reservoir seals over previously-generated deposits of oil 

and gas. Some heavy oil is known (table 3). In the following discussion the map location (fig. 1) 

is indicated by the number in parentheses after the deposit name. 

The Siberian platform is characterized by sharply expressed structural elements in the 

sedimentary cover (Khalimov, and others, 1983). Large structural elements, the Aldan (feature 

D) and Anabar (feature K) arches,and the Turkhan-Norilsk (Yenisey) ridge (feature J), are 

distinguishable in the basement. The Aldan and Anabar arches have Precambrian crystalline 

basement exposed at the surface and the Turkhan-Norilsk (Yenisey) ridge has crystalline rocks 

younger than those in the preceding arches. In the structural depressions, over the platform, the 

basement is buried under sedimentary cover from 10-15 km thick. On the northwest and the 

northeast are the foreland depressions, the Yenisey-Khatanga and Tunguska basins, and the 

Sayan-Yenisey syncline, filled with Mesozoic rocks in the upper part of the section. In addition, 

there are numerous smaller structures. Oil and gas fields and natural bitumen deposits are 

associated to these smaller structures as described in the earlier section on geologic evolution of 

the platform. All the productive oil and gas fields are found in the Irkutsk, Angara-Lena, 

Tunguska, and Vilyuy basins but are mainly localized along the Nepa-Botuoba (feature C) and

near Baykit (feature F) anticlines. 

6
The Olenek (1) deposit, the most-studied and presumably the most important bitumen deposit on 

the Siberian platform and probably in all Russia, is located on a fold parallel to the Anabar arch 

(feature K) in the Olenek basin. Although rocks from Archean to Permian are present, the 

bitumen-saturated strata are of Upper Cambrian age. These are dolomite and limestone from 0-

250 m in thickness. The carbonates are intensely fractured and also are cavernous in the upper 

part, to depths of 60-70 m. These rocks are transgressed by Permian clastics, which range in 

thickness from south to north from 60-85 m to 340 m, mainly because of the uneven Precambrian 

surface. The lower part of the Permian section is bitumen-free. The tops of sandy sections are 

impregnated with bitumen. Saturations vary from slight to 7wt%, but are most frequently 3-4wt%. 

Bituminous sandstones are well-developed to the north, forming narrow, lenticular bodies up to 1 

km in length. The saturated lenses are arranged en echelon and extend as much as 10 km, with 

widths of 3-12 km. These form a semi-circle of saturated rocks on the gently-sloping north and 

northeast sides of the Anabar arch (feature K) over an area of more than 250 km2. Along the arch 

south of the Olenek deposit are two bitumen deposits, Kuoyka (14) and Sololisk (15), with 

reservoirs in Riphean and Lower Cambrian sandstones and dolomites. The total area of 

bituminous rocks, with thicknesses reaching 15 m, is over 800 km2. Bitumen saturation is

uneven, ranging from 1.2-10%. 

On the east slope of the Anabar arch (feature K) are the Vendian-Lower Cambrian deposits which 

constitute the East Anabar (2) accumulation. These are fractured cavernous dolomites and 

limestones trending north-south for several km. Although up to 40 m in thickness, the saturations 

are low, from 0.2-2wt%, rarely 3wt%. 

The Medvezh’ye (7) deposit is located on the northwest slope of the Anabar arch. There, natural 

bitumen, maltha, and asphalt saturate dolomites and limestones of Upper Cambrian and 

Ordovician age, both stratiform and lenticular. The zone is 17 km long by 5 km wide, with an

effective thickness of 16m.

The Siligir-Markha (4) deposit is found on a small fold along the south flank of the Anabar arch 

(feature K). The fold is asymmetrical, the southwest limb is subtle but the northwest limb dips up 

to 9°. The Middle and Upper Cambrian limestones and dolomites are impregnated with maltha

and asphalt. The rocks crop out in the northwestern part of the arch. A borehole in the deposit 

penetrated impregnated Riphean and Lower Cambrian sandstones and carbonates. Middle and 

Upper Cambrian rocks with 0.3-15wt% bitumen are thought to occupy an area of about 6000 km2. 

However, the deposit has not been studied in detail. 

7
The Rassokha (5) bitumen deposit is found on the north flank of the Anabar arch (feature K) in 

the zone of contact between Riphean sandstones and Lower Cambrian dolomites. The bitumens 

are maltha, the beds are 10-15 m thick, and the deposits are concentrated in the Riphean 

clastics. The saturated rocks are gently downwarped toward the Yenisey-Khatanga basin and

cover about 250 km2 at depths up to 50 m. 

The Chun’ya (6) bitumen field, about 200 km2 in the central portion of the Tunguska basin, is 

comprised of Middle and Upper Ordovician limestones with reservoir rocks a total of 8 m thick. 

The saturation is 0.2-3.6wt%. 

The Turukhan (8) bitumen field is found in the area of the Turukhan-Norilsk ridge (feature J). 

Impregnations of maltha and asphalt are found in porous dolomites of Vendian, Lower and Middle 

Cambrian, and Lower Silurian age. The bitumens are in lenses and veins. 

Other, unnamed bitumen deposits are found throughout much of the Tunguska basin, often 

bounded by trap rock. One of these deposits is analyzed as consisting of 82.28% carbon, 9,55% 

hydrogen, 5.01% sulfur, and 5.16% oxygen plus nitrogen. 

The Chekurovka (3) and Bulkur (9) bitumen fields, covering an area of 800 km2 are located in the 

extreme northeast edge of the Verhoyansk basin. The bitumens, most importantly maltha and 

asphalt, are confined to Vendian and Lower Cambrian strata. The occurrences are both stratiform 

and vein and the saturation is only 1.8wt%

A number of bitumen deposits are associated with the Aldan arch (feature D). In the Tuolba (10) 

deposit, on the west flank of the Tuolba high on the Aldan arch, heavy oil shows were found in 

basal sandstones and dolomites of Lower Vendian age at depths of 400-500 m. At the surface, 

Lower Cambrian carbonates 5-6 m thick, with saturations of 1.5-3wt% are present. The bitumen 

inclusions are of asphalt. 

On the east flank of the Tuolba high, extensive surface occurrences of asphalt and maltha are

present in Lower Cambrian carbonates. These rocks constitute the Amga (11) deposit, in which 

the thicknesses are 1.5-3 m, and saturations are no more than 1.5wt%. 

The Sina (12) deposit on the Aldan arch (feature D) is composed of stratiform and vein bitumens

in fractured Lower Cambrian limestones. Saturations are only 0.3-6.7wt%. 

8
In the Baikal area some asphalt and heavy oil is known, but most of the bitumen is in the form of 

ozokerite, a waxy bitumen with a melting point above 50°C. It is of little commercial value 

although it is exploited in many places in Russia. 

The natural bitumen deposits listed in table 2 is misleading in its simplicity. The bitumen deposits 

(kirs, oil sands, tar sands) are common, widespread, and inadequately defined with bore holes. 

The English-language reports and accompanying resource estimates all represent translations of 

reports by Russian geologists. The amounts of bitumen are taken primarily from Gol’dberg’s

unpublished 1994 map. They represent reasonable estimates by a highly-experienced, 

competent geochemist, Gold’berg (1981) and the estimates by Gold’berg are based on field data. 

Not all deposits have been evaluated for resource content. Estimated volumes of bitumen in 

poorly known deposits made by a variety of other researchers (see summary section of table 2) 

are typically computed on the basis of a grade or percent weight of bitumen and a speculative 

estimate of volume of rock. Such estimates of bitumen resources may vary by orders of 

magnitude (table 2). 

The estimates of Siberian platform total resources (see summary table 2) suggest a median 

estimate of perhaps 600 billion barrels. This is a substantial amount, even compared with Alberta, 

Canada. Even if this gross resource volume is present, the economic value to the Siberian 

resources suffers from the following mitigating factors: (1) the climate is extreme; (2) the area is

remote and is essentially lacking in technological infrastructure; (3) the deposits are near-surface 

and relatively thin, requiring surface mining for exploitation; (4) bitumen saturations are low, 

usually under 5wt%; Russia still has very large oil reserves and enormous natural gas reserves. It 

is, therefore, unlikely that efforts will be made for large-scale bitumen exploitation until at least the 

middle of the present century. 

Table 3 lists the few Siberian platform fields definitely known to have been productive of heavy 

oil. In addition, the table lists fields included in the report of the Lawyers’ & Merchants’ Translation 

Bureau (1950). It is not known which, if any, of these fields contained heavy oil, but it is likely that 

many did. Because they were drilled in the 1930s, most of them are in the areas where bitumen 

deposits are near the surface, providing clues to the presence of hydrocarbon deposits. These 

also are places where the salt seals had been removed so that conventional oil deposits, if not 

destroyed, would likely have been degraded to heavy oil. Heavy oil is known to be present in the 

Baikal basin in the vicinity of Lake Baikal. 

 At least 98 more recently discovered fields are known on the Siberian platform than are listed in 

table 3. These are mostly natural gas and gas-condensate fields and more than 40% of the total 

9
is located over the Nepa-Botuoba (feature C) and Baykit (feature F) anticlines, where the salt 

seals were preserved through time. The Yurubchenko-Tokhom oil, gas, and condensate field,

(not listed in table 3) is located on the highest part of the Baykit anticline. It is the only giant field 

in the world with pools in Precambrian Riphean rocks (Bitner, and others, 1998). The field is 

divided into fault blocks with pay zones present not only in the Riphean carbonates, but also in

clastics and carbonates of the Vendian. The field, covering an area of 13,000 km2, produces from 

an eroded interval at the top of the Riphean. In 1982 a well in the field yielded oil from sediments 

324 m below the erosion surface (Stenanenko, 1995).

Many of the oil gravity values of recently discovered fields and older fields are not in the public 

domain. The fields cited by Lawyers’ and Merchants’ Translation Bureau (1950) date as far back 

in time as the early 1930s and many of these, located in the northern parts of the Siberian 

platform, were likely heavy oil. At the time of this drilling the platform was very poorly known,

indeed, and most of the wells were drilled near areas of bitumen deposits, a reasonable 

exploration approach. The few fields known to have heavy oil are in the area of bitumen deposits 

or else adjacent to Lake Baikal, where lumps of bitumen are found along the shore of the lake. 

10
References

The list of references is intended to enable more detailed study of the Siberian platform. Only a 

few are directly cited in this report. Other references are broad in scope, yielding information on

all of Russia and Central Asia, that is, the Former Soviet Union. 

Abrikosov, I.Kh., and others, 1963, New oil and gas regions of the USSR: Frankfurt, World 

Petroleum Congress, 6th, Section 1, PD 3, Paper 45, p. 611-631. 

Aksenov, A.A., and Zhabreva, P.S., 1985, Osnovnye polozheniia metodiki poiskov I razvedki

skoplenii prirodnykh (Main points of the procedure for prospecting for and exploring 

concentrations of natural bitumens): Geologiia nefti i gaza, no. 6, p. 1-6. (Translation into English 

by Dorothy B. Vitaliano, February, 1985, available for consultation only at the U.S. Geological

Survey Library, Reston, Va.) 

Aksenov, A.A., and others, 1984, Principles governing the distribution of natural bitumens and 

highly viscous oils, in Krylov, A., ed., IGiRGI Festschrift, p. 112-118. (Translation into English by 

Nora Tamberg for the U.S. Geological Survey.) 

Aksenov, A.A., and others, 1984, Formation of major zones of natural bitumen accumulation: 

International Geological Congress, 27th, Proceedings, v. 13, p. 63-72. 

Aksenov, A.A., and others, 1986, Bitumen accumulation zones. (Summary translation into English 

by Nora Tamberg, September, 1986, for the U.S. Geological Survey.) 

Aleksin, G.A., 1979, Nekotorye problemy geologo-ekonomicheskogo raionirovaniia 

neftegazonosnykh territorii pri planirovanii poisko-razvedochnykh rabot na neft’ i gaz (Some 

problems of the geologic-economic regionalization of oil and gas territories in planning oil and gas 

prospecting and exploration work): Geologiia nefti I gaza, no. 11, p. 7-11. (Translation into 

English by Dorothy B. Vitaliano, February, 1984, available for consultation only at the U.S. 

Geological Survey Library, Reston, Va.) 

Aleksin, A.G., Krylov, N.A., and Mazanov, V.F., 1980, Aktual’nye problemy povyshiia effektivnosti 

geolograzvedochnykh rabot na neft’ I gaz (Urgent problems of increasing the efficiency of 

geologic exploration for oil and gas): Neftegazovaia geologiia I geofizika, no. 1, p. 12-15. 

(Translation into English by Dorothy B. Vitaliano, February 15, 1984, available for consultation

only at the U.S. Geological Survey Library, Reston, Va.) 

Antsiferov, and others, 1986, Nepa-Botuobinsk regional high – a new favorable region for oil and 

gas productionn in the east of the USSR: Novosibirsk, Nauka, Sibirskoy otdeleniye, 244 p. . 

Digested in Petroleum Geology, 2003, v. 23, no. 9/10. 

Avetisov, and others, 1994, Ust’-Lena downwarp of southeastern part of Laptev Sea: (Digested in 

Petroleum Geology, 1995, v. 29, no. 5/6, p. 148-152.) 

Bakin, V.Ye., 1979, Impermeable seals in Vilyuy basin, eastern East Siberia: (Digested in 

Petroleum Geology, v. 19, no. 10, p. 504-508.) 

Bakirov, A., and Ovanessov, G., 1971, Scientific principles of calculation of potential oil and gas 

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11
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12
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13
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14
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15
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16
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17
18

Zubov, IU.V., 1980, Komplexnoe ispol’zovanie promyslovo-geofizicheskikh dannykh pri izuchenii 

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by Dorothy B. Vitaliano, March 5, 1984, available for consultation only at the U.S. Geological 

Survey Library, Reston, Va.) 
19

Table 1. Siberian Platform name equivalents 

AAPG basin name Basin 

type(Klemme)

Gol'dberg (1981) Seregin and Sokolov (1977) Age of

strategraph

Olenek (Sukhana) I Anabar arch Sukhana Paleozoic, 

Tunguska (Lena-Tunguska) I Evenkiy (includes Turukhan-Norilsk ridge, 

Teren-Dyupkun depression, Baykit anteclise) 

Tungusska Mesozoic, P

Anabar-Lena IIA Anabar-Lena Same Mesozoic, PAngara-Lena IIA Angara-Lena (includes Nepa-Botuoba 

anteclise, Angara-Lena benc) 

Baikal-Lena Paleozoic, 

Irkutsk IIA (included with Angara-Lena) Sayan-Yenisey Mesozoic, PKansk IIA Sayan-Yenisey Sayan-Yenisey Mesozoic, PVerkhoyansk IIA Pre-Verkhoyansk Mesozoic, PVilyuy (includes Aldan-Maya) IIA Patom-Vilyuy (includes Aldan anteclise) Lena-Vilyuy (includes Verkhoyansk) Mesozoic, P

Yenisey-Khatanga IIA Yenisey-Khatanga (includes Khatanga 

saddle) 

Permian-Cr

Kuznets IIB Kuznets Mesozoic, PLaptev IIB Laptev Sea Cenozoic, MMinusinsk IIB Minusinsk Mesozoic, PBaikal IIIA (included with Angara-Lena) Baikal-Lena Paleozoic, 
Table 2. Bitumen resources of Siberian Platform. (OOIP – original oil in place) 

Geological 

province 

Basin 

type

(Klemme)

Field name Prospective 

OOIP

(106

bbl)

Reference 

Olenek I Arga Sala Meyerhoff and Meyer (1987) 

Olenek I Olenek, Central (Sololisk,

Kuoisk) 

Meyerhoff and Meyer (1987) 

Tunguska I Chun'ya 2,835 Goldberg (unpub. map and 1981); Central Intelligence 

Agency (1985); Khalimov, and others (1983) 

Tunguska I Siligir-Markha 12,600 Goldberg (Unpub. Map; 1981; 1994);Beskrovnyy , and 

others. (1981); Janisch (1981);Khalimov, and others (1983) 

Anabar-Lena IIA Anabar, East 5,355 Goldberg (Unpub. Map; 1994) 

Anabar-Lena IIA Anabar, Middle 3,465 Goldberg (Unpub. Map; 1994) 

Anabar-Lena IIA Anabar, North Fane (1985) 

Anabar-Lena IIA Kuoyka 2,835 Goldberg (Unpub. Map; 1994) 

Anabar-Lena IIA Munsk Fane (1985) 

Anabar-Lena IIA Nordvik 2,205 Goldberg (unpub. map) 

Anabar-Lena IIA Olenek 13,860 Goldberg (Unpub. Map; 1981; 1994); CIA (1985); Khalimov, 

and others (1983) 

Anabar-Lena IIA Udzhinsk Fane (1985) 

Vilyuy IIA Aldan Meyerhoff and Meyer (1987) 

Vilyuy IIA Amga (Resource includes Sina 

& Tuolba) 

15,750 Goldberg (Unpub. Map; 1994) 

Vilyuy IIA Ingilisk Fane (1985) 

Vilyuy IIA Sina Goldberg (Unpub. Map; 1994) 

Vilyuy IIA Sinsk Fane (1985) 

Vilyuy IIA Tuolba Goldberg (Unpub. Map; 1994) 

Vilyuy IIA Yunsk Fane (1985) 

Yenisey-Khatanga IIA Koti Maimechen Fane (1985) 

Yenisey-Khatanga IIA Medvezh'Ye 630 Goldberg (Unpub. Map; 1994) 

Yenisey-Khatanga IIA Rassokha 2,205 Goldberg (Unpub. Map; 1994) 

TOTAL 61,740 

Other Resource Assessments 

Olenek I Arga Sala 75,000 Meyerhoff and Meyer (1987) 

Olenek I Olenek, Central 75,000 Meyerhoff and Meyer (1987) 

Olenek I Olenek, Central (Sololisk,

Kuoisk) 

Fane (1985) 

Tunguska I Siligir-Markha 13,000 Fane (1985) 

Tunguska I Siligir-Markha (Aykhal) 150,000 Meyerhoff and Meyer (1987) 

Anabar-Lena IIA Anabar, North Fane (1985) 

Anabar-Lena IIA Munsk Fane (1985) 

Anabar-Lena IIA Olenek 20,000 Meyerhoff and Meyer (1987) 

Anabar-Lena IIA Udzhinsk Fane (1985) 

Angara-Lena IIA Olenek 100,000-

900,000 

Fane (1985) 

Vilyuy IIA Aldan 315,000 Meyerhoff and Meyer (1987) 

Vilyuy IIA Ingilisk Fane (1985) 

Vilyuy IIA Sinsk Fane (1985) 

Vilyuy IIA Tuolba Fane (1985) 

Vilyuy IIA Yunsk Fane (1985) 

Yenisey-Khatanga IIA Koti Maimechen Fane (1985) 

Yenisey-Khatanga IIA Rassokha Fane (1985) 

20
Table 2. Bitumen resources of Siberian Platform – cont. 

Platform Bitumen Resource Summaries 

Prospective Reference 

OOIP (106

bbl) 

Siberian platform 701,300-801,300 Medaisko (1989) 

Siberian platform 91,753 Gol'dberg (1981) 

Siberian platform 598,500 Starosel'tsev 

Siberian platform 647,000 Meyerhoff and Meyer (1987) 

Siberian platform 729,000 Meyerhoff and Meyer (1987) 

Siberian platform 61,740 This report 

21
22

Table 3. Oil fields of the Siberian Platform CO – conventional oil, HO – heavy oil, ? indicates uncertainty

Geological province Basin type 

(Klemme)

Oil type Field name Prospective 

OOIP (106bbl) 

OOIP discovered(106bbl)

Reference 

Olenek I CO? Arga Sala Lawyers' & M

Tunguska I CO? Sukhaja Tunguska Lawyers' & MAnabar-Lena IIA CO? Anabar Lawyers' & MAnabar-Lena IIA CO? Belaja Lawyers' & MAnabar-Lena IIA CO? Chaidakh Lawyers' & MAnabar-Lena IIA CO? Ilia Lawyers' & MAnabar-Lena IIA CO? Koshevnikove salt dome 6,300 Lawyers' & MAnabar-Lena IIA CO? Kotui Lawyers' & MAnabar-Lena IIA CO? Olenek Lawyers' & MAnabar-Lena IIA CO? Olenek Lawyers' & MAngara-Lena IIA CO? Baikal-Sayan area wells Lawyers' & MAngara-Lena IIA CO? Kempendzai area wells Lawyers' & MVerkhoyansk IIA CO? Verkhoyansk ridge wells Lawyers' & MVilyuy IIA CO? Amga Lawyers' & MVilyuy IIA CO? Eve Tas Lawyers' & MVilyuy IIA CO? Namana Lawyers' & MVilyuy IIA CO? Soljanka Lawyers' & MVilyuy IIA CO? Tuolba Lawyers' & MVilyuy IIA CO? Ust' Maia Lawyers' & MYenisey-Khatanga IIA CO? Diavolskaja Lawyers' & MYenisey-Khatanga IIA CO? Dudinka Lawyers' & MYenisey-Khatanga IIA CO? Karaul Lawyers' & MYenisey-Khatanga IIA CO? Tigan Lawyers' & MYenisey-Khatanga IIA CO? Ust' Port Lawyers' & MKuznets IIB CO? Domes unnamed Lawyers' & MMinusinsk IIB CO? Anticlines and domes unnamed Lawyers' & MBaikal IIIA CO? Barguzin Lawyers' & MBaikal IIIA CO? Selenga Lawyers' & MBaikal IIIA CO? Taikhoi Lawyers' & MAnabar-Lena IIA HO Anabar, East (Vostochno-Anabar) 12,000 Meyerhoff aAnabar-Lena IIA HO Nordvik 1,000 Meyerhoff aAnabar-Lena IIA HO Nordvik salt dome Meyerhoff aVilyuy IIA HO Sredne-Vilyuy Meyerhoff aYenisey-Khatanga IIA HO Tigan-Yuzhno Meyerhoff aYenisey-Khatanga IIA HO Tigan-Yuzhno Meyerhoff aBaikal IIIA HO Baykal 1,000 Meyerhoff aBaikal IIIA HO Cape Tolstoy Meyerhoff aBaikal IIIA HO Sarankhur Meyerhoff a
80°E 90°E 110°E 120°E 130°E 140°E 

Mapscale at equator 1: 46 400 000 compiled by Bill St. John, The American Association of Petroleum Geologists, CD-ROM datapage GIS mapping file. 

AAPG©1996, Basin outlines reprinted by permission of the AAPG whose permission is required for further use. 

LAPTEV 

VILYUY 

F TUNGUSKA

YENISEY-KHATANGA 

KANSK 

L ANABAR-LENA

OLENEK 

ANGARA-LENA 

VERKHOYANSK 

MINUSINSK 

KUZNETS 

IRKUTSK BAIKAL 

80°E 90°E 100°E 110°E 120°E 130°E 140°E 

100°E 

50°N 50°N 

60°N 60°N 

70°N 1 1415 70°N 

Mercator Projection 

R U S S I A 

Siberian Platform 

Lak

Basin outlines from Sedimentary Provinces of the World-HydroCarbon Productive and Nonproductive, 

Marginal sutures of 

e Baikal 

Vilyuy 

i

Y

e

River 

Aldan R

Khatanga 

R

i

R ver i

Anabar iv

v

er 

Olenek 

R re

Lena River 

i r 

L a

e

en

River 

v r

enisey 

R v

Lake Taymir 

K A R A S E A 

L A P T E V S E A 

A 

C 

E 

D 

B 

H 

J 

G 

M 

K 

pЄ

pЄ

pЄ

3 

pЄ

2 

5 

8 

4 

6 

7 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

Figure 1. Map of sedimentary basins in the Siberian Platform, Russia. Key of deposit locations is on facing page. Approximate 

locations of geologic features referred to in text are labeled as: A, Angara-Lena bench; B, Sayan-Yenisey syncline; C, NepaBotuoba anticline; D, Aldan arch; E, Patom-Vilyuy depression; F, Baykit anticline; G, Evenkiy syncline; H, Teren-Dyupkun depression; J, Turukhan-Norilsk ridge; K, Anabar arch; L, Khatanga saddle; and M, Katanga saddle. Diagram on facing page shows 

Klemme basin architectural form and geological basin type for Siberian Platform basins. 

23
EXPLANATION: 

Siberian sedimentary basins by 

Klemme basin classification 

I 

IIA 

IIB 

IIIA 

Basins outside platform 

Precambrian
 pЄ cystalline terrain


DEPOSIT LOCATIONS:

 1 Olenek

 2 East Anabar

 3 Chekurovka

 4 Siligir-Markha

 5 Rassokha

 6 Chun’ya

 7 Medvezh’ye

 8 Turukhan

 9 Bulkur 

10 Tuolba 

11 Amga 

12 Sina 

13 Ust’-Lena trough 

14 Kuoyka 

15 Sololisk 

KLEMME BASIN CLASSIFICATION: 

SEQUENTIAL


BASIN


ARCHITECTURAL


FORM


INSET MAP:


RUSSIA 

CHINA 

GEOLOGICAL 

BASIN 

TYPES 

I. CRATON INTERIOR BASINS 

Sag 

100 to 200 Miles 

sea level 

Fore-deep II. CONTINENTAL MULTICYCLIC BASINS 2. 

A. CRATON MARGIN - Composite 

100 to 300 Miles 

Platform or Sag sea level 

1. 

Sag B. CRATON Accreted Margin - Complex 

2. 

100 to 400 Miles 

sea level 

Rift 

1. 

III. CONTINENTAL RIFTED BASINS 

Rift/Sag A. CRATON AND ACCRETED ZONE RIFT 

50 to 100 Miles 

sea level 

Modified from St. John and others, 1984 

24