CONCEPTS AND METHODS OF PETROLEUM EXPLORATION IN THE WORKS OF ACADEMICIAN A.A. TROFIMUK: CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE AND IMPLICATIONS
A.I. Varlamov, P.N. Mel'nikov
All-Russian Research Geological Oil Institute Moscow, Russia
Keywords: Oil and gas exploration methodology and methods; stages and phases of geological exploration and research activities; mineral resource base; organic theory of petroleum origin; hydrocarbon generation, migration, and accumulation.
Abstract
The paper examines the evolution of oil and gas exploration methodology as reflected in the seminal works of I.M. Gubkin, A.A. Trofimuk, A.A. Bakirov, S.P. Maksimov, A.E. Kontorovich, and other distinguished scholars. The paper highlights the particularly important contribution of Academician A.A. Trofimuk to the development of petroleum exploration methodology. The theoretical foundation of this methodology – the biogenic (organic) theory of petroleum origin – together with its core principles (genetic approach, regular spatial distribution of hydrocarbon accumulations and their regional nature, phased exploration activities, and integration of diverse study techniques) were incorporated into the official methodological framework governing oil and gas exploration in the USSR. These principles formed the basis of the Regulations on the Stages and Phases of Oil and Gas Exploration, adopted in 1983 by the USSR Ministry of Geology with the support of Minnefteprom (Ministry of the Petroleum Industry) and Mingazprom (Ministry of the Gas Industry). The efficiency of the Soviet exploration methodology is evidenced by the creation of an unprecedentedly extensive hydrocarbon resource base. At present, however, no comparable regulatory document exists that defines the respective competences and responsibilities of the state across the various stages and phases of exploration. The author demonstrates a critical discontinuity in the exploration cycle between regional studies conducted on unallocated subsoil funds and the subsequent prospecting phase carried out on licensed blocks, which adversely affects the replenishment of exploration scope. To address this, the author proposes that the first substage of the prospecting phase (namely, the preparation of structures for exploratory drilling) should be placed under state authority. Recommendations are also made for restoring state-funded research, development, and methodological studies in petroleum geology, which would undoubtedly enhance the overall efficiency of the exploration process.
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