Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority

Prospects for other marine minerals that may be found in the Area
13. Petroleum potential and development prospects in deep-sea areas of
the world
Dr. Vysotsky, Director of JSV VNIIZarubezhgeologia of the Russian
Federation presented a paper he prepared together with Mr. A. Gloumov,
Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian
Federation on “Petroleum Potential and Development Prospects in Deep-Sea
Areas of the World”. At the outset Dr. Vysotsky pointed out that the term
“deepwater” as used in the paper was in a geological sense, covering water
depths more than 500m.
Tracing the history of offshore petroleum development, Dr. Vysotsky
said that exploratory drilling dated back to the 1960s, while development
began in the 1980s when deepwater petroleum exploration expanded rapidly.
He also said that it was only in the 1990s that hydrocarbon exploration and
development was extended to far greater depths in the oceans. He said that
sedimentary basins of various sizes, structure and geologic history are
essential components of hydrocarbon resource evaluation. He emphasized
that the classification of sedimentary basins has to be supplemented by
geologic models of all the recognized ocean basin types. He pointed out that
detailed investigation of ocean basins and hydrocarbon description has
enabled quantitative estimates of the resources and the petroleum potential in
the various regions of the world to be determined. He stated that a total of
120 petroliferous basins occur partly or entirely within the abyssal zone of the
world’s ocean floor or in water depths of more than 500 m.
INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 51