Geodynamic, Geological and Geomorphological Investigations of Gas-Saturated Strata in the Western Russian Arctic (Rybachy Peninsula and Adjacent Waters of the Barents Sea)

The Arctic shelf is an area of national priority for Russia. Huge reserves of hydrocarbon raw materials in addition to transport and logistics communications are concentrated within its borders. The article discusses the issues of identifying the spatiotemporal patterns of the formation of a potential oil-and-gas-bearing region in the junction zone of two noncoeval continental lithospheric plates: the ancient Archean (Russian) and the young Barents Sea plates (with the Grenville basement). A description of the geodynamic evolution of the region is given, and data on the geological structure of the Neoproterozoic complexes of the Sredny and Rybachy peninsulas (Kola Peninsula) and adjacent water areas of the Barents Sea are provided. The aggregate data suggest that the relief of the western Russian Arctic was mainly formed as a result of processes involved in closure of the Proto-Atlantic and Ural paleoceans (and later the Japetus paleocean). The oil and gas potential of the described region was formed as a result of a multistage and long-duration process that led to enrichment of Neoproterozoic complexes of the northern Kola Peninsula and adjacent waters of the Barents Sea in hydrocarbon raw materials.