A Review on Mud Volcanoes and Petroleum Potential of the South Caspian Basin

There is a close relationship between mud volcanoes (MVs) and oil and gas fields. The close relationship between MVs and petroleum systems has been proven in many studies. Most of the extensive information published on the South Caspian Depression and its hydrocarbon resources is only available in the Russian language, and commonly in books and journals that are not readily available in the open-acces. Therefore, this study reviews the structural control of MVs in the petroleum system of the South Caspian basin. It presents the results of surveys to study hydrocarbon systems of the territory using solving oil and gas geology issues. MVs have become evident that a sedimentary complex of depositions allows us to assess the role of fluid dynamic processes in forming and placing hydrocarbon deposits in the South Caspian Basin.