The article presents a comparative analysis of the world's largest oil and gas basins belonging to the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa). The eastern basins of the region, located in northeastern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East, are considered. The article shows that the oil and gas potential of the basins varies significantly, both in the resource and reserves as well by production values. The actual values of the annual and daily production of liquid and gas hydrocarbons, the volume of proven reserves in categories 1P and 2P of the largest oil and gas basins are presented. Together, the considered basins of the eastern part of the MENA region currently provide more than a quarter of the world's daily oil and gas production and include more than a third of the world's proven oil and gas reserves.
The specificity of the geological settings is characterized briefly, the dynamics of the increase in proved reserves while basins developing, and the dynamics of the field discoveries during exploration works are shown in comparison. The integral values of the success of exploratory drilling in the MENA region basins are calculated based on the ratio of successful and unsuccessful exploratory wells drilled over the entire period of exploration. The possible additional exploration potential of the oil and gas considered basins is characterized. Despite the long history of development, some of the basins still have significant geological exploration potential, which proves the relevance of geological exploration in them. In almost all the basins the main exploration prospects are associated with the search for non-structural traps (both on land and on the shelf), exploration of deep predominantly gas-bearing horizons, for the Zagros belt basins it is also possible to open structural traps in poorly studied areas.
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