Structural styles (or structural paragenesis in Russian literature) in the sedimentary cover result from tectonic processes that took place during the basin evolution. Hydrocarbon traps within regions with a single structural style can share similar structure and tectonic development features. This, in turn, may determine the commonality of risk factors such as the retention, vertical migration etc. In addition, traps of different structural styles can vary significantly in size, hydrocarbon resources compactness, and reservoir structural heterogeneity level. We identified and mapped areas characterized by various structural styles in the Russian Chukchi Sea sedimentary cover. These include areas of predominant basement draping, extension, transtension, compression, transpression, and mobilized salt- and shale related deformations. Among extensional structural styles, we separated thin-skinned deformations from thick-skinned ones. Identified structural styles analysis resulted in hydrocarbon plays (structural and combined trap families) definition. The least geological risks determined by structural factors can be expected in plays associated with inversion structures across the Chukchi monocline, basement drapes across the Chukchi monocline and the South Chukchi trough, and in plays related to the North Chukchi trough thin-skinned extension. These plays definition allow us to narrow focus of further works on hydrocarbon evaluation of the Chukchi Sea sedimentary cover.
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