This paper is the result of oil and gas survey engineering.

Objective The West Siberian basin within Arctic Circle is a typical rift basin with abundant oil and gas resources. It is important to identify its resource potential for further oil and gas exploration.

Methods Petroleum system and plays in the West Siberian Basin were characterized and investigated based on geological characteristics and latest IHS data, and distribution patterns of oil and gas were documented. The undiscovered oil and gas resource potential was evaluated using plays as assessment units, the reserve growth for oil and gas fields was predicted, and favorable exploration and development fairways were also selected.

Results Oil and gas in the basin were largely derived from Lower Cretaceous and Middle Lower Jurassic source rocks. Oil and gas reserves are mainly distributed in the Lower Cretaceous and lower Upper Cretaceous reservoirs in the Yamal and the Geda Peninsulas. They are mainly entrapped in lithological−structural combination traps at burial depths of 1500−3500 m. Six plays were identified in the study area based on petroleum system analysis. The investigation results indicate that the total undiscovered oil and gas resource in the study area amounts to 11.583 billion tons of oil equivalent (toe). A reserve growth function model was established to predict reserve growth based on historical reserve data. The reserve growth in the study area is 9.238 billion toe.

Conclusions Comprehensive investigation suggests that the Lower Cretaceous in tectonic uplifts along the Kara Sea offshore area is the favorable exploration fairway. Two favorable fairways for oil and gas development were selected within the onshore areas with numerous super-giant oil and gas fields in the Nadem−Taz and South Kara−Yamal subbasins.