On the centenary of oil and gas exploration in the Kurgan Trans-Urals

At present, the issue of the oil-and-gas content of the Kurgan Region remains open. A group of researchers from Tyumen, united by the idea of discovering oil and gas fields in the Trans-Urals — Alexey A. Arsenyev and Dmitry S. Leontiev — decided to continue the search independently, investing their own time and resources in this challenging endeavor. They began to implement this idea in 2020, when they planned routes and organized expeditions to the Kurgan Region to search for surface oil and gas shows and previously drilled exploration wells. To date, the authors have published more than 40 scientific works, including 6 monographs. Over five years of research, they carried out 20 expeditions and traveled about 12,500 km by road. They visited six sites with oil and gas shows, identified the wellheads of deep exploration wells, and collected extensive evidence of oil occurrences from local residents. In addition, they compiled all collected information into an electronic database for the Kurgan Region, which they later patented. Some experts argue that the subsoil of the Kurgan Trans-Urals has no potential for hydrocarbon production, yet they do not provide convincing evidence. In this article, the authors present a historical assessment of the oil and gas potential of the southern and southeastern parts of the Kurgan Region. They also report the results of their independent field studies. The article includes a generalized map of their research routes across the region.

1. Arsenyev A. A. Leontyev D. S. On the prospects of gas-bearing capacity of the southern and southeastern parts of the Kurgan region. Oil and Gas Studies. 2025;1(169):24–37. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.31660/0445-0108-2025-1-24-37

2. Arsenyev A. A., Zavatsky M. D., Zakirov N. N., Leontyev D. S. On Oil Shows on the Alabuga River, Kurgan Region. Current Problems of Science and Technology – 2021. In: Collection of Articles and Reports at the XIV International ScientificPractical Conference. Ufa: UGNTU Publishing House, 2021. P. 23–26. (In Russ.).

3. Tuaev N. P. On the Oil-Bearing Capacity of Zverinogolovsky District in the Chelyabinsk Region. Oil Industry. 1937;(11):66–67.

4. Arsenyev A. A., Alexandrov V. M., Zakirov N. N., Mulyavin S. F., Leontyev D. S., Solodovnikov A. Yu. Oil and Gas of the Kurgan Trans-Urals — Geography and History of Exploration. Tyumen: Industrial University of Tyumen; 2021. (In Russ.).

5. Arseniev A. A., Alexandrov V. M., Leontiev D. S. Natural Oil Manifestations and Manifestations of Oil and Gas in Wells of the Kurgan Region. Tyumen: Industrial University of Tyumen; 2023. (In Russ.).

6. Arsenyev A. A., Mulyavin S. F. History of studying the south of the West Siberian oil and gas province and the Trans-Urals. Oil and Gas Studies. 2020;(1):8–18. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.31660/0445-0108-2020-1-8-18

7. Arsenyev A. A., Alexandrov V. M, Belonosov A. Yu.,. Zakirov N. N, Mamyashev V. G., Mulyavin S. F., Sysoev B. K., Yagafarov A. K. Analysis and prospects of oil and gas exploration in the Kurgan region. Tyumen: Industrial University of Tyumen; 2019. (In Russ.).

8. Arsenyev A. A., Alexandrov V. M., Zakirov N. N., Mulyavin S. F., Solodovnikov A. Yu. Strategic potential of the Kurgan region. Tyumen: Industrial University of Tyumen; 2020. (In Russ.).

9. Leontiev D. S., Arseniev А. А. On the results of drilling the parametric well Kurgan-Uspenskaya-1. New Technologies for the Oil and Gas Region: Materials of the International Scientific and Practical Conference of Students, Postgraduates, and Young Scientists. In 2 volumes, Tyumen, May 22–25, 2023. Tyumen: Industrial University of Tyumen, 2023. Р. 75–77. (In Russ.).

10. Leontiev D. S., Arseniev А. А. On the prospects of gas-bearing capacity of the Lebyazhyevskiy district of the Kurgan region. New Ideas in Earth Sciences: Materials of the XVI International Scientific and Practical Conference. Abstracts in 7 volumes, Moscow, April 06–07, 2023. Moscow: Russian State Geological Prospecting University named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze, 2023. P. 268–271. (In Russ.).

11. Leontyev, D. S., Arseniev А. А. On oil manifestations in the Shadrinsk district of the Kurgan region. Scientific Territory: Technology and Innovation: Materials of the International Scientific and Practical Conference, Tyumen, November 17–18, 2022. Tyumen: Industrial University of Tyumen, 2022. Р. 102–104. (In Russ.).

12. Leontyev, D. S. Prospects for oil and gas potential in the Shadrinsk district of the Kurgan region. New Technologies for the Oil and Gas Region: Materials of the International Scientific and Practical Conference of Students, Postgraduates, and Young Scientists. In IV vol., Tyumen, May 30, 2022. Tyumen: Industrial University of Tyumen, 2022. P.145–147. (In Russ.).

13. Arsenyev A. A., Alexandrov V. M., Zakirov N. N., Mulyavin S. F., Leontyev D. S., Solodovnikov A. Yu. Kurgan Trans-Urals — past, present and future. Tyumen: Industrial University of Tyumen; 2021. (In Russ.).

14. Leontiev D. S., Arseniev A. A. On the Prospects of Oil and Gas Potential of the Zverinogolovsky District of the Kurgan Region. Exploration and Protection of Mineral Resources. 2023;(5): 37–43. https://doi.org/10.53085/0034-026X_2023_05_37

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16. Tuaev N. P. The Problem of Oil Potential of the West Siberian Lowland in Light of New Data. Oil Industry. 1937;(9):52–57. (In Russ.).

17. Tuaev N. P. On the Oil Potential of the Zverinogolovsky District in the Chelyabinsk Region.Oil Industry. 1937;(11):66–67. (In Russ.).

18. Tsitenko N. V. Preliminary report on geological studies conducted in the summer of 1938 in the Zverinogolovsky district of the Chelyabinsk region, by the Zverinogolovsk registration and exploration team of the West Siberian Geological Administration, 1938. (In Russ.). URL: http://tfgi74.ru/lit_catalog/10479/

19. Leontyev D. S. Arsenyev A. A. On the question of the results of drilling the core well 1-k in the Zverinogolovsky district of the Kurgan region. Proceedings of the International Scientific and Practical Conference named after D. I. Mendeleev: Collection of articles from the International Scientific and Practical Conference named after D. I. Mendeleev, Tyumen, November 24–26, 2022. Tyumen: Industrial University of Tyumen, 2023. Р. 274–277. (In Russ.).

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