Introduction for the special issue on deep petroleum systems

Abstract

In petroliferous basins, oil and gas accumulations buried at depths of 4500 to 6000 m (14,764 to 19,685 ft) are generally referred as deep reservoirs, while those greater than 6000 m (>19,685 ft) are referred to as ultradeep reservoirs (Dyman et al., 1996; Dutton and Loucks, 2010). The exploration and understanding of deep petroleum systems have been at the forefront of research and industry interest for many decades. The first reported deep petroleum discovery in the United States is located in the Carter-Knox oil field, Oklahoma, in the 1950s (Reedy and Becker, 1956), which was...