Thermal studies can be used to determine characteristics of the geologic structures of oil and gas fields. They aid in revealing the presence of buried uplifts, and can provide additional valuable information on the possible subsurface structure. Thermal studies in the Apsheron Peninsula area of Azerbaijan, USSR, made it possible to suggest for the first time the presence of a deep-seated gas-mud volcano below an offshore locality, and the same studies led to its localization. Later drilling confirmed the presence of the volcano, and the equipment used for offshore drilling of the possible mud volcano was designed accordingly.

In the Apsheron Peninsula area, mud volcanoes are an important indication of the presence of oil- and gas-bearing reservoirs at certain depths, and thus are an indirect means of exploring for oil and gas fields. Thermal studies also are an aid to localizing deep faults.