More than 30 sedimentary basins surround the Arctic Ocean. A reconstruction of the ancient structural, depositional, and climatic trends has been made of the more important basins to evaluate the relative hydrocarbon potential of this frontier area.

Although tectonic movement has been active throughout the Phanerozoic, four periods of tectonism were of particular importance in forming and developing the Arctic basins: the Caledonian orogeny during the Devonian, the formation of the Ural Mountains during the Permian-Triassic collision of the Siberian and Baltic Platforms, the opening of the Canada Deep during the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous, and sea-floor spreading along the Nansen-Gakkel Ridge during the early Tertiary. These events created a complex paleoenvironmental history for the Arctic basins, resulting in a variety of sources, seals, and reservoirs.

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