--> ABSTRACT: Oil Exploration and Development in Marib/Al Jawf Basin, Yemen Arab Republic, by Ian D. Maycock; #91030 (2010)

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Oil Exploration and Development in Marib/Al Jawf Basin, Yemen Arab Republic

Ian D. Maycock

In 1981, Yemen Hunt Oil Company (YHOC) negotiated a production-sharing agreement covering 12,600 km2 in the northeast part of the Yemen Arab Republic. A reconnaissance seismic program of 1,864 km acquired in 1982 revealed the presence of a major half graben, designated the Marib/Al Jawf basin by YHOC. A sedimentary section up to 18,000 ft thick has been recognized. Geologic field mapping identified Jurassic carbonates covered by Cretaceous sands overlying Permian glaciolacustrine sediments, Paleozoic sandstones, or Precambrian basement.

The first well, Alif-1, drilled in 1984, aimed at a possible Jurassic carbonate objective, encountered hydrocarbon-bearing sands in the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition between 5,000 and 6,000 ft. Appraisal and development drilling followed. The Alif field is believed to contain in excess of 400 million bbl of recoverable oil. Subsequent wildcat drilling has located additional accumulations while further amplifying basin stratigraphy.

Rapid basin development took place in the Late Jurassic culminating with the deposition of Tithonian salt. The evaporites provide an excellent seal for hydrocarbons apparently sourced from restricted basin shales and trapped in rapidly deposited clastics.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91030©1988 AAPG Annual Convention, Houston, Texas, 20-23 March 1988.