Petroleum Geology of the Major Producing Basins of Algeria

A. Attar, A. Chaouch

The South Atlas flexure divides Algeria into two contrasting geologic provinces: (1) the Saharan Atlas and offshore region in the north, both of which are part of the Mediterranean basin, and (2) the Saharan platform on the south, part of the North African craton. The limits of the various sedimentary basins on the Saharan platform are tied to late Paleozoic (Hercynian) crustal reactivation. Comparable structurally controlled basins in northern Algeria are the products of Mesozoic-Recent tectonism.

The spatial and temporal distribution of hydrocarbons in the Algerian Sahara can be understood in terms of the geologic evolution of the region. Analysis of areas of proven hydrocarbon reserves permits the following generalizations. (1) There is a concentration of oil and gas fields northeast of a northwest-southeast-trending line connecting Hassi R'Mel with In Amenas. Production is also established in the Sbaa basin and in northern Algeria, where recent discoveries have been made in, respectively, upper Paleozoic and Mesozoic reservoirs. (2) Hydrocarbons are present throughout the entire sedimentary column, but major production currently is restricted to the lower Paleozoic (Cambrian-Ordovician and Lower Devonian) and Triassic reservoirs.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91032©1988 Mediterranean Basins Conference and Exhibition, Nice, France, 25-28 September 1988.