--> Abstract: Buried Mesozoic Riff Basins of Moroccan Atlantic Continental Margin, by M. Nahim, H. Jabour, and M. El Mostaine; #90956 (1995).

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Abstract: Buried Mesozoic Riff Basins of Moroccan Atlantic Continental Margin

Mohamed Nahim, Haddou Jabour, M'Hamed El Mostaine

The Atlantic continental margin is the largest frontier area for oil and gas exploration in Morocco. Most of the activity has been concentrated where Upper Jurassic carbonate rocks have been

the drilling objectives, with only one significant but non commercial oil discovery.

Recent exploration activities have focused on early Mesozoic Rift basins are of interest because they post-rift sediments of the Midle Atlantic coastal plain. Many of these basins are of interest because they contain fine-grained lacustrine rocks that have sufficient organic richness to be classified as efficient oil prone source rock.

Location of inferred rift basins beneath the Atlantic coastal plain were determined by analysis of drilled-hole data in combination with gravity anomaly and aeromagnetic maps. These rift basins are charactarized by several half graben filled by synrift sediments of Triassic age probably deposited in lacustrine environment. Coeval rift basins are known to be present in the U.S Atlantic continental margin.

Basin modeling suggested that many of the less deeply buried rift basins beneath the coastal plain are still within the oil window and present the most attractive exploration targets in the area.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90956©1995 AAPG International Convention and Exposition Meeting, Nice, France