Abstract: Super-Giant Oil Fields and Future Prospects in the Middle East

Louis Christian

Upper Jurassic carbonates, Lower Cretaceous sands, Lower Cretaceous carbonates and Tertiary carbonates of the Middle East contain more than 50 percent of the worlds oil. Our area of interest covers SE Turkey and Syria in the north to the borders of Yemen and Oman in the south, and from the Red Sea across Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and the Arabian/Persian Gulf to Iran in the East. There are over 80 fields in this region with over I billion barrels of recoverable reserves. Yet only around 30,000 wells have been drilled in this territory. Regional structure and stratigraphy are discussed within the context of three major plays in the region as well as a new play in the Permo-Carboniferous.

Numerous opportunities are available and countries such as Iraq and Iran may one day open their doors more to the industry than is presently the case. The dramatic petroleum geology of the region will stamp its influence on the nature of business and opportunities for years to come. While fiscal systems here already offer some of the toughest terms in the world, future deals in the more prolific areas will be even tougher. But, the economies of Middle Eastern scale will provide some of the great mega-opportunities of future international exploration.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90960©1995 AAPG Southwest Section Meeting, Dallas, Texas