--> ABSTRACT: A Re-Evaluation of the Trapping Potential of the Zagros Foldbelt, by R. J. Hooper and I. R. Baron; #91021 (2010)

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A Re-Evaluation of the Trapping Potential of the Zagros Foldbelt

HOOPER, ROBERT J., and IAN R. BARON

The prolific Zagros orogen contains a classic foreland fold-thrust belt, analogous to many others around the world. As such, a wide range of trapping mechanisms can expected -- far more than are currently recognized. Models for the development of the Zagros adopted prior to the 1990s do not benefit from recent work on the development of Tethys or on the structural and stratigraphic architecture of fold belts.

Two distinct periods of shortening are now recognized in the Zagros - Late Cretaceous and Neogene. The first was primarily restricted to the Arabian Platform margin. involving ophiolite emplacement, folding/faulting of the adjacent foreland and the development of a foredeep in which synorogenic sediments accumulated. Paleozoic and Mesozoic source intervals achieved thermal maturity as a result of the associated burial and traps formed at this time were probably charged. The Neogene shortening, derived from continent-continent collision, formed a classic orogenic belt of which the Zagros Foreland Fold and Thrust Belt is an integral part. The Neogene event and its associated foreland basin succession thermally matured younger source beds and further matured deeper, Paleozoic and Mesozoic sources. It also modified, and in places breached, pre existing traps, allowing the early-formed hydrocarbons to migrate to shallower levels.

Early discoveries targeted shallow traps identified by surface geological mapping. The seismic data subsequently acquired had limited coverage and was generally of low resolution. Interpretations were made largely without the benefit of many of the modem concepts of fold-thrust belt geometry. consequently, comparatively few of the varied structural and stratigraphic trapping styles now known to exist in other fold-thrust belts have been tested in the Zagros. Since the 1970s, detailed structural analysis has been limited, although some workers now recognize the need for improved structural model and stratigraphic models. Considerable potential may therefore exist in the Zagros fold-belt as additional structural and stratigraphic traps are identified and tested.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91021©1997 AAPG Annual Convention, Dallas, Texas.