--> Abstract: Multidisciplinary Biostratigraphy for Exploration in Oman and the Rubh' al Khali: Improved Understanding of Surface/Subsurface and Regional Play Development in Pre-Khuff Reservoirs, by Michael H. Stephenson, Lucia Angiolini, Randall A. Penney, Uzma Mohiuddin, and Gordon Forbes; #90039 (2005)
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Multidisciplinary Biostratigraphy for Exploration in Oman and the Rubh' al Khali: Improved Understanding of Surface/Subsurface and Regional Play Development in Pre-Khuff Reservoirs

Michael H. Stephenson1, Lucia Angiolini2, Randall A. Penney3, Uzma Mohiuddin4, and Previous HitGordonTop Forbes4
1 British Geological Survey, Nottingham, United Kingdom
2 Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy
3 Reservoir Laboratories & Co. LLC, c/o Petroleum Development Oman, Muscat, Oman
4 Petroleum Development Oman, Muscat, Oman

The Carboniferous -Permian Al Khlata, Gharif and Unayzah clastic reservoirs in Oman and Saudi Arabia and their equivalents in Iran, Qatar, Bahrain and UAE occur over one million square km and contain billions of barrels of oil, gas and condensate. Recent concession awards in the Rubh' al Khali, a buoyant oil price, and new interest in the Palaeozoic elsewhere in the Gulf area mean that exploration is likely to add more hydrocarbon reserves to the region. However much of this pre Khuff sequence in the Rubh' al Khali is difficult to image seismically, and lithostratigraphic and log correlation is often difficult in the subsurface, where rapid lateral facies changes are common. Also correlation between surface outcrops of eastern Oman and the subsurface has been difficult because of lack of palynological yield in the surface. Recent breakthroughs, notably in palynology and brachiopod studies (including Strontium isotope study of brachiopod shells) have enabled (1) detailed regional subsurface correlation, (2) regional timeslice facies maps for parts of the stratigraphy (3) correlation between surface and subsurface, (4) absolute dating of palaeontological biozones, and (5) dating of important sequence stratigraphic horizons. Regional correlation and timeslice facies maps enable better understanding of potential plays throughout the Oman and Rubh' al Khali region, while surface/subsurface correlation allows better understanding of reservoir architecture since models developed at the surface can be extended into the subsurface. Absolute dates and wider sequence stratigraphic correlation allows sequences to be placed within the framework of tectonic events of the Tethyan region.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90039©2005 AAPG Calgary, Alberta, June 16-19, 2005