Hydrocarbons Potential of the Tindouf Basin (Algeria)

F.Belhameche and N. Saadallah
SONATRACH/EXPLORATION, Boumerdes, Algeria

The Tindouf basin is located in the western south part of Algeria, it forms an extensive depression oriented E-W. It's an asymmetrical pericratonic type basin having a southern flank with a gentle dip and an uplifted and strongly structured northern flank where more than 6,000 m of Paleozoic sediments are deposited in the axial portion. Tindouf basin is marked by strong geothermal gradients, but comparable to those in the Reggane and Ahnet basins where major gas discoveries have been made. This huge and unknown basin is the least explored basin in the Saharian platform, covering a surface area of more than 130,000 km². Only eleven wells (one well per 12,000 km²) have been drilled from 1956 to 1971, and exhibited only oil and gas shows in the Ordovician and Devonian sandstone reservoirs. Knowing that, more than 60 % of the DST tests carried out in these wells were failed; therefore, the territory is greatly underexplored. Given the negligible drilling density, in addition, the low density of the very old seismic data has been found inaccurate with regard to the geometry structures and the faults orientation. Thus, the hydrocarbons potential of the basin cannot be underestimated only on the base of the “negative results” of these wells, which are not representative of this vast area. The aim of this study is to illustrate the hydrocarbon potential of this basin, and point up the exploration opportunities in this area.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90072 © 2007 AAPG and AAPG European Region Conference, Athens, Greece