Integrated G&G Evaluation to Constrain Glacial Paleo-Topography, Sarah Formation, Saudi Arabia

Ashraf Khalil*, Goeffrey Pike**, Alain Jourdan, and Pieter Van Mastrigt
SRAK, Saudi Arabia
*[email protected]
**[email protected]

Glacial topography of the Ordovician Sarah Formation in the South Rub’ Al-Khali Basin is an important factor for prospectivity assessments as it influences reservoir distribution and hydrocarbon migration. Analogue models are known from North Africa and Arabian outcrop areas but little attention, as yet, has been given to subsurface implications for hydrocarbon exploration in the South Rub’ Al-Khali Basin. Within the exploration areas of the South Rub Al-Khali Company (SRAK) in Saudi Arabia, indications for such topography can be seen on 2-D seismic lines. Additional integration of well and potential field datasets and actual geometries measured in outcrop enabled the construction of a 3-D model of glacial topography for the South Rub’ Al-Khali Basin. This 3-D model can be used to assess the likelihood for a variety of trapping configurations that may be prospective for hydrocarbon exploration. The presentation will discuss actual subsurface examples from the South Rub’ Al-Khali Basin.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90077©2008 GEO 2008 Middle East Conference and Exhibition, Manama, Bahrain