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Paleozoic Hydrocarbon Habitat in the Arabian Plate*

By

Abdulkader M. Afifi1

 

Search and Discovery Article #10075 (2005)

Posted January 26, 2005

 

*Adapted from AAPG Distinguished Lecture, 2004. Online adaptation of the presentation of ãGhawar: The Anatomy of the Worldâs Largest Oil Field,ä the other AAPG Distinguished Lecture presented by the author in 2004, is also posted on Search and Discovery.

 

1Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia ([email protected])

 

Abstract

The Paleozoic section became prospective during the seventies following discovery of oil in Oman and delineation of the enormous gas reserves in the Khuff Formation. Exploration has since targeted the Paleozoic section throughout the Middle East and has resulted in major oil and gas discoveries in Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Our improved knowledge of the Paleozoic geology is a direct outcome of these activities.  

The Paleozoic section in Arabia was deposited along the continental margin of Gondwana in predominantly clastic environments that ranged from continental near the Arabian Shield to outer shelf in Previous HitIranNext Hit and Syria. Carbonate deposition became dominant during the Permian opening of the Neo-Tethys. Six megasequences are recognized, separated by regional unconformities. The paleo-environments ranged from arid to glacial, reflecting the drift and rotation of the region during the Paleozoic from equatorial to high southern latitudes and back.  

Rifting during the Late Precambrian initially formed salt basins in Oman and the Arabian Gulf region. Subsequently, the Cambro-Ordovician clastic sequences were deposited over a leveled continental platform. However, during Late Ordovician, this margin probably separated into two terranes along the Zagros suture zone. The Hercynian orogeny during the Carboniferous caused widespread intraplate deformation, including broad upwarps in Egypt, Central Arabia, northern Syria, and Oman, which underwent extensive erosion. Another manifestation of the Hercynian deformation are transpressional basement horsts in Eastern Arabia that host the major oil and gas fields. The Hercynian deformation occurred in at least two pulses and probably resulted from collision along the northern margin of Gondwana. The Hercynian deformation was followed during the Permian by rifting and opening of the Neo-Tethys along the Zagros fault zone and deposition of Khuff carbonates and evaporates along the new passive margin.  

Two Previous HitpetroleumNext Hit Previous HitsystemsNext Hit are recognized, sourced by rocks of Precambrian and Silurian age. The Silurian Previous HitpetroleumNext Hit system is sourced by the Qusaiba hot shales which extend over large areas in the Arabian plate. The hydrocarbons are trapped in Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, and Permo-Carboniferous sandstone reservoirs except in high relief structures, where the upward propagation of basement faults has breached seals, allowing charge into the Permian carbonate reservoirs. The Paleozoic hydrocarbon system is oil-prone along the basin margin in Central Arabia but is predominantly gas-prone elsewhere due to the deep burial of the source rocks. It is estimated by USGS to have generated mean recoverable conventional resources of 37 billion barrels of oil and 808 trillion cubic feet of gas. In Arabia, the Paleozoic hydrocarbons are ultimately sealed by the thick Triassic shales that prevented any mixing with Mesozoic hydrocarbons.  

The Precambrian source rocks have been proven to be effective in the interior salt basins of Oman, where they have charged Precambrian, Paleozoic, and Mesozoic reservoirs along faults and salt diapirs. The Hercynian uplift of Oman largely removed the Silurian source rocks and effectively saved the Precambrian source rocks from excess burial.  

The main challenges to exploration and development are: (1) the difficulties in seismic imaging of the Paleozoic section due to multiples, seismic transparency, and near-surface problems; (2) the prediction of porosity in the tight, deeply buried reservoirs; and (3) the hostile subsurface environments.

 

 

uAbstract

uPaleozoic tectonics

  uFigures 1-3

uPaleozoic stratigraphy

  uFigures 4-21

uHercynian deformation

  uFigures 22-30

uHydrocarbon Previous HitsystemsNext Hit

  uFigures 31-36

uSummary

uAcknowledgments

uAbout the author

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

uAbstract

uPaleozoic tectonics

  uFigures 1-3

uPaleozoic stratigraphy

  uFigures 4-21

uHercynian deformation

  uFigures 22-30

uHydrocarbon Previous HitsystemsNext Hit

  uFigures 31-36

uSummary

uAcknowledgments

uAbout the author

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

uAbstract

uPaleozoic tectonics

  uFigures 1-3

uPaleozoic stratigraphy

  uFigures 4-21

uHercynian deformation

  uFigures 22-30

uHydrocarbon Previous HitsystemsNext Hit

  uFigures 31-36

uSummary

uAcknowledgments

uAbout the author

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

uAbstract

uPaleozoic tectonics

  uFigures 1-3

uPaleozoic stratigraphy

  uFigures 4-21

uHercynian deformation

  uFigures 22-30

uHydrocarbon Previous HitsystemsNext Hit

  uFigures 31-36

uSummary

uAcknowledgments

uAbout the author

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

uAbstract

uPaleozoic tectonics

  uFigures 1-3

uPaleozoic stratigraphy

  uFigures 4-21

uHercynian deformation

  uFigures 22-30

uHydrocarbon Previous HitsystemsNext Hit

  uFigures 31-36

uSummary

uAcknowledgments

uAbout the author

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

uAbstract

uPaleozoic tectonics

  uFigures 1-3

uPaleozoic stratigraphy

  uFigures 4-21

uHercynian deformation

  uFigures 22-30

uHydrocarbon Previous HitsystemsNext Hit

  uFigures 31-36

uSummary

uAcknowledgments

uAbout the author

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paleozoic Tectonics

Figure Captions (1-3)

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Paleozoic Tectonics 

The Arabian plate contains a wide range of tectonic elements, from Precambrian shield and Precambrian (Infracambrian) basin to Cenozoic fold-thrust belt, locally with ophiolite (Figure 1). During the Paleozoic, the plate was affected by drift and rotation that resulted in changes from equatorial to high southern latitudes and back to equatorial (at the end of the Triassic), with two periods of glaciation (Figure 2). Structure of the foredeep basin becomes increasingly complex toward the foldbelt(s) (Figure 3).

 

Paleozoic Stratigraphy

Figure Captions (4-21) 

Figure 4. Structure map as a location map for three regional diagrammatic stratigraphic cross-sections.

Figure 5. Diagrammatic east-west cross-section (1 in Figure 4), depicting generalized Paleozoic and Precambrian stratigraphy of the central Arabian plate, with key depositional environments of major units and locations of source rocks in the Silurian and Ordovician.

Figure 6. Diagrammatic south-north cross-section (2 in Figure 4), depicting generalized Paleozoic stratigraphy of the northern Arabian plate, with designation of key depositional environments as well as major units containing oil and gas reservoirs, source rock, and coal.

Figure 7. Diagrammatic northwest-southeast cross-section (3 in Figure 4), depicting generalized Paleozoic and Precambrian (Infracambrian) stratigraphy of the southern Arabian plate, with designation of key depositional environments as well as major units containing oil and gas reservoirs and source rock.

Figure 8. Infracambrian salt basin in Rubâ al Khali basin, southern Saudi Arabia, on regional seismic line.

Figure 9. Subcrop map of units, according to age, below Hercynian unconformity.

Figure 10. Middle Cambrian environments of deposition on the Arabian plate, with continental clastics as an east-west band south of widespread carbonates.

Figure 11. Cambrian Siq Sandstone at the site of a Nabatean tomb in Northwest Saudi Arabia.

Figure 12. Late Cambrian environments of deposition on the Arabian plate. Continental clastics deposited east of the shield were flanked by deltaic and shallow-marine clastics. Marine shales were deposited farther to the east.

Figure 13. Middle Ordovician environments of deposition on the Arabian plate (during Hanadir maximum flooding stage), with marine shale dominating the entire area.

Figure 14. Upper Ordovician periglacial Sarah Formation filling tunnel valley, northwest Saudi Arabia. Inset: pebble-cobble conglomerate at base.

Figure 15. Another view of Upper Ordovician Sarah Formation filling tunnel valley, northwest Saudi Arabia.

Figure 16. Early Silurian environments of deposition, showing widespread deposition of marine shales that are rich source rocks.

Figure 17. Devonian environments of deposition, with deltaic and shallow-marine sands south of marine shales in the south and marine clastics and carbonates in the north.

Figure 18. Devonian Jauf and Jubah formation, northern Saudi Arabia. Jauf consists of the Subbat, Hammamiyat and Murayr members.

Figure 19. Upper Carboniferous (post-Hercynian) Khalata Tillite, south Oman.

Figure 20. Early Permian environments of deposition, with continental clastics around a Hercynian high extending northeast from the easternmost part of the shield and a marine embayment in southern Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Figure 21. Late Permian environments of deposition. Evaporites are dominant, with an area of carbonates southeastern Saudi Arabia, UAE, and adjoining Arabian Gulf. 

Click to view sequence of environments, Middle Cambrian to Late Permian (Figures 10, 12, 13, 16, 17, 20, and 21 ).

 

Regional unconformities, with two related to the Carboniferous Hercynian orogeny, divide Paleozoic strata into megasequences (Figures 5, 6, and 7. Deposition before the orogeny was dominated by clastics, whereas Permian deposits are characterized by the Khuff carbonates and evaporites. Much earlier, Late Precambrian rifting resulted in salt basins in Oman and the Arabian Gulf region (Figure 8). Extensive erosion resulting from the Hercynian orogeny is reflected by the subcrop patterns below the pre-Late Carboniferous unconformity (Figure 9). 

Features of the Paleozoic stratigraphic section and interpretations of environments of deposition are illustrated in Figures 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21. Some of the more striking features may be summarized as follows: 

Widespread Middle Cambrian carbonates (Figure 10)

Widespread Middle Ordovician marine shales (Hanadir maximum flooding event) (Figure 13)

Upper Ordovician periglacial deposits (Figures 14 and 15)

Widespread Lower Silurian organic marine shale (Figure 16)

Upper Carboniferous (post-Hercynian) glacial deposits (Figure 19)

Lower Permian carbonates in the southern part of the Arabian plate (Figure 20)

Widespread Upper Permian evaporites (Figure 21)

 

Hercynian Deformation

Figure Captions (22-30)

Figure 22. Regional cross-section, Arabian shield to Arabian Gulf.

Figure 23. Longitudinal, regional south-north cross-section, Oman basins, showing Hercynian inversion).

Figure 24. Regional south-north cross-section, Jordan-Turkey.

Figure 25. Hercynian megastructures, with orientation of principal stresses and general areas most affected by the orogeny.

Figure 26. Isopach map, Permian ö base Silurian, illustrating Hercynian erosion. 

Click to view sequence of subcrop, isopach, and megastructure maps (Figures 9, 25, and 26).

Figure 27. Upper Permian structure, Ghawar area: 3-D representation.

Figure 28. Time structure and coherency, base Silurian, southwest flank, Ghawar.

Figure 29. Time structure and coherency, Permian and base Silurian, southwest flank, Ghawar.

Figure 30. Permian Khuff structure in 3-D representation, with maximum principal stress and associated, or derived, relative lateral (wrench) movement.

 

Regional cross-sections (Figures 22, 23, and 24), in addition to tectonic, structural, and subcrop maps (Figures 1, 3, and 9), illustrate the general structural patterns and features of the Arabian plate. Basement faults in the foredeep basin are well shown in Figure 22, and inversion of Precambrian and Paleozoic subsident areas in Oman and Syria are illustrated in Figures 23 and 24, respectively. The Hercynian orogeny resulted in intraplate broad upwarps in Oman and Central Arabia, and downwarp in northern Syria (Figure 25) and associated widespread erosion. On the Central Arabia upwarp, Silurian strata were completely eroded (Figure 26). Transpressional basement horsts in Eastern Arabia are the underlying structure for the traps of the giant oil and gas fields  (e.g., Ghawar÷Figures 27, 28, 29, and 30).

Hydrocarbon Previous HitSystemsNext Hit

 

Figure Captions (31-36) 

Figure 31. Map of Paleozoic Previous HitpetroleumNext Hit Previous HitsystemsNext Hit, showing location of the various reservoirs and the two main source rocks (Silurian and Precambrian).

Figure 32. Cross-section of high-relief Hercynian structure, as an important element of the Silurian hydrocarbon system.

Figure 33. Cross-section of low-relief Hercynian structure, for comparison with high-relief structure, both representative of the Silurian hydrocarbon system.

Figure 34. Seismic line along the flanks of a high-relief Hercynian structure (Mazalij), showing truncation traps.

Figure 35. Generalized cross-section through existing oil fields to illustrate Haima gas plays (Cambro-Ordovician) in Oman, as part of the Precambrian hydrocarbon system.

Figure 36. Precambrian oil plays, South Oman Salt basin.

 

Two hydrocarbon Previous HitsystemsNext Hit, based on source rock, have been identified: Silurian and Precambrian (Figure 31). The source for the former is the Qusaiba hot shales, which were deposited over large areas of the Arabian plate (Figures 16). The hydrocarbons are trapped in Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, and Permo-Carboniferous sandstone reservoirs and Permian carbonate reservoirs (Figures 32, 33, and 34). Except for Central Arabia, the system is gas-prone, due deep burial of the source rocks. The Precambrian source rocks have charged Precambrian, Paleozoic, and Mesozoic reservoirs in the interior salt basins of Oman (Figures 35 and 36).

 

Summary 

  • Multi-company collaboration has significantly improved our understanding of the Paleozoic in the Arabian plate.

  • The Carboniferous Hercynian orogeny was the key to shaping the Paleozoic hydrocarbon habitat.

  • Two styles of Hercynian deformation

    • Regional sags and swells

    • Basement horsts

  • Two independent hydrocarbon Previous HitsystemsNext Hit

    • Silurian

    • Precambrian

á        Silurian has high potential: USGS estimates it generated 808 TCF and 37 billion barrels of conventional resources.

  • Key challenges to Paleozoic exploration are seismic imaging and predicting reservoir quality.

 

Acknowledgments 

Acknowledgment and appreciation is expressed to: AAPG, Saudi Aramco (Tom Connally, Dan Evans, John Filatoff, Said Al-Hajri, M. Dia Mahmoud, Jim McGillivray, Abdulla Al-Naim, Paul Nicholson), Shell (Geert Konert), Previous HitPetroleumNext Hit Development Oman (Henk Droste), ExxonMobil, and Gulf Petrolink (Moujahed Husseini).

 

About the Author 

Dr. Abdulkader M. Afifi was educated in Saudi Arabia (B.S., University of Previous HitPetroleumTop and Minerals, 1977) and in the United States (M.S. Colorado School of Mines. 1981; Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1990).

 

His experience includes:

1980-86 = U.S. Geological Survey Mission, Saudi Arabia; Geological Mapping, Geochemical and Stable Isotopic Studies of the Mahd Adh Dhahab Gold District.

1991-Present - Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Several technical and supervisory positions in the Exploration Organization including Chief Explorationist and Chief Geologist. Currently, Senior Geological Consultant, Upstream Ventures Department. 

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