Late Cenozoic Structuring in Kuwait: Evidence and Wider Exploration and Production Implications

Bader Al-Ajmi¹*, Samar Al-Ashwak¹, Saif Tanoli¹, Fatima Al Kandari¹, Areej Al-Darmi¹, and Rob Crossley²**
¹KOC
²Fugro Robertson, UK
*[email protected]
**[email protected]

The role of Late Cenozoic stresses in forming trapping structures and in modifying produc-tion behaviour is well-established along the Zagros Fold front in Iraq and Iran. The extent to which Cenozoic stresses have affected structuring farther within the Arabian Plate is less clear. We present seismic and outcrop evidence for significant Late Cenozoic uplift of the Burgan structure in central Kuwait. Seismic data from the margins of the Burgan structure show uplift of the Umm Er Radhuma to Fars succession (Palaeocene to Miocene). This represents a modest reactivation of a structure that was largely defined in the Mesozoic. Outcrops show that much of the Cenozoic uplift occurred concurrently with deposition of the Wadi Batin fan gravel sheets (Miocene to Pleistocene). The southern margin of the gravel sheet adjacent to the Burgan structure has been uplifted tens of metres relative to de-posits in equivalent radial positions on the fan. Regional information and Kuwait outcrop data suggest that the Late Cenozoic uplift of the Burgan structure was either synchronous with, or immediately posted-dated, uplift of the margins of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. This raises the possibility that lithosphere intra-plate stresses generated by Arabian Plate margin uplift played a role in this structuring. This in turn implies that Late Cenozoic movement on appropriately oriented structures could be widespread across much of the Arabian Plate. Kuwait’s giant Burgan field, for example, lies on a structural trend that con-tinues southwards into Saudi Arabia. Such Late Cenozoic structures may be of modest am-plitude, but their significance could range from trivial to substantial, depending upon the local exploration context and on the production geology of the specific fields affected.

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