Paleozoic Hydrocarbon

Habitat in the Arabian

Plate
Abdulkader M. Afifi
Saudi Aramco
 Acknowledgements

z AAPG
z Saudi Aramco: Tom Connally, Dan Evans, John
Filatoff, Said Al-Hajri, M. Dia Mahmoud, Jim
McGillivray, Abdulla Al-Naim, Paul Nicholson.
z Shell: Geert Konert
z Petroleum Development Oman: Henk Droste
z ExxonMobil
z Gulf Petrolink: Moujahed Husseini
 Outline

z Paleozoic tectonics
z Paleozoic stratigraphy
z Hercynian deformation
z Hydrocarbon Systems
z Summary
Main Tectonic Elements of the Arabian Plate
Caspian
N. Iran suture

Palmyra
Inversion zone Alpine suture

Tertiary Basalt Hercynian

mobile zones
Stable
platform Volcanic arc

Fold-thrust belt
Precambrian
Shield Ophiolite

Red
Sea
Mesozoic Infracambrian
Graben salt basin
Arabian Sea
Paleozoic Continental Drift
 Caspian

Structure
Top
Crystalline 10

Basement
8

4
2

Arabian
Shield

Red
Sea

Arabian Sea
 Outline

z Paleozoic tectonics
¾ Paleozoic stratigraphy
z Hercynian deformation
z Hydrocarbon Systems
z Summary
 Caspian

Structure
2
Top
Crystaline 10

Basement
8

6 1

4
2

Arabian
Shield
3

Red
Sea

Arabian Sea
Stratigraphy of Central Arabian Plate
West East

Carbonates &
Evaporites
Hercynian Orogeny

Marine
Sands Marine
Shales

Continental
Clastics
Evaporites
Marine
Carbonates
Stratigraphy of Northern Arabian Plate
Stratigraphy of Southern Arabian Plate
North South

Marine
shales
Marine
Sands

Continental
Clastics
 Infracambrian Salt Basin in Rub’ al Khali
Basin, Southern Saudi Arabia
TWT
0.0

t. Cretaceous
1.0

t. Jurassic

2.0
t. Permian

b. Silurian

3.0 b. Cambrian

Crystalline
4.0 Salt Basement

50 km
 Carbonates &
evaporites
Carbonates

Continental clastics

Evaporites

Middle
Cambrian
Environments
of Deposition
 Cambrian Siq Sandstone
(Nabatean Tomb, NW Saudi Arabia)
 Caspian

Continental, deltaic
& shallow marine
clastics Marine shales

Continental clastics

Marine sands

Late
Cambrian Red
Sea

Environments Indian Ocean

of Deposition
 Caspian Caspian

Middle
Ordovician
Environments
of Deposition Marine Shale

(Hanadir maximum flood)

Red
Sea

Arabian Sea Indian Ocean

 Upper Ordovician Sarah Formation
Filling Tunnel Valley, NW Saudi Arabia
 Upper Ordovician Sarah Formation
Filling Tunnel Valley, NW Saudi Arabia
 Caspian

Continental clastics &

volcanics

Marine carbonates

Marine shales

Red
Early Silurian
Environments of
Sea

Indian Ocean
Deposition
 Devonian
Environments
Caspian

Continental
clastics ? of Deposition
Marine clastics &
carbonates

Devonian
mobile belt

Red
Sea Marine shales

Indian Ocean
Deltaic & shallow
marine sands
Devonian Jauf & Jubah Formations
Northern Saudi Arabia

Jubah

Murayr

Hammamiyat

Subbat
 Subcrop
beneath
Caspian

Hercynian
Carboniferous
?
Silurian

Devonian
Cambrian -
Mid Ordovician

Upper
Ordovician

Basement Red
Sea

Indian Ocean
Upper Carboniferous (Post-Hercynian)
Khalata Tillite, South Oman
 Caspian
Early Permian
Environments
of Deposition

? Marine Sands

Hercynian
High
Marine
Carbonates

Red
Sea

Arabian Sea
Continental
Clastics
 Caspian
Late Permian
Environments
of Deposition

Shelf edge carbonates

Mixed
Deep Marine
carbonates
Evaporites

Shallow marine
carbonates

Continental
Arabian Sea
Clastics
 Outline

z Paleozoic tectonics
z Paleozoic stratigraphy
¾ Hercynian deformation
z Hydrocarbon Systems
z Summary
Cross Section – Arabian Shield to Qatar
 Longitudinal Section – Oman Basins
(Hercynian Inversion)

South North
Depth Devonian Tertiary
(km)

Cretaceous
2 Ordovician/ U. Permian
Cambrian Ordovician
4 PC
salt t
sem en Ordovician/
Ba Cambrian
6

8
 Cross Section: Jordan-Turkey

South JORDAN SYRIA

Depth
(km)
Sirhan
Graben

0 Silurian
Silurian
n
2 rd ovicia
U. Cambrian M-U O
L. Cambrian
4 Basement

6
SYRIA TURKEY North
Euphrates
Graben

Carboniferous Tertiary 0
Cretaceous
2
M-U Ordovician
4
U. Cambrian Permian
Triassic
Devonian 6
 Hercynian Erosion
(Permian - base Silurian Isopach)

0 100
Km

thin
0

1000
Silurian
2000 completely
3000 eroded
4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

10000

11000
11156

thick
Hercynian Caspian

Mega
Structures
?

Red
Sea

Indian Ocean
 Upper Permian Structure: Ghawar Area
Dammam
dome
N

50 km
 Southwest Ghawar Flank

Time Structure Coherency

Base Silurian
 Southwest Ghawar Flank

Time Structure Coherency

Permian

Base Silurian
 Ghawar:
Permian Khuff
Structure
 Outline

z Paleozoic tectonics
z Paleozoic stratigraphy
z Hercynian deformation
¾ Hydrocarbon Systems
z Summary
 Caspian

Paleozoic Devonian

Petroleum
Systems
Silurian /
Carboniferous
U. Permian
Khuff

Ordovician
Ordovician Reservoir Age

Silurian
Source

Ordovician
Precambrian - Early
Red
Source Permian
Sea
Cambrian
Paleozoic to Permian
Reservoir Arabian Sea
 Silurian Hydrocarbon System
High Relief
Hercynian Structures
0-

5,000 -
12,000 -
Triassic shale (regional seal)

Late Permian evapo-carbonates (Khuff)

15,000 - Permo-Carboniferous sandstone (Unayzah)

Hercynian Unconformity
Devonian sandstone (Jauf)

Silurian shale (source rock)

Cambro-Ordovician clastics
20,000 -
Precambrian basement
 Silurian Hydrocarbon System
High Relief Low Relief
Hercynian Structures Hercynian Structures
0-

5,000 -
12,000 -

Triassic shale
Khuff
Unayzah
15,000 -
Hercynian
Unconformity
Devonian

Silurian shale

20,000 -
Basement
Truncation Traps Along the Flanks of High
Relief Hercynian Structure: Mazalij

TWT

Jurassic
1.0

1.2

1.4

1.6 Triassic

1.8
Permian Khuff

2.0 Base Khuff

Hercynian
Unconformity
2.2

Base Silurian
2.4
Precambrian HC System:
Haima Gas Plays in Oman
Precambrian Oil Plays
South Oman Salt Basin
 Summary

z Multi-company collaboration has significantly

improved our understanding of the Paleozoic in the
Arabian Plate.
z The Carboniferous Hercynian orogeny was the key
to shaping the Paleozoic hydrocarbon habitat.
z Two styles of Hercynian deformation:
z Regional sags & swells
z Basement horsts
z Two independent hydrocarbon systems:
Precambrian and Silurian.
z Silurian has high potential: USGS estimates it
generated 808 TCF and 37 billion barrels of
conventional resources.
z Key challenges to Paleozoic exploration are seismic
imaging and predicting reservoir quality.