Oman Geology

Introduction
The Sultanate of Oman is located on the south-eastern edge of the Arabian plate,
close to boundaries with the Indian, African and Iranian plates. The Omani region of
the Arabian (originally the African) plate has been the subject of major tectonic
episodes during the Pre-Cambrian (Pan African events) and in the Late Cretaceous
and Tertiary.
These latter events were the result of the plate tectonic interactions which initiated
the separation of the Arabian plate from the African plate and the collision of the
Arabian and Eurasian plates. As a consequence, the sedimentary basins of Oman
exhibit complex structural and depositional histories and a distinct variety of
petroleum plays.
The proven and prospective petroleum resources of Oman are contained in eight
discrete basins or sub-basins which, in the cases of the salt basins, are generally
discriminated on the basis of their Palaeozoic stratigraphy and structure. These are:
 Rub al Khali Basin (comprising of Central, West, South Oman and Huqf Sub-basins)

 Oman Mountains Foldbelt Basin (comprising of Oman Foreland and Musandam

Sub-basins)

 Masirah Basin

 Jiza - Qamar Basin

The Central, West and South Oman Sub-basins and the Oman Foreland Sub-basin are
the country's main producing basins.
The prospective sedimentary section in Oman ranges in age from Proterozoic to
Recent. The older, Pre-Cambrian to Early Palaeozoic section is dominated by
sequences of clastic rocks, whilst the Permian through Tertiary section consists
predominantly of carbonates.
From the Late Permian onwards the sedimentary basins of central and southern
Oman lay within the southernmost part of the Arabian Basin, which extends over
most of the Arabian Peninsula. In the north, the area of the Oman Mountains and the
Gulf of Oman is located within the Oman-Zagros Trough, which was affected by
severe folding and over-thrusting during the Late Cretaceous and Tertiary.
Most of the oil and gas discovered to date has been in the salt basins of central and
southern Oman. Traps are primarily structural in origin and have been formed by a
variety of mechanisms, including episodic halokinesis (doming) of Cambrian salt, salt
withdrawal (dissolution) and periods of extensional tectonics (rifting) and of
compression (in the period of formation of the Oman Mountains during the Tertiary).
The majority of the larger field structures are fault traps and anticlines, often
developed as a result of inversions created by salt withdrawal. Discoveries have also
been made in more sophisticated, smaller scale structural traps and in combination
stratigraphic-structural traps, again commonly associated with dissolution of
Cambrian salt.
Oil and gas has been discovered in reservoir units ranging in age from late Pre-
Cambrian to Middle Cretaceous. The most important clastic reservoir sequences are
those of the Middle Cambrian Haima Group. The most prolific carbonate reservoirs
are found in the Natih formation of the Middle Cretaceous Wasia Group.
Well productivity is a key uncertainty in the older (Pre-Cambrian and Palaeozoic)
reservoir sequences, particularly in the deeper parts of the salt basins where the
reservoir horizons are buried to depths in excess of six kilometres. The proven
source rocks for the oil and gas accumulations of Oman range in age from
Proterozoic to Middle Cretaceous and have been mature for oil generation in the
deeper basinal areas, since Ordovician times. Shales of source rock quality are also
present in the Middle Tertiary, but have been found to be immature for oil generation.

Oman Sedimentary Basins Map

Oman Generalised Stratigraphy
Regional Tectonic Framework
In plate tectonic terms, Oman lies on the south-eastern margin of the Arabian plate
which, throughout the Pre-Cambrian to the Mesozoic era, formed part of the palaeo
African plate. Active tectonism on the African plate, during the late Pre-Cambrian
and Early Cambrian (the latest Pan African event) resulted in the formation of a
series of extensional basins which contain some of the principal source rocks and
reservoir sequences of Oman. The basin fill comprises a series of interbedded
clastics and carbonates overlain by widespread deposits of halite and other
evaporites.
De-construction of the African plate began in the early Mesozoic (Triassic to
Jurassic) with the creation of the Neo-Tethys palaeo-ocean and separation of the
Iranian segment from the remainder of the African plate. The most significant series
of tectonic events affecting the Omani section of the plate margin occurred in the
Late Cretaceous and continued intermittently through to the present day. During the
Late Cretaceous a constructive plate margin (spreading ocean ridge) developed in
the Indian Ocean which propagated to form the Gulf of Aden and initiated the
opening of the Red Sea rift. As a consequence, during the Eocene, the Arabian plate
began to separate from the main body of the African plate.
As the Neo-Tethys ocean began to close with the formation of subduction zones on
its northern margins, Late Cretaceous ophiolites (sea floor) were obducted onto the
continental crust of northern Oman. The prevailing relative plate motions in the Late
Cretaceous and Early Tertiary eventually resulted in collision of the north eastern
edge of the Arabian plate with the Eurasian plate, during the Eocene. As a
consequence of this collision and subsequent adjustments on the plate margin, a
thrust and fold belt was created which formed the mountain range of northern Oman
and the related foreland basin.
The traps which form the productive oil fields of Oman are highly varied in origin and
range from simple drapes over salt diapirs, to complex 'turtleback' anticlines
developed as a result of salt withdrawal, and truncation traps rimming major pods of
inverted post-salt strata (again as a result of salt withdrawal). There is also a wide
variety of combination structural-stratigraphic traps which include reef build-ups,
erosional truncations and lateral facies changes.
Close to the Oman Mountain front (particularly in the Foreland Sub-basin and the
northern parts of the Central Oman Sub-basin) most of the traps are structural and
are related to the tectonic episodes which built the Oman mountains and created the
Oman Foreland Sub-basin. Initial transverse and normal faults, created during the
Late Cretaceous phase of obduction, were variably inverted close to the thrust front
as a result of the Miocene compression.
Major Petroleum Plays
The petroleum reservoirs of Oman are contained within five primary sedimentary
sequences:
 Pre-Cambrian Huqf Group,

 Cambro-Ordovician Haima Group,

 Permo-Carboniferous Haushi Group,

 Early Cretaceous Shuaiba formation, and

 Middle Cretaceous Natih formation.

These formations contain almost all the proven oil and gas reserves in Oman. Other
less significant reservoir zones have been identified in Permian carbonates (Khuff
formation), Jurassic sandstones and carbonates (Mafraq formation) and Eocene
limestones (Umm er Radhuma formation).
Huqf Group
The Huqf Group is comprised predominantly of continental clastics with occasional
marine interbeds. Sandstone reservoirs of the constituent Abu Mahara formation
exhibit generally poor porosities of less than 5%, whilst those of the carbonate
reservoirs of the Middle Huqf formation are in the range 5-10%. The most important
reservoirs lie close to the top of the Huqf Group and are thin limestones and
dolomites within the Ara evaporite sequence.
Haima Group
Reservoirs of the Haima Group are prospective around the margins of the South
Oman Sub-basin and the Ghaba Salt Basin. The reservoir sands are primarily of
fluvio-deltaic origins with occasional aeolian deposits. Reservoir quality is
dependent on burial depth and primary lithofacies, most critically the content of
detrital clays, which when diagenetically altered at depth, substantially reduce
permeability.
Within the Haima Group the Ahman, Mahwis, Ghudun and Safiq formations exhibit the
best reservoir quality with porosity in the range 15-30%. The Haradh and Karim
formations generally contain poorer reservoirs, with porosities in the range 10-20%
and 5-15% respectively. The Barik member and Miqrat formation are notable for
containing vast gas resources at the likes of Saih Rawl and Khazzan fields, however
typically feature very low permeability.
Haushi Group
The reservoirs of the Haushi Group are contained within two formations - the Al
Khlata and Gharif formations. The Al Khlata formation is glacio-lacustrine in origin
and comprises laterally extensive sandstones with thin shale interbeds. Reservoir
quality is largely depth dependent, with the formation of quartz overgrowth cements
progressively reducing permeability. The reservoir sands commonly exhibit porosity
in the range 20-30% and permeability in the range 0.1-15 mD. Reservoir performance
is occasionally enhanced by fracturing in response to salt withdrawal.
Reservoir sands within the Gharif formation are fluvial to shallow marine in origin.
The sands of the lower Gharif are predominantly shallow marine and laterally
continuous in character. The middle Gharif contains finer, silty sandstones, which
are separated and sealed from the deltaic sequences of the upper Gharif by a thick
intra-formational claystone. The upper Gharif is characterised by prominent fluvial
channel sands, which often form stacked reservoir bodies.
Porosity in the coarser upper Gharif sands is generally in the range 10-19%, with
permeability of several tens of millidarcies. The silty sandstones of the middle Gharif
commonly exhibit porosities of ca. 20%, but poor permeabilities.
The lower Gharif reservoirs are commonly in vertical communication with the upper
sands of the underlying Al Khlata formation and sealed by the Haushi Limestone
Member. The upper Gharif reservoirs are often capped by the basal carbonates of the
Khuff formation.
Khuff Formation
Deposition of the Khuff formation represents the development of a stable carbonate
platform across the Arabian Peninsula during the Middle Permian. It represents a
less prominent reservoir zone in Oman than in neighbouring UAE and Qatar, but
remains a significant secondary target. In the giant Yibal field it forms a secondary
oil and gas reservoir.
The Khuff formation comprises oolitic/peloidal limestones and dolomites, which
commonly exhibit high oomoldic and/or intercrystalline porosity (ca. 20%). The Khuff
reservoir contains five reservoir zones, each of which exhibit significant lateral
variations in pay thickness and reservoir quality. Permeability is highly variable,
ranging from less than 1mD to over 100 mD. Several good intra-formational seals
have been recognised in the Khuff formation, in particular anhydrites or anhydritic
dolomites.
Shuaiba Formation
The reservoirs of the Shuaiba formation comprise porous chalky or reefal limestones,
which in the Yibal field exhibit very high porosity (20-42%). Such high preserved
porosity is believed to be a result of the trap being filled with oil soon after
deposition and consequent preservation of primary pore space. However, matrix
permeability is moderate, up to 50mD.
In some field examples the Shuaiba formation reefs have been subject to a period of
emergence which enhanced primary reservoir quality prior to the deposition of the
sealing shales of the Nahr Umr formation.
Natih Formation
The Natih formation carbonates form the most prolific reservoir units in Oman. These
comprise bioclastic limestones in shoals or aprons or as reefal build-ups, in which
reservoir quality has often been improved by fracturing or fresh water leaching. The
formation is divided into seven members (A-G from youngest to oldest), each of
which contains reservoir units. Of these units A, C and E are the most prolific oil and
gas bearing zones.
The individual reservoir zones within the Natih formation are sealed by intra-
formational shales and the total sequence is overlain by the thick shales of the Fiqa
formation. Porosity in the Natih formation is generally high (17-36%), and
permeability is highly variable. Matrix permeability ranges from 0.1 mD in the poorer,
low energy facies to 1,000 mD in the reefs and higher energy shoal deposits.
Reservoir quality is occasionally enhanced by fracturing in association with salt
withdrawal (dissolution). This can develop thin streaks of very high permeability, up
to 3,000 mD.

Source Rocks and Petroleum Type

Five geochemically distinct oil types have been identified in the basins of Oman.
These distinct oil characteristics have been correlated to source rock sequences in
the following stratigraphic intervals:
 Pre-Cambrian Huqf Group (two oil types, the second of which, the 'Q type',
remains tentatively attributed to an, as yet undetermined, source horizon within
the group),

 Silurian Safiq formation (in the western Oman extension of the Rub Al Khali
Basin),

 Jurassic Diyab formation (in north western Oman), and

 Middle Cretaceous Natih formation (in the northern part of the Central Oman Sub-
basin).

In general, these source rocks have generated oils, which are low in sulphur, low in
wax and of relatively high API gravity (26-50° API). In some of the shallower field
reservoirs, oils have been subjected to progressive biodegradation, with the result
that several accumulations contain heavy (<20° API), low sulphur crudes.
Moderately heavy (25-30° API), sulphurous (1.5-2% sulphur) crudes, which occur at
depth in parts of southern Oman are believed to have been sourced from the Huqf
formation. Oils sourced from the Huqf formation in the South and Central Oman Sub-
basins and the Oman Foreland Sub-basin show distinct geochemical characteristics,
which are believed to reflect discrete source rock types within the Huqf Group in
each of these regions.
The salt basins of central and southern Oman have undergone a very complex burial
history, during which the Pre-Cambrian source rocks have been generating oil and/or
gas in several phases between the Ordovician and the present day. These older
source rocks have been shown to have commonly charged younger Jurassic and
Cretaceous reservoirs. Such an outcome has required long distance oil migration
beneath the Cambrian salt. Ongoing subsidence and normal faulting permitted the
migrating petroleum to reach Cretaceous reservoirs on regional structural highs.

Exploration
Licensing
Licensing summary
Oman has a long licensing history, which began in 1925, when the Anglo-Persian Oil
Company carried out the first exploration in the country under a concession
agreement.
Oman currently awards licences through periodic licensing rounds and also through
direct negotiation. One historic concession exists in Oman, with its origins in the
1930s - PDO's Block 6. The size has gradually been reduced, with new acreage
created and awarded as separate production sharing agreements (EPSA).
The majority of licensing activity is onshore, but there are four offshore licences -
one of which is on production.
As licences expire, a recent trend has seen Oman's state owned OOCEP taking a full
or partial stake in the new licence. Examples include Block 9 in Oman which was
extended in 2015. OOCEP took a 45% stake in the new production licence. In 2019,
OOCEP took over operations at Block 8 in Musandam, following the relinquishment of
the licence.
Licensing rounds
Licensing rounds are held periodically, according to the level of available acreage
following relinquishments or newly created acreage through partial relinquishments
of existing acreage. Recent licensing rounds include:
 2019 licensing round will launch in mid-February and close in May. It includes six
blocks created following a partial relinquishment of PDO's Block 6 in 2018. It also
includes an existing block expanded to include some former Block 6 acreage.
 2017 licensing round offered four blocks, with three awarded. Two blocks were
awarded to Occidental and one to Eni. See our insight '2017 Oman licensing
round'.

 2016 licensing round included four blocks, all of which were awarded. Awards
included new entrant Eni plus incumbents ARA Petroleum, Occidental and Tethys
Oil. See our insight '2016 Oman licensing round'.

Ah-hoc licensing
Companies are welcome to approach the Ministry of Oil and Gas to directly negotiate
blocks or potential opportunities. Recent ad-hoc awards have included:
 A heads of agreement for newly created Block 77 signed by Eni and BP in January
2019. The block, located east of Khazzan, will be for non-associated gas
exploration rights.

 A memorandum of understanding was signed by Shell and Total in May 2018 to

develop existing gas resources in the 'Greater Barik' area of Oman, south of the
Khazzan gas field. An EPSA will likely be signed in 2019.

 Lebanese company Petroleb was awarded Block 57 in southwest Oman in January

2018.

Historical licensing
In 1937, Petroleum Concessions Limited signed a 75-year option with the
government of Oman, which was converted into a concession agreement in 1942.
From 1951, the company has been known as Petroleum Development Oman (PDO),
and since then it has dominated exploration and production activity in the country in
Block 6. PDO's concession was renewed in 2004 for a period of 40 years. As part of
the renewal, periodic acreage relinquishments occur - providing opportunities for
new entrants to Oman.
Licensing activity has increased markedly since the late 1990s. This is due partly to
the re-licensing of relinquished PDO acreage and also the Ministry's response to
falling oil production and rising gas demand. Major block awards during the 2000s
included Occidental's Mukhaizna field in Block 53 and BP's Khazzan project in Block
61 - both formerly part of Block 6.
Oman licence map (February 2019)