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Saudi Arabia's Ghawar Field is

The Elephant of All Elephants
LOUISE S. DURHAM
 Arab-D
Reservoir
Petroleum System
• The Arab-D reservoir of Saudi Arabia is the most prolific oil-producing
interval in the world (Bates, 1973;Beydoun, 1988; 1998; 1991;
Durham, 2005).
• Oils were derived from thermally mature, organic-rich carbonate
source rock of the Jurassic-age Hanifa and/or Tuwaiq Mountain
Formations (Ayres et al., 1982; Droste, 1990).
• Overlying highly efficient evaporite seals, the Arab C-D anhydrite and,
ultimately, the Hith anhydrite.
Arab-D Reservoirs: Age
Petroleum System Arab-D:
Upper Jurassic

Source Rock
Arab-D:
Hanifa Formation
Tuwaiq Mountain Formation

Seal Rock
Arab-D:
Intra formational evaporite layers
Hith Formation
Arab-D Reservoirs:
Arab-D reservoirs outcrop
analogs

Arab-D reservoir comprises the upper

part of the Jubaila Formation and the D
member of the Arab Formation
Arab-D Reservoirs:
Gas or oil reservoir?

Predominantly oil
reservoir
 Arab-D reservoir:
Reservoir rock types
Carbonates with
different types of
carbonate pores Intraskeletal
porosity

Shallow marine
carbonate pores

Interparticle
porosity

Intercrystline
porosity
 Arab-D reservoir:
Super k zone
Stratigraphic unit
that produce > 500
barrels per day per
foot of thickness
(BLPD/ft)

What is the possible geological

processes control the occurrence of
Super k?
Dolomite
Fractures
bioturbation
 Arab-D reservoir:
Super k zone

Stratigraphic unit
that produce > 500
barrels per day per
foot of thickness
(BLPD/ft)

What is the possible geological

processes control the occurrence of
Super k?
Dolomite
Fractures
bioturbation
Arab-D Reservoir:
Reservoir Quality

Rock type:
Limestone versus dolomite

Depositional texture:
Mud-dominated versus grain- dominated for the carbonates

Postdepositional alteration [for carbonates]:

Dissolution
Cementation
Fracturing
Dolomitization
Petroleum System
• During the Late Jurassic, a vast, shallow carbonate ramp extended
from the central Arabian Peninsula, west of the present site of Riyadh
• Differential intraplate subsidence, partly enhanced by peripheral
aggradation of shallow-marine carbonates, led to the development of
intrashelf basins
• Overall, the paleoclimate was probably hot and arid, similar to the
present climate on the Arabian Peninsula (Handford et al., 2002).
Paleogeographic and paleo-
oceanographic Konert et al. 2001

South of
the
equator
Paleogeographic and paleo-
oceanographic Fallatah and Kerans 2018

• Southern margin of the Tethys Ocean

• Shallow marine
• South of the equator
Environment of Deposition
 Environment of Deposition

Water depth (bathymetry)

Water chemistry
Environment of Deposition
Environment of Deposition
Environment of Deposition
 Post-depositional
modification (Diagenesis)

Source of Mg+
Dolomite of the Arab-D

Thin section photomicrograph – Dolomite – Non fabric preserving

Dolomite of the Arab-D

Thin section photomicrograph – Dolomite – Fabric preserving

 How dolomite
formed in Arab-D
Super-k

Stratigraphic unit that produce > 500 barrels per

day per foot of thickness (BLPD/ft)
Super-k

Upper Jubaila
Super-k

Bioturbation?
Dolomite?