Carbonate sediments tend to show a ribbon-like geometry and are less commonly developed as widespread sheets. Examples of both geometries are shown by two of the major carbonate reservoir intervals in the Middle East (Ehrenberg et al., 2007). Sediments of the Permian–Triassic Khuff Formation were deposited on a very low relief shelf, sheltered from the open ocean by a barrier reef. These show a layer-cake geometry consisting of interbedded mudstones and fine-grained grainstones (Alsharhan, 2006). By contrast, sedimentation in the Jurassic Arab Formation occurred on a shelf differentiated into shallow shoals and intrashelf basins. These exhibit a progradational geometry (Meyer and Price, 1992). | Carbonate sediments tend to show a ribbon-like geometry and are less commonly developed as widespread sheets. Examples of both geometries are shown by two of the major carbonate reservoir intervals in the Middle East (Ehrenberg et al., 2007). Sediments of the Permian–Triassic Khuff Formation were deposited on a very low relief shelf, sheltered from the open ocean by a barrier reef. These show a layer-cake geometry consisting of interbedded mudstones and fine-grained grainstones (Alsharhan, 2006). By contrast, sedimentation in the Jurassic Arab Formation occurred on a shelf differentiated into shallow shoals and intrashelf basins. These exhibit a progradational geometry (Meyer and Price, 1992). |