Difference between revisions of "Tethys region"
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The geology of the Arabian plate, North Africa and parts of Southern Eurasia are often discussed independent of one another. Our approach has been to step back and look at the region from a plate-scale geologic perspective. The present day Arabian and North Africa plates evolved together as a single unit from the Precambrian. They were physically connected as they moved around the globe from the southern polar regions to their present day position in the northern hemisphere, sub-tropical belt. Throughout the Phanerozoic, these plates have been on the margin of a series of Tethys seaways, including the Proto-Tethys, Paleo-Tethys, and Neo-Tethys. The common evolution of these plates along the Tethys Margin led to many similarities in the regional geology, including similar paleogeographic, tectonic, stratigraphic and depositional settings which, in turn, led to the development of similar petroleum systems. Though there are numerous similarities across the margin, variations occur too, and these can be compared in the chapters that follow. One primary difference across the region was the transition from uniform platform sedimentation which occurred across North Africa and Arabia, to intracontinental sub-basins and rift-basins (Arabian plate and North Africa, respectively) in the Permian, which led to “pots” of source rock across the Tethyan Margin. | The geology of the Arabian plate, North Africa and parts of Southern Eurasia are often discussed independent of one another. Our approach has been to step back and look at the region from a plate-scale geologic perspective. The present day Arabian and North Africa plates evolved together as a single unit from the Precambrian. They were physically connected as they moved around the globe from the southern polar regions to their present day position in the northern hemisphere, sub-tropical belt. Throughout the Phanerozoic, these plates have been on the margin of a series of Tethys seaways, including the Proto-Tethys, Paleo-Tethys, and Neo-Tethys. The common evolution of these plates along the Tethys Margin led to many similarities in the regional geology, including similar paleogeographic, tectonic, stratigraphic and depositional settings which, in turn, led to the development of similar petroleum systems. Though there are numerous similarities across the margin, variations occur too, and these can be compared in the chapters that follow. One primary difference across the region was the transition from uniform platform sedimentation which occurred across North Africa and Arabia, to intracontinental sub-basins and rift-basins (Arabian plate and North Africa, respectively) in the Permian, which led to “pots” of source rock across the Tethyan Margin. | ||
| − | [[file:M106IntroFig01.jpg|thumb|300px|Basins, fields, and structures data from IHS International Energy Database (January 2010). Base map is ETOPO1 (Amante and Eakins, 2009 | + | [[file:M106IntroFig01.jpg|thumb|300px|Basins, fields, and structures data from IHS International Energy Database (January 2010). Base map is ETOPO1 (Amante and Eakins<ref name=Amanteandeakins_2009>Amante, C., and B. W. Eakins, ETOPO1 1 Arc-minute global relief model: Procedures, data sources and analysis: NOAA Technical Memorandum NESDIS NGDC-24, 10 p., March 2009. http://ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/global/global.html.</ref>]] |
| − | + | {| class = "wikitable" | |
| + | |- | ||
| + | |+ {{table number|1}}Giant and supergiant fields of the Tethyan region | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | ! Area || Giant Fields: 500 MMboe< Recoverable Reserves (Proven+Probable) <5000 MMBOE || Supergiant Fields: Recoverable Reserves (Proven+Probable) >5000 MMBOE | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | Eastern Tethyan Margin (Countries approximately east of Dead Sea fault zone; including Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Turkey) || 194 || 47 | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | Western Tethyan Margin (Countries approximately west of Dead Sea fault zone) || 45 || 2 | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | Total Giant & Supergiant fields along Tethyan Margin || 239 || 49 | ||
| + | |} | ||
| − | + | Estimated recoverable reserves of countries along the Eastern and Western Tethyan Margins are shown in [[:file:M106IntroFig01.jpg|Figure 1]]. Many of the world’s giant and super-giant fields have been discovered in these various countries (Table 1). As shown in Table 1, these Tethyan countries account for 239 and 49 of the world’s giant and supergiant fields, respectively. There is a predominance of proven hydrocarbons on the former Eastern Tethyan Margin (Table 1). The Middle East region alone accounts for a significant amount of the global petroleum produced. The lack of giant and super-giant fields on the Western Tethyan Margin could in part be attributed to under exploration rather than less resource potential. Thus, identifying similarities across the Tethyan Margin and extrapolating known hydrocarbon systems to underexplored regions (onshore and offshore) will likely lead to more discoveries. | |
| + | |||
| + | ==Paleozoic petroleum systems== | ||
| + | |||
| + | During the Paleozoic, the Tethyan margin faced the Proto- and Paleo-Tethys Oceans and the paleogeography was primarily nonequitorial.<ref name=Berraandangiolini_2014>Berra, Fabrizio, and Lucia Angiolini, 2014, The evolution of the Tethys region throughout the Phanerozoic: A brief tectonic reconstruction, ''in'' L. Marlow, C. Kendall, and L. Yose, eds., Petroleum systems of the Tethyan region: AAPG Memoir 106, p. 1-27.</ref> Paleozoic sedimentation across the margin was dominantly siliciclastic with interbedded continental, fluvial-deltaic, transitional marine deposits and intermittent carbonates.<ref name=Kendalletal_2014>Kendall, Christopher G. C., Abdulrahman S. Alsharhan, and Lisa Marlow, 2014, Stratigraphy and depositional systems of the southern Tethyan region, ''in'' L. Marlow, C. Kendall, and L. Yose, eds., Petroleum systems of the Tethyan region: AAPG Memoir 106, p. 29-57.</ref> Numerous proven and potential source-reservoir-seal rocks of Paleozoic age exist across the margin.<ref name=Kendalletal_2014 /> <ref name=Ahlbrandt_2014>Ahlbrandt, Thomas S., 2014, Petroleum systems and their endowments in the Middle East and North Africa portion of the Tethys, ''in'' L. Marlow, C. Kendall, and L. Yose, eds., Petroleum systems of the Tethyan region: AAPG Memoir 106, p. 59-100.</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | The most prolific and regionally extensive Paleozoic source rock, is of Silurian age. At a sub-regional scale, source rocks are reported in nearly all of the other Paleozoic intervals (in places even Precambrian).<ref name=Kendalletal_2014 /> <ref name=Ahlbrandt_2014 /> These regional and sub-regional proven source rocks are likely present in underexplored or undrilled areas across the entire Tethyan Margin. For example, there are proven Devonian-Carboniferous source rocks in Iraq and Turkey. The equivalent of this source rock may exist in other countries along the margin, but it is yet undocumented. Similarly, Precambrian source rocks that are responsible for most of the hydrocarbon accumulations in Oman<ref name=Droste_2014>Droste, Henk, 2014, Petroleum geology of the Sultanate of Oman, ''in'' L. Marlow, C. Kendall, and L. Yose, eds., Petroleum systems of the Tethyan region: AAPG Memoir 106, p. 713-755.</ref> may provide new play concepts in other areas. Cambrian reservoirs are documented in Jordan<ref name=Lüningandkuss_2014>Lüning, Sebastian, and Jochen Kuss, 2014, Petroleum geology of Jordan, ''in'' L. Marlow, C. Kendall, and L. Yose, eds., Petroleum systems of the Tethyan region: AAPG Memoir 106, p. 217-239.</ref> and Libya<ref name=Hassanandkendall_2014>Hassan, Hassan S., and Christopher C. G. Kendall, 2014, Hydrocarbon provinces of Libya: A petroleum system study, ''in'' L. Marlow, C. Kendall, and L. Yose, eds., Petroleum systems of the Tethyan region: AAPG Memoir 106, p. 101-141.</ref> indicating additional potential for Cambrian or older source rocks. The presence and distribution of Paleozoic reservoirs may be used to help identify other working Paleozoic petroleum systems. The Cambrian reservoir Salib in Jordon can be attributed to what possible deeper source? Likewise the Permian reservoirs in the UAE were charged from what source? Were the Permian Triassic carbonates in Southern Fars and its contiguous offshore charged by much older source rocks? Tracking reservoirs and source rocks across the margin may lead to discovery of hydrocarbons in the underexplored rocks of the Alamein Basin<ref name=Dolsonetal_2014>Dolson, John C., Mahmoud Atta, David Blanchard, Adel Sehim, Jennifer Villinski, Tom Loutit, and Karen Romine, 2014, Egypt's future petroleum resources: A revised look into the 21st Century, ''in'' L. Marlow, C. Kendall, and L. Yose, eds., Petroleum systems of the Tethyan region: AAPG Memoir 106, p. 143-178.</ref> and the Paleozoic section in northern Iraq-Kurdistan.<ref name=Grabowski_2014>Grabowski Jr., George J., 2014, Iraq, ''in'' L. Marlow, C. Kendall, and L. Yose, eds., Petroleum systems of the Tethyan region: AAPG Memoir 106, p. 379-467.</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Mesozoic/Cenozoic petroleum systems== | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | ==See also== | ||
| + | * [[Phanerozoic Tethys region]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==References== | ||
| + | {{reflist}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==External links== | ||
| + | {{search}} | ||
| + | * [http://archives.datapages.com/data/alt-browse/aapg-special-volumes/m106.htm Original content in Datapages] | ||
| + | * [http://archives.datapages.com/data/specpubs/memoir106/data/i_aapg-sp196i.htm PDF file in Datapages] | ||
Revision as of 21:49, 16 February 2016
| Petroleum systems of the Tethyan region | |
| |
| Series | AAPG Memoir |
|---|---|
| Chapter | Introduction |
| Author | Lisa Marlow, Christopher C. G. Kendall, and Lyndon A. Yose |
| Link | Web page |
| Store | AAPG Store |
The geology of the Arabian plate, North Africa and parts of Southern Eurasia are often discussed independent of one another. Our approach has been to step back and look at the region from a plate-scale geologic perspective. The present day Arabian and North Africa plates evolved together as a single unit from the Precambrian. They were physically connected as they moved around the globe from the southern polar regions to their present day position in the northern hemisphere, sub-tropical belt. Throughout the Phanerozoic, these plates have been on the margin of a series of Tethys seaways, including the Proto-Tethys, Paleo-Tethys, and Neo-Tethys. The common evolution of these plates along the Tethys Margin led to many similarities in the regional geology, including similar paleogeographic, tectonic, stratigraphic and depositional settings which, in turn, led to the development of similar petroleum systems. Though there are numerous similarities across the margin, variations occur too, and these can be compared in the chapters that follow. One primary difference across the region was the transition from uniform platform sedimentation which occurred across North Africa and Arabia, to intracontinental sub-basins and rift-basins (Arabian plate and North Africa, respectively) in the Permian, which led to “pots” of source rock across the Tethyan Margin.
| Area | Giant Fields: 500 MMboe< Recoverable Reserves (Proven+Probable) <5000 MMBOE | Supergiant Fields: Recoverable Reserves (Proven+Probable) >5000 MMBOE |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Tethyan Margin (Countries approximately east of Dead Sea fault zone; including Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Turkey) | 194 | 47 |
| Western Tethyan Margin (Countries approximately west of Dead Sea fault zone) | 45 | 2 |
| Total Giant & Supergiant fields along Tethyan Margin | 239 | 49 |
Estimated recoverable reserves of countries along the Eastern and Western Tethyan Margins are shown in Figure 1. Many of the world’s giant and super-giant fields have been discovered in these various countries (Table 1). As shown in Table 1, these Tethyan countries account for 239 and 49 of the world’s giant and supergiant fields, respectively. There is a predominance of proven hydrocarbons on the former Eastern Tethyan Margin (Table 1). The Middle East region alone accounts for a significant amount of the global petroleum produced. The lack of giant and super-giant fields on the Western Tethyan Margin could in part be attributed to under exploration rather than less resource potential. Thus, identifying similarities across the Tethyan Margin and extrapolating known hydrocarbon systems to underexplored regions (onshore and offshore) will likely lead to more discoveries.
Paleozoic petroleum systems
During the Paleozoic, the Tethyan margin faced the Proto- and Paleo-Tethys Oceans and the paleogeography was primarily nonequitorial.[2] Paleozoic sedimentation across the margin was dominantly siliciclastic with interbedded continental, fluvial-deltaic, transitional marine deposits and intermittent carbonates.[3] Numerous proven and potential source-reservoir-seal rocks of Paleozoic age exist across the margin.[3] [4]
The most prolific and regionally extensive Paleozoic source rock, is of Silurian age. At a sub-regional scale, source rocks are reported in nearly all of the other Paleozoic intervals (in places even Precambrian).[3] [4] These regional and sub-regional proven source rocks are likely present in underexplored or undrilled areas across the entire Tethyan Margin. For example, there are proven Devonian-Carboniferous source rocks in Iraq and Turkey. The equivalent of this source rock may exist in other countries along the margin, but it is yet undocumented. Similarly, Precambrian source rocks that are responsible for most of the hydrocarbon accumulations in Oman[5] may provide new play concepts in other areas. Cambrian reservoirs are documented in Jordan[6] and Libya[7] indicating additional potential for Cambrian or older source rocks. The presence and distribution of Paleozoic reservoirs may be used to help identify other working Paleozoic petroleum systems. The Cambrian reservoir Salib in Jordon can be attributed to what possible deeper source? Likewise the Permian reservoirs in the UAE were charged from what source? Were the Permian Triassic carbonates in Southern Fars and its contiguous offshore charged by much older source rocks? Tracking reservoirs and source rocks across the margin may lead to discovery of hydrocarbons in the underexplored rocks of the Alamein Basin[8] and the Paleozoic section in northern Iraq-Kurdistan.[9]
Mesozoic/Cenozoic petroleum systems
See also
References
- ↑ Amante, C., and B. W. Eakins, ETOPO1 1 Arc-minute global relief model: Procedures, data sources and analysis: NOAA Technical Memorandum NESDIS NGDC-24, 10 p., March 2009. http://ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/global/global.html.
- ↑ Berra, Fabrizio, and Lucia Angiolini, 2014, The evolution of the Tethys region throughout the Phanerozoic: A brief tectonic reconstruction, in L. Marlow, C. Kendall, and L. Yose, eds., Petroleum systems of the Tethyan region: AAPG Memoir 106, p. 1-27.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Kendall, Christopher G. C., Abdulrahman S. Alsharhan, and Lisa Marlow, 2014, Stratigraphy and depositional systems of the southern Tethyan region, in L. Marlow, C. Kendall, and L. Yose, eds., Petroleum systems of the Tethyan region: AAPG Memoir 106, p. 29-57.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ahlbrandt, Thomas S., 2014, Petroleum systems and their endowments in the Middle East and North Africa portion of the Tethys, in L. Marlow, C. Kendall, and L. Yose, eds., Petroleum systems of the Tethyan region: AAPG Memoir 106, p. 59-100.
- ↑ Droste, Henk, 2014, Petroleum geology of the Sultanate of Oman, in L. Marlow, C. Kendall, and L. Yose, eds., Petroleum systems of the Tethyan region: AAPG Memoir 106, p. 713-755.
- ↑ Lüning, Sebastian, and Jochen Kuss, 2014, Petroleum geology of Jordan, in L. Marlow, C. Kendall, and L. Yose, eds., Petroleum systems of the Tethyan region: AAPG Memoir 106, p. 217-239.
- ↑ Hassan, Hassan S., and Christopher C. G. Kendall, 2014, Hydrocarbon provinces of Libya: A petroleum system study, in L. Marlow, C. Kendall, and L. Yose, eds., Petroleum systems of the Tethyan region: AAPG Memoir 106, p. 101-141.
- ↑ Dolson, John C., Mahmoud Atta, David Blanchard, Adel Sehim, Jennifer Villinski, Tom Loutit, and Karen Romine, 2014, Egypt's future petroleum resources: A revised look into the 21st Century, in L. Marlow, C. Kendall, and L. Yose, eds., Petroleum systems of the Tethyan region: AAPG Memoir 106, p. 143-178.
- ↑ Grabowski Jr., George J., 2014, Iraq, in L. Marlow, C. Kendall, and L. Yose, eds., Petroleum systems of the Tethyan region: AAPG Memoir 106, p. 379-467.
External links
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