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There are more than 100 oil and gas fields in Iraq, containing more than 137 billion barrels of recoverable oil and more than 106 TCF of recoverable gas. Of this large resource, about 25 billion barrels of oil and 11 TCF of gas have been produced to date.
There are more than 100 oil and gas fields in Iraq, containing more than 137 billion barrels of recoverable oil and more than 106 TCF of recoverable gas. Of this large resource, about 25 billion barrels of oil and 11 TCF of gas have been produced as of 2014.
==Introduction==
==Introduction==
==Physiography==
==Physiography==
The southern and western parts of Iraq are part of the broader Arabian platform of adjacent Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait ([[:file:M106Ch12Fig01.jpg|Figure 1]]). This is a sparsely populated area of desert and low hills, mostly 300–500 m (984–1640 ft) above sea level (msl). The highest elevation here occurs at Jabal ‘Unayzah, in the southwestern corner of the country, at 940 msl. Bedrock is exposed in these areas, largely Cenozoic but Mesozoic and Paleozoic in western Iraq.
The southern and western parts of Iraq are part of the broader Arabian platform of adjacent Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait ([[:file:M106Ch12Fig01.jpg|Figure 1]]). This is a sparsely populated area of desert and low hills, mostly 300–500 m (984–1640 ft) above sea level (msl). The highest elevation here occurs at Jabal ‘Unayzah, in the southwestern corner of the country, at 940 msl. Bedrock is exposed in these areas, largely Cenozoic but Mesozoic and Paleozoic in western Iraq.
The land slopes down to the floodplains of the Al Furat (Euphrates) and Dijlah (Tigris) Rivers, which flow from Turkey and Syria through the length of Iraq to the Gulf of Arabia via the Shatt al Arab. The elevation at the Iraq–Syria border is 300–400 msl. Al Furat follows the Anah Graben until it reaches the subsiding Mesopotamian foredeep ([[:file:M106Ch12Fig01.jpg|Figure 1]]). The Dijlah flows around the uplifted Sinjar Graben to flow across the low portion of the Zagros foldbelt to the Mesopotamian foredeep. The floodplains are covered by alluvium, terrace gravels, and eolian sands. There are many towns and cities, including Baghdad, An Nasiriyah, and Basrah, in the floodplains of these rivers.
Elevations rise in northeastern Iraq. Most of the Kirkuk embayment of the Zagros foldbelt is covered by Neogene sediments, except for elongated northwest-trending anticlines that expose older strata. Surface elevations rise up to 850 m (2788 ft) on the Qara Chauq Dagh anticline ([[:file:M106Ch12Fig01.jpg|Figure 1]]). There are many towns and cities in this region, including Mosul and Kirkuk.
The High Zagros Nappe zone further to the northeast is characterized by large anticlinal mountains that expose Cenozoic to Paleozoic sediments as well as igneous and metamorphic rocks. Elevations are higher across this region, reaching 3586 m (11765 ft) on the Iraq-Iran border east of Rowandaz (Figure 1). Major gorges cut by rivers, such as the Zab River that runs into the Dijlah River near Jabal Qara Chauq Dagh, form exposures that are the type sections for many formations.
One effect of the surface relief of Iraq is the flow of groundwater deeply within the sediments of the Mesopotamian foredeep, from the somewhat higher Arabian platform in western and southern Iraq, as well as within synclines in the Kirkuk embayment of the Zagros foldbelt. Freshwater extends far into the subsurface because of these flows.
[[file:M106Ch12Fig02.jpg|thumb|300px|{{figure number|2}}Bouguer gravity (right) and total magnetic field (left) maps of Iraq, from Jassim and Goff,<ref name=Jassimandgoff_2006>Jassim, S. Z. and Goff, J. C., 2006, Geology of Iraq: Dolin, Prague, and Moravian Museum, Brno, 341 p.</ref> compiled by GEOSURV. The gravity map shows low values in the Zagros foldbelt and Mesopotamian foredeep due to the thick sedimentary section. Orientations of features trend to the north and northwest in southern, western, and northwestern Iraq, interpreted in part to be caused by the structural grain of Precambrian accreted terrains. 200 km (124.3 mi).]]
==Tectonic setting==