Professor Christopher G. St. C. Kendall Sequence Stratigraphy Application to Exploration and Production Middle Eastern Basins of the Gulf Summer 2005 Professor Christopher G. St. C. Kendall kendall@sc.edu 803-777-2410

Current Reserves for Middle East Crude Oil(BB) - Natural Gas (TCF) Saudi Arabia 263.5 bbls 204.5Tcf Iraq 112 bbls 109Tcf UAE 97.8bbls 212Tcf Kuwait 96.5 bbls 52.7Tcf Iran 89.7 bbls 812.3Tcf Oman 5.3 bbls 28.4Tcf Yemen 4.0 bbls 16.9Tcf Qatar 3.7 bbls 300.0Tcf Syria 2.5 bbls 8.5Tcf Bahrain 0.1 bbls 3.9Tcf

After Al Sharhan

From International Petroleum Encyclopedia

From International Petroleum Encyclopedia

Arabian Basin Traces a polyhistory of plate tectonic & sedimentary fill: Pre Cambrian to Infra-Cambrian - Continental interior Silurian and Ordovician clastics – Continental interior Permian clastics & carbonates – Trailing margin Upper Jurassic Carbonates – Trailing margin Lower Cretaceous Carbonates – Trailing margin Middle Cretaceous – Compression & Zagros Mts initiated Tertiary Carbonates and Clastics - Compressional margin

Oil Production - Arabian Gulf Productive hydrocarbon section older to West [Paleozoic] & younger in East in the Zagros Mts [ Upper Tertiary]. West to East production includes: Infra-Cambrian Salt Silurian and Ordovician clastics – Unaizah Permian clastics & carbonates – Khuff Upper Jurassic Carbonates - Arab & Tuwaik Mt Group Lower Cretaceous Carbonates – Shuaiba & Thammama Middle Cretaceous – Mishrif Tertiary - Asmari

Zagros Mountain Chain After Dennis Tassa

Structural Provinces - Arabian Gulf Zagros Fold Mts Mesozoic to Tertiary Foreland Basin Pre-Cambrian Shield Nasa Image

Mosaic of Drifting Rigid Plates After Dennis Tassa

Arabian Gulf tracks the Wilson Cycle Plate tectonic theory divides earth’s crust into plates Plates diverge apart or rift & a new ocean basin forms Plate motion reverses & convergence causes collision, & mountain building The Wilson Cycle records plate motion opening & closing of ocean basins in the rock record

Arabian Gulf

Evolution of Arabian Gulf Foreland Basin Compression & Foreland Basin Extensional margin Extensional margin Interior Sag After Kingston et al, 1983

Arabian plate stratigraphic section with hydrocarbon production

Geologic Cross-Section - Arabian Gulf

Gas Gas

Arid Tropics Air System Restricted Entrance To Sea Structural & Depositional Barrier over Hercynian Horst Blocks Permian Khuff Saudi Arabia Oman & UAE Arid Tropics Air System Wide Shadow from Adjacent Continents

Wide Shadow from Adjacent Continents Restricted Entrance To Sea Depositional Barrier over Hercynian Horst Blocks Upper Jurrassic Saudi Arabia Kuwait, Iran & UAE Tropical Air System ! Wide Shadow from Adjacent Continents

After Dennis Tassa

Zagros Fold Mountains - Iran Nasa Image

Zagros Fold Mountains Iran Nasa Image

Zagros Fold Mountains Iran Nasa Image

Zagros Fold Mountains - Iran

After Murris

After Murris

From International Petroleum Encyclopedia

Arabian Gulf Factory producing carbonates & storing products of cyanbacteria since Permian Nasa Image

A big day for a bloom!! Organics in the Gulf! Nasa Image

Basin Ramp Open Shelf Restricted Shelf

Sedimentary Section is Source Collister, James, Robert Ehrlich, Frank Mango, and Glenn Johnson (2004), Modification of the petroleum system concept: Origins of alkanes and isoprenoids in crude oils AAPG Bulletin, v. 88, no. 5 pp. 587–611 Establish that the source of petroleum was once dispersed through much of the sedimentary sections and not necessarily from classic organic rich source rocks.

After Baum, & Kendall

Arabian Basin A map of the eastern Arabian Basin; study deals with the Upper Jurassic formations; show a cross section of Upper Jurassic. Indicate that focus will be on Hanifa. Next: a short overview of the Permian Basin

Geological Setting of Jurassic Oil Seal Seal Reservoir Reservoir Intrashelf Basin Intrashelf Basin Most petroleum reserves from Jurassic section are concentrated around the intrashelf source basin. This is a direct result of the widespread deposition of the upper Jurassic shelf-calcarenite Arab Formation reservoirs and the regional anhydrite Hith seal overlying the Arab Formation. The basin was tectonically stable with very broad and shallow shelf separated from the open ocean to the east by a continental margin.

Jurassic Formations of Arabia I will briefly discuss the formations of the Middle & Upper Jurassic composing the Arabian Basin Hanifa: Starting in the Middle Jurassic (late Callovian), the environment became progressively hot and arid, eustatic sea level was high, and carbonate rates of production were high in the shallow areas. This caused the deposition of the organic rich rocks that form the major Hanifa source in the anoxic intrashelf of the differentiated Arabian Basin. The Hanifa will be discussed in more details later. Jubaila: The Hanifa Formation is overlain by the Lower Kimmeridgian shallow-water Jubaila Formation. The Jubaila consists of 3 progressively regressive shoaling upward cycles   Arab: The Arab Formation is composed of 4 shallowing-upward depositional cycles each representing a transition from continuous keep-up, TST and HST carbonate deposition to accumulation of nearly pure anhydrite during fall in sea level in arid climate (LST). Each carbonate cycle is composed of high-energy ooidal-pelletoidal grainstone containing most of the Jurassic section oil (from lower to upper: Arab D, C, B, A). The largest oil accumulations occur in the lowest grainstone cycle of the Arab-D reservoir. The Arab Formation was deposited at the HST of of 2nd-order supersequence and each Arab member represents a complete increasingly regressive 3rd order sequence. On the platform, carbonate deposition kept pace with and finally superseded the flooding, establishing very shallow depositional conditions over western and southern margins of the Neo-Tethys. Hith: Regional Hith Anhydrite evaporite unit, which averages 167 m in thickness. The Hith regional evaporitic seal was deposited during the overlap of the lowstand of the late Jurassic supersequence and the Hith 3rd order sequence. Next: Intrashelf basin

The Hanifa Formation Oil Fields Now I will be discussing the Hanifa Formation in more details. The Hanifa Formation source rocks are low-energy, laminated, dark, and organic-rich lime muds that collected under anoxic condition bottom-water conditions. To the north of this intrashelf basin, high-energy, shallow-water grainstones and evaporitic peritidal sediments accumulated across the Rimthan arch. To the east, the continental margin separated the platform from an open ocean in which little or no deposition took place. Next:objectives of the analysis

Hanifa Formation - Berri Field map The map shows the location of wells used for conducting the study. Next: eustatic sea level and chronostratigraphic charts

The Hanifa Formation Sequence Stratigraphic Hierarchy High frequency stratigraphic framework The depositional history of the Middle and Upper Jurassic formations of eastern Arabia is best understood when described using a sequence stratigraphic hierarchy that involves the higher order (3rd and 4th order) sequences and their position within the lower-order (1st and 2nd order) sequences across this relatively stable shelf margin. The Middle Jurassic Callovian (155 MYBP) was marked by the onset of a first and second order sequences in which the late Middle Jurassic and Upper Jurassic source, reservoirs, and regional seals of the eastern passive margins of the Arabian Plate were deposited. This 2nd order sequence is positioned within the transgressive limb of the Mesozoic-early Cenozoic 1st-order megasequence (the Zuni).

The Hanifa Formation Stratigraphic Framework Each formation was deposited as a complete 3rd order sequence Seal Reservoir Source This chart shows the third order eustatic cycles (red) super-imposed on the lithostratigrahic section. Each formation corresponds to a complete 3rd order cycle. The Hanifa Formation (blue highlight) is positioned in the transgressive limb of the 2nd order eustatic cycle (blue line).

The Hanifa Formation Stratigraphic Framework Drowning Surface The Hanifa Formation is comprised of two transgressive-regressive shoaling up-ward sub-cycles (Hanifa and Hadriya) within the 2nd order transgressive event and each is bounded by a drowning transgressive surface. The deposition of both Hadriya and Hanifa reservoir sediments appears to have taken around 4 million years (147 Ma. to 143.5 Ma.). For each of these 3rd order sequences, source rocks were deposited in the intrashelf basin within transgressive systems tracts (TST) while reservoirs were deposited on the shelf margin within the highstand systems tracts (HST).   The bulk of each reservoir rocks consists of the lower aggrading and prograding grainstones of HST which is overlain by a sub-aqueous boundary (SB-2) followed by basinward progradation of a grainstones shelf margin wedge systems tract. Next: an overview of the depositional lithofacies Drowning Surface

Mid Slope - Storm Deposits Note lack of Tidal Flat fill High-stand Surface of Condensation

Crest of Margin - Storm Deposits Note Tidal Flat & Standard Sequence Stratigraphic Surfaces Maximum Flooding Surface

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

Jurassic Stratigraphy & Sea Level

The Hanifa Formation Ideal Parasequence Used as a guide for identifying & Predicting lithofacies character throughout the basin the ideal parasequence found in the Hanifa section is described based on the observed lithofacies succession. Here we can see Walther’s Law in action as all the vertical lithofacies succession represented horizontally.

The Hanifa Formation Regional X-section TS Reservoir SB-2 MFS There is a drowning surface marking the top of the Hanifa Formation and the lower surface of the overlying Jubaila Formation can be identified by a sudden gamma ray log spike (high) marking deepening (significant change in lithology) and sudden decrease in porosity to very low value (5% or less) throughout the section. The general lithofacies trend is of decreasing porosity and permeability southwestward with the reservoir facies concentrated on the northern shelf region of the reservoir while the more dense organic-rich and laminated lime mudstone are found in the southwestern region of the basin. The ramp basin gently dips toward the SW with facies showing a gradual transition from biohermal on the shallowest part of the shelf into organic-rich lime mudstone within the deepest parts of the basin in the southwest with grainstones, packstones, and wackestone in the center of the basin. This depositional profile (ramp) was utilized as a guide in the interpretation process and to ensure that major surfaces (SB, mfs, ts) trend always follows the depositional profile of the basin (dipping southwestward).   datum used for correlation was the bottom transgressive surface which separates the Hanifa sequence from the Hadriya sequence below. Identify in section the TST, HST, SMW Source TS

The Hanifa Formation Detailed interpretation SMW HST Here the lithofacies succession is used to determine sea level position and major stratigraphic surfaces Discuss log character and lithofacies succession. TST

Hanifa Formation - Conclusion Most of reservoir skeletal conglomerate deposited on relatively high-energy shelf within HST. Contemporaneous of organic-rich lime mudstones to south during late TST & HST with reservoir facies of north. Lithofacies shift from shelf to basin is gradual & grades through 11 lithofacies in response to changes of relative sea level along gentle ramp profile with intrashelf basin in south. Lithofacies distribution in basin enables prediction of best reservoir facies to north, & interpolation of intermediate lithofacies. Fischer Diagram tie carbonate deposition with changes in sea level. Next: The Permian Basin Sequence Stratigraphy

Lekweir Formation Sourced from Lower and Middle Jurassic. Most of reservoir grain carbonates deposited over relatively high-energy shoal and ramp during LST and sorted by storm events. Sourced from Lower and Middle Jurassic. Lithofacies shift from shoal/ramp crest to margin of finer grained carbonate. A rise in relative sea level over the gentle ramp profile caused the carbonates to fine upward and lose reservoir character; condensed impermeable HST layers formed. Lithofacies distribution over shoal has lead to best reservoir facies upsection in response to shallower water sorting during LST of the upper cycles. Fischer Diagram tie carbonate deposition with changes in sea level. Next: The Permian Basin Sequence Stratigraphy

Lower Cretaceous - Barremian Barremian Paleogeography in Gulf Region (Murris1980)

Lower Cretaceous Stratigraphic cross-section of Cretaceous Eastern Arabia (Alsharhan & Nairn 1986)

Lower Cretaceous Stratigraphic cross-section of Cretaceous Eastern Arabia (Alsharhan & Nairn 1986)

Lower Cretaceous Stratigraphic cross-section of Cretaceous Eastern Arabia (Alsharhan & Nairn 1986)

Lower Cretaceous Stratigraphic cross-section of Cretaceous Eastern Arabia (Alsharhan & Nairn 1986)

Lekhwair Formation - UAE Stratigraphic section of Late Jurassic Eastern Saudi Arabia (Murris 1980) Jubaila small cycles fine up but overall section coarsens up. the ideal parasequence found in the Hanifa section is described based on the observed lithofacies succession. Here we can see Walther’s Law in action as all the vertical lithofacies succession represented horizontally.

Type-section of Lekhwair Fm PDO well Lekhwair N° 7 Note fining upwards cycles

Zakum Field - UAE Note fining upwards cycles Pittet et al, 2002

Zakum Field - UAE Anticlinal shape of field Pittet et al, 2002

Lekweir Formation Sourced from Lower and Middle Jurassic. Most of reservoir grain carbonates deposited over relatively high-energy shoal and ramp during LST and sorted by storm events. Sourced from Lower and Middle Jurassic. Lithofacies shift from shoal/ramp crest to margin of finer grained carbonate. A rise in relative sea level over the gentle ramp profile caused the carbonates to fine upward and lose reservoir character; condensed impermeable HST layers formed. Lithofacies distribution over shoal has lead to best reservoir facies upsection in response to shallower water sorting during LST of the upper cycles. Fischer Diagram tie carbonate deposition with changes in sea level. Next: The Permian Basin Sequence Stratigraphy

Arabian Basin Traces a polyhistory of plate tectonic & sedimentary fill: Pre Cambrian to Infra-Cambrian - continental interior Silurian and Ordovician clastics – continental interior Permian clastics & carbonates – trailing margin Upper Jurassic Carbonates – trailing margin Lower Cretaceous Carbonates – trailing margin Middle Cretaceous – compression and collision starts Tertiary Carbonates and Clastics- compressional margin

Oil Production - Arabian Gulf Productive hydrocarbon section older to West [Paleozoic] & younger in East in the Zagros Mts [ Upper Tertiary]. West to East production includes: Infra-Cambrian Salt Silurian and Ordovician clastics – Unaizah Permian clastics & carbonates – Khuff Upper Jurassic Carbonates - Arab & Tuwaik Mt Group Lower Cretaceous Carbonates – Shuaiba & Thammama Middle Cretaceous – Mishrif Tertiary - Asmari

Conclusions Burn it in transport or use it for petrochemicals?

Thank You Kendall Photo

Lecture Ends!! And so to a break!