Lower Silurian-Upper Ordovician subsurface glacial outwash deposits, northern Saudi Arabia

Conference · Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1991 · AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States)

OSTI ID:5848294

Dobson, P B ^[1]

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1. Northern Area Exploration, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia)

Recently acquired seismic data reinterpreted well information in northwest Saudi Arabia extends outcropping Lower Silurian to Upper Ordovician Zarqa/Sarah glacial and periglacial deposits into the subsurface. These deposits range from northeast-trending outwash-filled channels deeply incised into the underlying Ordovician Qasim and the Cambrian-Ordovician Saq Formation in the east. A southwest source for these sediments is implied by this new data. This supports previously interpreted source directions mapped from outcrop. It also correlates with the position of the Arabian plate relative to known Gonwanaland ice caps during the Early Silurian-Late Ordovician. The recognition of glacial outwash sediments in the subsurface provides new insight into the continuity and environments of deposition of the Qasim Formation members in northwest Saudi Arabia. The hydrocarbon-prone Lower Silurian Qusaiba Member of the Qalibah Formation overlies the Zarqa/Sarah Formations. The Qusaiba represents a rapid transgression of the Paleo-Tethys Sea during the final melting of the Gondwanaland ice caps. The seal-source characteristics of the Qusaiba Member, combined with the good porosity and permeability of the underlying outwash deposits, suggest a prospective hydrocarbon exploration play. Gas is produced from this reservoir in the Risha field of eastern Jordan.

• OSTI ID: 5848294
• Report Number(s): CONF-910978-; CODEN: AABUD
• Journal Information: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States), Vol. 75:8; Conference: International conference and exhibition of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG): the way ahead-hydrocarbons for the 1990s, London (United Kingdom), 29 Sep - 3 Oct 1991; ISSN 0149-1423
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
03 NATURAL GAS
58 GEOSCIENCES
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
EXPLORATION
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
RESERVOIR ROCK
POROSITY
STRATIGRAPHY
SAUDI ARABIA
DEPOSITION
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
ICE CAPS
MORAINES
ORDOVICIAN PERIOD
PLATE TECTONICS
SEISMIC SURVEYS
SILURIAN PERIOD
ASIA
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGY
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
ICE
MIDDLE EAST
MINERAL RESOURCES
PALEOZOIC ERA
RESOURCES
SURVEYS
TECTONICS
020200* - Petroleum- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
030200 - Natural Gas- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
580000 - Geosciences