A continental clastic depositional model for the Permian Unayzah formation, Hawtah field, central Saudi Arabia

Conference · Wed Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1993 · AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States)

OSTI ID:6851763

Heine, C J ^[1]

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1. Saudi Aramco, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia)

The Permian Unayzah Formation lies unconformably on the Silurian Qusaiba Member of the Qalibah Formation. The pre-Unayzah unconformity (PUU) represents a Hercynian tectonic event responsible for uplift and erosion representing 100-150 m.y. worth of missing section along the Hawtah Trend. Overlying the PUU, the Unayzah clastic sequence is comprised of locally sourced sediments from the adjacent paleotopography. Above the thin veneer of locally sourced sediments is a more regionally sourced, confined braided stream sequence, which completely backfills the existing paleotopography. Once the paleotopographic surface had been leveled, the depositional environment changed from a confined braided stream to a broad braided plain. Within this sequence of vertically stacked and laterally migrating braided plain sediments, the bulk of the reservoirs within the Hawtah field are contained. As the transgressive Khuff seas continue to encroach on the Unayzah depositional system, the upper-most sediments of the broad braided plan environment are reworked by transgressive coastal processes. The resulting reworked shoreface and shallow-marine facies are genetically related to the Khuff transgression and lie unconformably on the Unayzah continental clastics.

• OSTI ID: 6851763
• Report Number(s): CONF-9310237-; CODEN: AABUD2
• Journal Information: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States), Vol. 77:9; Conference: American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) mid-continent section meeting, Amarillo, TX (United States), 10-12 Oct 1993; ISSN 0149-1423
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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