Evolution of Atlasic basins in Tunisia

Conference · Tue May 01 00:00:00 EDT 1990 · AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (USA)

OSTI ID:7034253

Burollet, P F ^[1]

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1. CIFEG, L'Isle Adam (France)

Below the Atlasic Tunisia and the Pelagian Sea, there is no information about the nature, the age, and the depth of the basement. The Triassic series includes large thicknesses of evaporites. Therefore, the Atlasic Tunisia including its offshore, is disconnected from the basement and is folded as plis de couverture. The main structural and tectonic features are north-south discontinuities in the basement, as the north-south axis, from Tunis to Gabes; east-west distension features, corresponding to large steps of the southern margin of the Tethys, underlined by thick Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits; extreme youth of tectonics, sketched during preliminary phases: Late Cretaceous, middle Eocene, Oligocene, and early Miocene (folding actually began with the middle Miocene during the first arrival of the Tellian nappes in the north; however, the most active tectonics occurred at the end of the Miocene and after the Pliocene. New tectonic motions are known during the Pleistocene and even during historic times.); many extrusions of Triassic mixed shale, evaporite, and dolomite; outcrops of mainly insoluble caprocks; and the rare wells, drilled through diapirs, that encountered massive salt below 200-300 m of gypsum. Recent discoveries and important oil shows have proven the existence of oil and gas in newly identified depocenters and reservoirs. In general, except for some areas around producing fields, Atlasic Tunisia is largely underdrilled.

• OSTI ID: 7034253
• Report Number(s): CONF-900605-; CODEN: AABUD
• Journal Information: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (USA), Vol. 74:5; Conference: Annual convention and exposition of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, San Francisco, CA (USA), 3-6 Jun 1990; ISSN 0149-1423
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
03 NATURAL GAS
58 GEOSCIENCES
TUNISIA
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
SEDIMENTARY BASINS
CRETACEOUS PERIOD
DOLOMITE
EVAPORITES
GEOLOGIC TRAPS
GYPSUM
JURASSIC PERIOD
SALT DEPOSITS
SHALES
TERTIARY PERIOD
TRIASSIC PERIOD
AFRICA
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
CALCIUM CARBONATES
CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
CALCIUM SULFATES
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBONATE MINERALS
CARBONATES
CENOZOIC ERA
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
MAGNESIUM CARBONATES
MAGNESIUM COMPOUNDS
MESOZOIC ERA
MINERAL RESOURCES
MINERALS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RESOURCES
ROCKS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SULFATE MINERALS
SULFATES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
020200* - Petroleum- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
030200 - Natural Gas- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
580000 - Geosciences