ÇAĞRILI KONUŞMALAR / KEYNOTES Invited Speeches ... - TPJD

Stratigraphic Correlation of the Silurian-Permian Successions Between Saudi
Arabia and SE Turkey in the Arabian Plate
Muhittin Şenalp 1 , Nihat Bozdoğan 2
1 Retired
2 Turkish Petroleum Corporation, Ankara
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman located on the Arabian Platform, produce enormous amount of
gas and oil from both the carbonate and sandstones of the Paleozoic successions. The purpose of
this study to make an attempt to correlate the well-established Paleozoic Sequence Stratigraphy
of Saudi Arabia with SE Turkey to promote the exploration potential and in order to understand
the affect of the Aleppo and Mardin type highs form stable blocks between this intraplate
deformation zone.
The Late Ordovician Gondwana glaciation ceased and the glaciers retreated. The ice melted,
releasing large volumes of water into the oceans, resulting in a very rapid sea level rise and
onlap relations across the shelves of the Arabian Platform. This was followed by a widespread
transgression (MFS S10), which deposited offshore marine shales. These postglacial organic
rich, prolific hot shale facies at the base of the Silurian sediments (Qalibah Formation) is the
principal source rock for the Paleozoic hydrocarbons in Saudi Arabia, the Mudawwara Formation
in Jordan, Sahmah Formation in Oman, Abba Formation in Syria and Dadas Formation in Turkey.
The Devonian succession consists of the Tawil, Jauf and Jubah formations. The sandstonedominated
Tawil Formation corresponds to the Hazro Formation and carbonate-dominated Jauf
Formation correlates with the Kayayolu Formation of southeast Turkey.
The Carboniferous succession is very poorly preserved in Saudi Arabia as the sediments were cut
and severely eroded by the overlying Pre-Haradh (Hercynian) unconformity. It is dated as Visean
to Namurian (342-315 Ma) and the carbonates in the middle of the formation represents MFS
C10.
The Permo-Carboniferous in Saudi Arabia platform was deeply incised by the glacial valleys
resulting in very irregular topographic surface on which the glacial sediments were deposited.
It extends between the Pre-Haradh (Hercynian) and the Pre-Unayzah (PUU) unconformities and
includes the siliciclastic rocks of the Juwayl, Haradh, Jawb, and carbonate-dominated Ruhaiya
formations.
The stratigraphic succession deposited during the Permian time extends between the Pre-
Unayzah Unconformity at the base and the Permo-Triassic boundary located in the Khuff
Formation at the top. The Pre-Unayzah unconformity surface represents a major rifting which
formed number of isolated basins where the thick continental sediments were deposited.
A break-up unconformity creating the Neo-Tethys took place the Tatarian time. The sea level
rise resulted in deposition of thick sandstones in the valleys. The base of the Khuff Formation
(good reservoirs for gas) represents the MFS P20 terminating the siliciclastic deposition and
beginning of carbonate and evaporite deposition for a long period of time. The marine Ash-
Shiqqah Formation and Khuff Formation in Saudi Arabia correlates to the Kas and Gomanibrik
formations of SE Turkey.
Keywords: Saudi Arabia, Se Turkey, Arabian Plate, Silurian, Permian
381