Controlling factors of hydrocarbon accumulation in Termit rift superimposed basin, Niger

Abstract

Based on the tectonic evolution and depositional characteristics of Central–West African Rift System and regional geologic background, the characteristics of oil and gas accumulation in the Termit rift superimposed basin were examined, and the factors controlling oil and gas accumulation there were discussed. The Termit basin is a rift superimposed basin formed by two stages of rifting in the early Cretaceous and Paleogene, where the Yogou Formation marine source rock is widespread. The two sets of reservoirs, the first member of the Paleogene Sokor Formation and the Cretaceous Yogou Formation, dominated by quartz sandstone, have relatively good porosity-permeability characteristics. They can form multiple sets of favorable caprock-reservoir assemblage below the regional caprock of the second member of Paleogene Sokor Formation. It is found that fault pattern and oil and gas migration pattern control the oil and gas accumulation patterns in the basin, including “Y-shaped” hydrocarbon migration and accumulation in the Araga graben, “multi-step” vertical hydrocarbon migration and accumulation in the Dinga faulted terrace, and the “composite” hydrocarbon migration and accumulation in the Fana transfer zone. Hydrocarbon enrichment in this basin was controlled by tectonic evolution of rift basins, that is, fault belts formed during the two stages of rifting controlled the horizontal distribution of oil and gas, while favorable reservoir-caprock assemblages in the sequences formed in the late rifting stage controlled the vertical hydrocarbon enrichment. Key words: Niger, Termit basin, rift superimposed basin, hydrocarbon accumulation, controlling factor