Differential hydrocarbon enrichment and controlling factors in passive margin basins of the Arabian Plate

Abstract

The integrated analyses, classification and comparison of petroleum systems, combined with the latest oil and gas field data from the Middle East and the previous research results, indicate how tectonic-depositional evolution, source rocks and seals, and petroleum resource endowment are inter-linked. The impacts of these factors on the enrichment of petroleum resources could be established. There are four super petroleum systems in the passive margin basins of the Arabian Plate, namely, the intra-craton, the back-arc, the passive margin and the active margin, among which the passive margin and intra-craton super petroleum systems are the most significant. Regionally, oil and gas in the study area are mainly concentrated in the Central Arabian Basin and the Rub' Al Khali Basin. Stratigraphically, oil is mainly reservoired in the Cretaceous and Jurassic whereas the gas in the Permian and Triassic. The diffe-rential enrichment of hydrocarbons is mainly controlled by three factors: the distribution of high-quality effective source rocks and the positive structural trends of basins, which have a dominant control on the regional distribution of oil and gas, and the regional seals, which govern the stratigraphic distribution of oil and gas.

Keywords

• super petroleum systems
• hydrocarbon differential enrichment
• controlling factor
• passive margin basin
• arabian plate