ELSEVI ER

Marine and Petroleum Geology, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 329-340, 1996
Copyright 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd
Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved
(1264-8172/96 $15.00 + 0.00
0264-8172(95)00068-2
The hydrocarbon systems of North Africa*
Duncan S. Macgregor
BP Exp/oration, 4/5 Long Walk, Stock/ey Park/ndustr/a/Estate, Uxbridge, UK
Received lO April 1994; revised 17August 1994; accepted 2O August 1994
North Afri ca' s hydrocarbon reserves are spread over a wi de range of reservoirs and play types
but deri ve f rom onl y a f ew key source rock intervals, particularly those in the Silurian, Late
Cretacous and Eocene. Source rock maturity, t oget her wi t h the ti mi ng of the generati on relative
to trap f ormi ng and destructi ve events, seem to be the key control l i ng factors on success or
fai l ure at a basin level. In most cases, generati on clearly post-dates trap formati on, al though a
more compl ex rel ati onshi p is evi dent in vari ous parts of Algeria, where some traps did not form
until gas was being generated. Source rock deposi ti on and maturation can be tied to t wo main
extensi onal tectoni c cycles whi ch ended in the compressional and destructive events of the
Hercynian and Al pi ne orogeni es.
Remaining expl orati on potential in mature provi nces may be tied largely to subtle and
strati graphi c traps. In addi ti on, si gni fi cant fronti er potential can be i denti fi ed in t wo main
fai rways, correspondi ng to regi ons where Silurian/Devonian and Cretaceous/Eocene sources
respectively are likely to have generated petrol eum. Critical factors in these areas are ti mi ng of
generati on and preservati on. The gas discoveries in the Ahnet Basin provi de anal ogues for
Palaeozoic generati on/preservati on model s in the i nteri or Silurian/Devonian source fairway.
Similarly, the key to success for the Mesozoic basins of the Atlas region lies in demonstrati ng a
favourabl e rel ati onshi p between trap formati on/destructi on and generati on from Late Cretaceous
and Eocene source rocks.
Keywords: hydrocarbon habitat; source rock; Triassic Basin; Sirte Basin; North Africa
This paper provi des an overvi ew of the pet r ol eum
systems of the Nort h African count ri es borderi ng the
Medi t er r anean, i.e. Mor occo, Algeria, Tunisia, Li bya
and Egypt . As well as forming a geographically con-
tiguous unit, this region also shows a common geo-
logical history, forming part of a single geological plate
through Phanerozoi c history. Despi t e this, t here are
strong cont rast s in t he level of expl orat i on success
across the region, which is relatively well expl ored
compar ed to ot her areas of Africa, t hough markedl y
less so when compar ed to Eur ope. This paper aims to
identify the main controlling factors on pet r ol eum
occurrence across the region, to identify which aspects
of the plays concer ned are of regional extent, and t o
explain obser ved pat t erns of success and failure. This
underst andi ng is t hen t ransferred to less expl ored and
current l y unproduct i ve basins within the region in an
at t empt to highgrade areas and fairways of remaining
expl orat i on pot ent i al .
Geological history
The region under revi ew forms the nort hern margin of
the African pl at e, bounded by the At l ant i c to the
north-west, the Medi t er r anean to the north and the
* Pa p e r or i gi nal l y r e c e i ve d at t he MOE X 1994 Co n f e r e n c e , Mal t a
t Cur r e n t a ddr e s s : c/ o BP I n d o n e s i a , Ki n i n g a n Pl aza Sout h, Sui t e 401,
Jl. H. R. Ra s i na Sai d, Ka v Cl 1- 14, J a ka r t a 12940, I n d o n e s i a
Arabi an plate to the east (Figure 1). With the except i on
of the Atlasic domains accret ed in the Hercyni an (Lat e
Carboni ferous) and Al pi ne (Tertiary) events, the
region has for med part of a single plate t hroughout the
Phanerozoic. This r emoves the need to use plate re-
constructions for t he maps at t ached to this paper
(Figures 7 - 1 0 ) and t hese are t herefore, for reasons of
clarity, pl ot t ed on present day geographies.
Two large-scale Phanerozoi c tectonic cycles can be
identified affecting the area, each involving regional-
scale extension fol l owed by compressi on, the latter in
bot h cased being concent rat ed in the nort h-west of the
region. Rifting affect ed large parts of t he area in the
Cambro-Ordovi ci an (Klitzsch, 1970) and most of the
Pal aeozoi c basins in the interiors of the six countries
concerned can be shown to be sag feat ures over these
earlier rifts ( Boudj ema, 1987). These Pal aeozoi c rift-
sag basins were separ at ed by many long-lived structural
highs such as the Tibesti-Sirte Ri dge (Figure 7).
The Hercyni an (late Carboni ferous) event in the
At l as area, resulting from a plate collision with Eur ope,
ended this Earl y Pal aeozoi c extensional phase.
Inversions associated with the Hercyni an compressi on
event decrease in intensity from nort h-west to south-
east across Algeria and do not seem to ext end signifi-
cantly into Li bya. Br oad Hercyni an folding super-
i mposed on Earl y Pal aeozoi c st ruct ures led to the
devel opment of the arches on which fields such as Hassi
Messaoud now sit (Balbucchi and Pommi er, 1970).
Mar i ne and Pet r ol eum Geol ogy 1996 Vol ume 13 Nu mb e r 3 329
Hydrocarbon systems of North Africa: D. S. Macgregor
Figure 1 Di stri buti on of proven hydrocarbon resources in North Africa. Condensate reserves are i ncl uded in gas figures. Note the
concentrati on of reserves, parti cul arl y of gas, in Eastern Al geri a and that, predomi nant l y of oil, in the Sirte Basin of Libya. Note also the
high proport i on of basin reserves in t wo maj or Al geri an fi el ds (Hassi R' Mel and Hassi Messaoud), whi ch contrasts wi t h the more
dispersed nature of the reserves in the rift provi nces of Sirte and Suez
A second phase of the ext ensi on commenced in the
Earl y Mesozoi c with t he devel opment of a series of rifts
along what was t o become t he east ern margin of the
At l ant i c and the sout hern margin of the Tet hys Ocean
(Mengoli and Spinicci, 1985). Rifting began on t he
Atlantic margin in the Triassic, spread t o t he At l as area
in t he Liassic and into the east ern Medi t er r anean in the
mi ddl e Jurassic (Di xon and Rober t son, 1984). Spread-
ing was consequent l y initiated in t he mi ddl e and late
Jurassic in the Atlantic and west ern Medi t er r anean and
in t he Earl y Cr et aceous in the east ern Medi t erranean.
A t rend of Mesozoi c passive margin margin basins and
failed rifts was thus creat ed, ext endi ng from the
Moroccan margin t hrough t he At l as and Pelagian
Basins to the Abu Ghar adi q Basin in Egypt ( Awad,
1984). Obl i que extension during the drift phase
affect ed much of the Nor t h African margin leading t o
occasional transpressional structuring. The openi ng of
t he east ern Medi t erranean in the Earl y Cret aceous led
t o t he format i on of t he multi-phase rift structures of t he
Sirte Basin (Gui raud and Mauri n, 1992). Movement on
interior t ransform faults in the Apt i an led to localized
structural inversions within t he Ghadames/ Tri assi c
Basin ( Boudj ema, 1987) while a change in the relative
movement s of Africa and Eur ope in t he Lat e
Cret aceous led to mor e regional-scale inversions,
particularly in the Atlas and West er n Deser t areas
(Mengoli and Spinicci, 1985). All t hese Cret aceous
tectonic event s were significant in creating traps in the
basins concerned (Figure 12).
The effects of t he Al pi ne or ogeny were again largely
confined to the At l as area and adjoining basins.
Thrusting and nappe format i on occurred in t he
nort hern At l as (Tellian Basin; Figure 13) passing into
milder inversions in the nort hern Pelagian Basin
(Bishop, 1975) with additional mi nor effects in the
Ghadames/ Tri assi c area. The remai nder of Nort h
Africa, pr ot ect ed by t he Apul i an pr omont or y (Italy),
was largely unaffect ed by Al pi ne events. A final
isolated event was t he rifting of the Gul f of Suez in the
Mi ocene, which can be i nt erpret ed as the onset of a
furt her tectonic cycle.
This paper will show the pet r ol eum systems of t he
region to be rel at ed intimately t o the tectonic processes
descri bed above, with source rock deposi t i on and
migration epi sodes concent rat ed during the post-rift
(sag) phases of the two extensional cycles descri bed
above. The intervening compressi ve epi sodes play an
i mport ant role in redistributing and oft en destroying
previ ousl y existing pet r ol eum systems.
Di s t r i but i on o f kno wn pe t r o l e um r e s o ur c e s
As in ot her areas of t he worl d, pet r ol eum resources
t end to be concent rat ed in a small number of significant
provinces. The distribution of t hese is shown in
Figure 1. In Nort h Africa, the t wo outstanding
provinces are the Sirte Basin of Li bya and the Triassic/
Illizi Basins of Algeria. The Triassic Basin in this paper
is t aken to include the Ghadames and Oued Mya basins
oft en referred to el sewhere (Figures 2 and 3). Bot h the
Sirte and Triassic/Illizi provinces contain reserves in t he
range 30- 35 BBOE, placing t hem amongst t he world' s
largest: t oget her t hey contain 85% of the oil and 80%
of the gas di scovered in Nort h Africa. The Sahara
contains the largest oil and gas fields in the Nort h
African region, i.e. Hassi Messaoud and Hassi R' Mel
(Figures 2 and 3), which with approxi mat el y 9000 BBO
and 60 TCF respectively, contain over half t he total oil/
gas resources of that province (Figure 1) and about fifth
of the t ot al reserves in the region as a whole. Reser ves
are mor e di spersed in the Sirte Basin, where the largest
field, Sarir, (Figure 2), contains only 18% of t he total
basin reserves. The hydr ocar bon habitat of t hese two
key provinces is summari zed in diagrammatic form in
Figures 3 and 4.
While significantly smaller in t erms of total reserves,
t he third most significant provi nce, the Gul f of Suez,
deserves special ment i on in t erms of its unusually high
areal product i vi t y (7 BBOE in an area of only 26,000
3 3 0 Ma r i n e a n d Pe t r o l e u m Ge o l o g y 1996 Vo l u me 13 Nu mb e r 3
Hydrocarbon systems of North Africa: D. S. Macgregor
F i gur e 2 Di st r i but i on of di f f er ent t r ap t ypes a mo n g s t f i el ds wi t h > 2 5 0 MMBOE r ecover abl e r eser ves. Fi el ds r ef er r ed t o in t ext ar e
l abel l ed. Not e t he cur r ent r el at i ve pauci t y of st r at i gr aphi c t r aps and pr esence of maj or f i el ds i n c ompr es s i onal ant i cl i nes onl y in ar eas at
consi der abl e di st ance t o t he At l as or ogeni c bel t
sq km). The offshore Pelagian Basin of Tunisia and
Libya ranks fourt h, with 3 BBOE of reserves con-
cent rat ed in an Eocene carbonat e fairway, while there
are a furt her three moderat e sized gas provinces
in Algeria and Egypt with proven reserves each of
around 1 BBOE.
Trap, types and reservoirs
Pet rol eum reserves in the provinces described above
are spread over a variety of trap types ( Figure 2) and
reservoirs. The greatest concentration of reserves in
terms of trap type are in broad arches, as typified by
Hassi Messaoud and Hassi R' Mel (Balbucchi and
Pommier, 1970; Magloire, 1970). Extensional blocks
and overlying drape anticlines are also significant trap
types, as represent ed by many fields in the rift basins of
Sirte (e.g. Sarir, Amal ; Figures 2 and 4, Parsons et al. ,
1980) and Suez (e.g. Morgan; Figure 2; Brown, 1980).
Compressive anticlines are less significant than else-
A
A
~
SE
NW
T R I AS S I C B ASI N I L L I Z I B ASI N
I
I I
O U E D MY A B ASI N G H AD AME S B ASI N
Hassi ' R Mel H assi R hour de el
Ra-ue' Tin Fouye-Tabankort
Messaoud
depth ~ i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i ; i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i ~ ! i i i i i i i ! i i ~ i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i ~ i i i i ! ~ i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i ~ i i i i i i ~ i i i i ~ i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i ~ ~ i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i ~ i i i i i ! ~ i i i ~ - ~ "
, m
ii! ! i i i i iliiii i i i iiii ,,
1
3 - . . . - ~ '=*'.= ~ ' t A . . . . . . _ _ _ __________ _ _
~,.:.. ,...
4 ""' ""
2.. ~ ' " t,.-~.
. i~ . ~ " g. ~ I . ~ .
6
after Balbucchi & Pommier 1970, Magliore 1970, Chiarelli 1978, Perrodon 1983 O Oil
Gas
1 0 0 km L_)
~ Source Rock
F i gur e 3 Schemat i c cr oss- sect i on of t he Tr i assi c/ l l l i zi pet r ol eum pr ovi nce. Not e t he si gni f i cance of t he Tr i assi c evapor i t e seal and t he
Her cyni an u n c o n f o r mi t y in c ont r ol l i ng hy dr oc ar bon habi t at . Compi l ed f r om dat a and sect i ons i n Bal bucchi and Pommi er (1970),
Magl i or e (1970), Per r odon (1983), Chi ar el l i (1978)
Marine and Petroleum Geology 1996 Volume 13 Number 3 331
Hydrocarbon systems of North Africa: D. S. Macgregor
B
W Beda Zelten
de
I ntisar Amal
B
7
E
after Parsons et a11980 t Oi l
Gas
100 km
~1~ Source Rock
Figure 4 Schematic cross-section of the Sirra petroleum province. Note the concentration of reserves within and over the main
extensional highs and the importance of the Early Cretaceous sands as reservoirs and migration carrier beds. Modified after Parsons
e t a/. (1980)
where in t he world, although inversion structures of
Carboniferous age form moderat el y sized fields in the
IUizi and Ahnet Basins, while those of Cretaceous age
form traps in t he Triassic and Abu Gharadi q Basin
(Figure 2; Boudj ema, 1987; Claret and Tempere, 1967;
Bishop, 1975). Folds and inversions of Alpine age have
so far failed to give any maj or discoveries, a point t hat
will be considered later in this paper.
Al t hough some maj or fields such as Hassi R' Mel
have a stratigraphic component , pure stratigraphic
traps are relatively uncommon in t he set of giant fields
so far discovered. Devoni an pinch-out traps are signifi-
cant in t he Illizi Basin (e.g. Alrar) while Palaeogene
carbonate build-ups are significant in the Pelagian and
Sirte basins (Figures 2 and 4). Asht art in Tunisia
(Figure 2) has a strong stratigraphic component
(Bishop, 1988), while t he Intisar fields in Libya (Figures
2 and 4) are classic carbonat e build-ups. By analogy to
the exploration histories of more mat ure basins in
Europe and Nort h Ameri ca (e.g. Nort h Sea, Wyomi ng),
stratigraphic traps involving pinch-outs, subcrops and
channelling may be considered as targets for likely
fut ure discoveries in many basins. A furt her guideline
as to the possible i mport ance of subtle trapping
concepts in t he fut ure is t hat t he Illizi Basin contains
one of the world' s largest known hydrodynami c traps.
This is t he Tin Fouye - Ta ba nkor t field (Chiarelli,
1978; Figures 2 and 3), with approximately 1.2 BBOE
oil and gas reserves in Devoni an and Ordovician
reservoirs.
No stratigraphic reservoir horizon shows a pre-
domi nance in terms of the reserves distribution of
Nort h Africa (Figure 5) . Only broad trends are
apparent: the main reservoirs in the Palaeozoic basins
of Algeria are Cambri an, Devoni an and Triassic, while
the main reservoirs in Tet hyan rifts and passive margins
are Albian to Tertiary. Individual basins oft en show a
wide spread. The Sirte Basin reserves are geographi-
cally and stratigraphically dispersed, as is typical for rift
basins (Harding, 1983), over a wide range of reservoirs
ranging from Cambr o- Or dovi ci an pre-rift quartzites to
Eocene- Ol i gocene carbonates (Figure 4). The equiva-
lent range in the Gul f of Suez is from late Palaeozoic
(Nubian) to late Miocene. The Saharan reserves are
spread over a somewhat narrower range of reservoirs,
with t he prospective section not extending above the
Triassic salt (Figure 3) . The peaks of reserves concen-
t rat i on observed in Figure 5 in Cambrian and Triassic
reservoirs reflect the significance of the two largest
Saharan fields.
Source rocks and migration pathways
In contrast to the spread of reserves t hrough different
trap types and reservoir levels, t here is a concentration
of reserves at t ri but ed to a few key source rock levels.
As shown in Figure 6, over 80% of reserves are attri-
but ed to source rocks from two short stratigraphic
intervals - - Silurian and Lat e Cretaceous, with a
furt her 10% from a third in t he Eocene. This observa-
tion, it should be poi nt ed out , assumes t hat correct
source r ock- pet r ol eum correlations have been made in
t he literature pertaining to the area. The main areas of
uncert ai nt y in this analysis relate to gas reserves.
Silurian and Devonian s ources
The most critical uncert ai nt y relating to large volumes
of reserves is the origin of t he Hassi R' Mel gas reserves,
which on Figure 6 are at t ri but ed entirely to a Silurian
332 Mari ne and Petrol eum Geol ogy 1996 Vol ume 13 Number 3
Hydrocarbon systems of North Africa." D. S. Macgregor
BBOE
reserves in
reservoi r
age
30 -
20 - -
10
m
g a s / c ond
o i l
Triassic ( Hassi
Messaoud)
Si rt e (Amal ) Il l i zi
Ahnet
Illizi Illizi
Ahnet
Triassic
(H 'R Mel )
. . . . : . . . . . ,
= - . . : . . . -
. . . . . , . .
. : . . . . . . . .
Tr
Sirte
Suez
Si rt e
Suez
Pel agi an
Fi gure 5 Di st r i but i on of Nor t h Af r i can r eser ves by r eser voi r age. Not e t he l ack of any pr edomi nant r egi onal r eser voi r pl ay al t hough i t is
appar ent t hat t he mai n r eser voi r pl ays i n t he i nt er i or Pal aeozoi c Basi ns ar e Cambr i an, Devoni an and Tr i assi c whi l e t hose i n
Me s o z o i c - Ce n o z o i c basi ns ar e Al bi an and y ounger . An except i on t o t hese br oad r ul es is t he si gni f i cant Cambr o- Or dov i c i an pl ay i n t he
Si r t e basi n, as r epr esent ed by t he Amal Fi el d
sour ce. An al t er nat i ve i nt e r pr e t a t i on is t hat t he gas
ma y der i ve at l east par t l y f r om mul t i pl e l ean Pal aeozoi c
s our ce r ocks now de e pl y bur i ed bel ow t he Sahar an
At l as. Th e r e is little doubt , howe ve r , t hat Al ger i an oil
r eser ves der i ve pr e domi na nt l y f r om t he ear l y Si l uri an
sour ce, par t i cul ar l y f r om a t hi n basal r adi oact i ve
i nt er val . Cont r i but i ons ar e also a ppa r e nt f r om t he Lat e
De voni a n (Figure 8) t o r es er voi r s t hat ar e in cl ose
st r at i gr aphi c pr oxi mi t y t o this younge r sour ce, par t i cu-
larly in t he Illizi Basi n. Ho we v e r , it is cl ear f r om
He r c yni a n s ubcr op pat t er ns t hat t he De voni a n cannot
cont r i but e si gni fi cant l y t o t he r es er ves c onc e nt r a t i on in
t he Hassi Mes s aoud ar ea, and must t he r e f or e be of
s e c onda r y i mpor t a nc e f or t he pr ovi nces as a whol e.
Fi el ds whi ch ma y have a si gni fi cant De voni a n s our ce
c o mp o n e n t i ncl ude Ti n F o u y e - Ta b a n k o r t , Al r a r
(Illizi; Figure 2) and Kr e c hba ( Ahne t ; Figure 2) .
A small cont r i but i on f r om De voni a n sour ces is also
suggest ed f or some de e p pool s in t he e xt r e me west of
t he Egypt i an We s t e r n De s e r t (Figure 8).
Th e ear l y Si l uri an s our ce seems t o be of r e ma r ka bl e
l at er al ext ent (Figure 7). Not onl y does t he s our ce l evel
cor r el at e ove r wi de ar eas of Nor t h Af r i ca but s our ce
r ocks ar e also pr es ent at a si mi l ar l evel in t he US
I nt e r i or basi ns, t he Ama z o n and on t he Russi an pl at -
f or m ( Kl e mme and Ul mi s hek, 1991). The s our ce l evel
seems t o t i e t o a wi des pr ead gl obal sea l evel rise whi ch
f l ooded a seri es of sag basi ns over l yi ng ear l i er Cambr o-
Or dovi ci an rifts and cons equent l y cr eat ed a seri es of
r est r i ct ed anoxi c basins. A si mi l ar set t i ng seems t o
appl y f or t he over l yi ng l at e De voni a n sour ce (Figure 8).
The basal Si l uri an s our ce l evel is of var i abl e t hi ck-
5O
BBOE
reserves
tied to
source
age
30 -
20 - -
!
10
m
gas / cond Triassic
Il l i zi
oil Ahnet
Il l i zi
I I I I I I
I Camb Ord
< . . . . . = .
Hassi ' R
Si rt e
Suez
Pel agi an
Hassi
Suez
/ . . . . . . . . . . Si rt e Pel agi an
Il l i zi (suth L
Ahnet Abu
Gharadi q
Sil Dev I Carb IPerm I Tr I J ur I Cret
Fi gure 6 Di st r i but i on of Nor t h Af r i can r eser ves by i nt er pr et ed sour ce rock age. The concent r at i on of 90% of t he r eser ves t i ed t o t hr ee
sour ce r ock i nt er val s is much gr eat er t han t hat seen f or r eser voi r age on Figure 5
Marine and Petroleum Geology 1996 Volume 13 Number 3 333
Hydrocarbon systems of North Africa: D. S. Macgregor
5 BBOE tied to source
1-5 BBOE tied to source
OIL ~ GAS
O < 1 BBOE tied to source
<
Other Anoxi c Shal e Occurrence
Figure 7 Effective and other anoxic shale facies occurrences of Silurian age. These occurrences seem to be tied to an extensive
transgressive and anoxic event, possibly associated with glacial melting. Although source rock deposition was clearly widespread,
petroleum associated with this source has been only locally preserved
ness and product i vi t y with the thickest devel opment s in
the Ghadames region. The high product i vi t y of t he
Saharan provi nce is a consequence of t he lateral
extensiveness of this and the Devoni an source, large
migration cat chment areas (see bel ow) and a high
degree of preservat i on resulting from t he effectiveness
of the Triassic salt as a ret ent i ve seal ( Boudj ema, pers.
comm. ).
Late Cretaceous and Eoc ene s ources
Lat e Cret aceous sources seem equal l y extensive and
significant, although, it shoul d be not ed that, in con-
trast t o the situation for t he Silurian, the different
source rock levels within this interval are not fully time-
correlative over the region. The t rend of source rock
devel opment extends along the Central Atlantic and
Medi t erranean margins (Figure 9), and can in fact be
seen to continue on pal aeoreconst ruct i ons along the
entire sout h Tet hyan margin from Venezuel a t o Iraq
(Kl emme and Ul mi shek, 1991). The most product i ve
source rocks included within this grouping are the
Cenomani an in the Sirte Basin (Shardanov, 1983),
for med in the fill of an Apt i an rift, the Santonian
Brown Li mest one of the Gul f of Suez, and the
Turoni an of Tunisia (Bishop, 1988). The thickness of
source rocks varies widely, with the thickest develop-
ment pr obabl y r epr esent ed by a 50 m (gross) interval of
Figure 8 Effective and other anoxic shale facies occurrences of Late Devonian age. These occurrences seem to be tied to an extensive
transgressive and anoxic event. The palaeotectonic position of the Appalachian Basin, USA, is marked. For key to symbols used see
Figure 7
334 Mari ne and Petroleum Geol ogy 1996 Vol ume 13 Number 3
Hydrocarbon systems of Nort h Afri ca: D. S. Macgregor
Fi gure 9 Effective and ot her anoxi c shale faci es occurrences of Late Cretaceous age. These occurrences are not f ul l y t i me correl at i ve
al t hough a source rock peak is appar ent in t he Cenomani an- Tur oni an. A vari et y of processes causi ng hi gh organi c pr oduct i vi t y and/ or
preservat i on seem t o be operat i ng duri ng thi s peri od, whi ch also f or ms a gl obal peak in source rock devel opment . For key to symbol s
used see Figure 7
immature Turonian black shales in the onshore
Aa i un- Ta r f a ya basin of, Morocco (Figure 9) with
TOCs of 6- 10% (Einsele and Wi edmann, 1982). It is
likely t hat a variety of processes combined to favour the
devel opment of these source rocks: many correlate to
transgressions associated with sea level rises at this
time; there is clear evidence for oceanic anoxia and of
upwelling systems (phosphates), while the Sirte
devel opment can clearly also be tied to the format i on of
a tectonically controlled marine restriction.
Eocene source rock devel opment s seem to occur
along a similar trend to the Lat e Cretaceous sources, as
in fact also do some t hi nner Albian source rocks. The
Eocene trend (Figure 10) appears to have a stronger
upwelling control, with source rocks more frequently
associated with phosphate devel opment . The greater
discontinuity of the Eocene level as productive source
rocks is probably tied to the frequent i mmat uri t y of this
level. The most significant Eocene source rock
contributions occur where the source is buried beneat h
thick Neogene overburdens in the Pelagian (Ashtart
area) and Suez Basins. Thrust loading also seems to be
a mechanism by which this source level can be mat ured
(e.g. Tellian Atlas, Algeria).
The productivity of these source rocks varies widely,
largely dependent on variations in source rock thick-
ness. The highest Source Productive Indices (Demaison
and Huizinga, 1991) calculated are those in the Gul f of
Suez (combined Cretaceous and Eocene - 1 0 ) , which
notably correlate to t he basin with the strongest
concentration of reserves per unit area. Lower values
apply in ot her regions. The high reserves in the Sirte
Basin seem to be related to the devel opment of a highly
retentive (i.e. low leakage/seepage) pet rol eum system.
Other s ource rocks
Source rocks of Triassic, Jurassic and early Cretaceous
age have been locally document ed but have relatively
little reserves so far associated with them. Of these, the
Fi gure 10 Effective and ot her anoxi c shale facies occurrences of Eocene age. Effective occurrences are heavi l y constrai ned by the
f requent i mmat ur i t y of t hi s level. Upwel l i ng seems t o be the mai n process f avouri ng source rock devel opment at thi s t i me. For key to
symbol s used see Figure 7
Ma r i n e a n d Pe t r o l e u m Ge o l o g y 1996 Vo l u me 13 Nu mb e r 3 335
Hydrocarbon systems of North Africa: D. S. Macgregor
only horizons that seem t o show regionally correl at abl e
source rock devel opment are t he Toarci an, a highstand
event that also ties to a phase of source rock deposi t i on
in the At l as rifts of Mor occo and in many Eur opean
basins, and t he Mi ddl e Jurassic, of which t here is some
evi dence of spasmodi c source rock deposi t i on
( Aai unn- Tar f aya Basin, Pelagian Basin, West er n
Desert ). The vol umet ri c pot ent i al of the mid-Jurassic
source is demonst r at ed by the large degr aded oil
accumulation encount er ed at Cap Juby, Mor occo,
which is t ent at i vel y tied t o this source level. Oxfordi an
shales are the source to t he small oil reserves of t he
Essaoui ra Basin in Mor occo (Figure 1; Brought on and
Trepani er, 1993). A thick series of Al bi an source rocks
is also known from nort hern Tunisia, devel oped within
a small Cret aceous rift. An early Cr et aceous lacustrine
source, similar t o t hose which occur in ot her African
rifts of similar age, may be t he origin of t he waxy oils
encount er ed in the ext reme sout h of the Sirte Basin
(Figure 4).
Migration path ways
The dispersal of pet r ol eum reserves t hrough a wide
stratigraphic range of reservoirs ( Figure 5) might
suggest that the Nor t h Afri can provi nces are
charact eri zed by high degrees of vertical migration.
Cl oser exami nat i on, however , reveals t he i mport ance
of lateral communi cat i on (juxt aposi t i on of source and
reservoi r levels) on unconformi t i es. Within t he Sirte
Basin, for instance, 90% of t he reserves are devel oped
close to t he main rift unconformi t y (Shardanov and
Shumliova, 1983; Figure 4). This indicates that the mid
Cr et aceous sand overlying that unconformi t y is acting
as an efficient carrier bed, distributing oil from on-
lapping source rocks in t he basin cent res into onl appi ng
or subcroppi ng reservoi rs on the basin margins. A
similar pi ct ure applies in t he Gul f of Suez on the un-
conformi t y bet ween Nubi an and Mi ocene sands. In
t hese t wo rift provi nces, individual traps can be seen to
each drain only limited port i ons of kitchen, thus
explaining t he dispersal of t he reserves over many
fields, in cont rast with t he mar ked concent rat i on in two
giant fields in t he Sahara.
In t he Triassic/Illizi provi nce, bot h vertical and
lateral migration is i mport ant , t he former allowing
Silurian oil t o migrate upwards into ei t her Devoni an or
Triassic sandst ones, which t hen act as efficient lateral
carrier beds and reservoirs (Figure 3). The concentra-
tion of reserves in t wo except i onal l y large fields in the
Triassic/Illizi provi nce can be rel at ed to t he structural
simplicity of t he provinces, wher e large port i ons of
kitchen are focused into t he regional arches on which
t he fields lie. The cat chment area of the Hassi
Messaoud Ri dge, for instance, is some 35,000 square
ki l omet res in ext ent on present day structuring and may
have been even larger pri or t o Apt i an inversion.
Ti mi ng of hydrocarbon e mpl ac e me nt rel ati ve to
t ect oni c event s
The timing of generat i on of the pet r ol eum resources of
t he region can be est i mat ed (Figure 1 1 ) , usually with
consi derabl e confidence, from constraints established
by studying t he age of devel opment of pet rol eum-
bearing traps, by geot hermal modelling and, in some
cases, by apatite fission t rack analysis. In the case of the
younger source rocks (e.g. Suez and Pelagian basins),
t here is of course little doubt that generat i on and
migration t ook place fairly recently, as it was only in
Neogene times that t hese sources were buri ed beneat h
a significant over bur den (Bishop, 1988). Timing of
generat i on in the Sirte Basin is est i mat ed from basin
modelling as mainly Pal aeogene in age (Gumat i and
Schamel, 1988).
Over large parts of the Triassic/Illizi basins, t here
BBOE Reserves
by Interpreted
Age of
Emplacment
30 -
20 -
10
/
I Camb
Destructive Events
gas/ cond
oil
Ahnet
I Or Io" I ~erm
Sirte, Suez
Triassic(Hassi Pelagian
R'Mel R. Nouss ~i!ii~:~:.~i!i~i]
, , , , z ,
Triassic :::::::::::::::::::::::
(Hassi Me
[ Tr Jar I Cret Tert
Hercynian Alpine
Figure 11 Distribution of North African reserves by interpreted age of hydrocarbon emplacement. Note the near exponential decrease
of hydrocarbon vol ume wi th increased age, and the anomaly of the Ahnet gas reserves, which provides an important anal ogue for
mahy interior fronti er basins
3 3 6 Mari ne and Petroleum Geol ogy 1996 Vol ume 13 Number 3
Hydrocarbon systems of North Africa: D. S. Macgregor
seems to be a broad relationship by which traps formed
prior to the Apt i an inversion are predomi nant l y oil
filled, while those formed during the inversion are
predomi nant l y gas filled. The oil charge is thus
indicated to have post -dat ed t he format i on of closure at
Hassi Messaoud in the Jur assi c- ear l y Cretaceous
(Balbucchi and Pommi er, 1970) but to have largely
preceded the format i on of t he Rhour de Nouss and
related Apt i an inversion structures (Claret and
Tempere, 1967) and the format i on of the Hassi R' Mel
closure in the Turoni an (Magliore, 1970). The post-
Apt i an charge is thus t hought to have been largely gas.
A lesser oil charge could have been generat ed in the
Carboniferous in the Illizi area, prior to the develop-
ment of existing traps: any traps filled at this time have
since been dest royed, probably during Hercyni an
tectonism (Tissot et al. , 1973). The existence of
effective hydrodynami c traps in the Illizi Basin suggests
that localized more recent migration or re-migration
must have occurred locally, probably as a result of
flushing to the south (Chiarelli, 1978).
Figure 11 thus illustrates that most of the petroleum
now seen in the North Africa area was generat ed fairly
recently, with a near-exponential decrease in trapped
pet rol eum volume with increasing age of accumulation.
This is consistent with global trends, as published by
Miller (1992) and can in this region be at t ri but ed to two
main factors: destruction of fields filled in the Palaeo-
zoic by Hercyni an tectonism, and a peak of oil
generat i on in the last 110 Ma as Silurian and Lat e
Cretaceous sources went t hrough the oil window.
The main exception to the t rend of declining
pet rol eum volume with increased age are the gas
reserves of the Ahnet area of Algeria, which lie in an
area which did not suffer any significant Mesozoic
burial and probably were generat ed in Palaeozoic
time. Study of the gas-bearing inversion structures in
the Ahnet region (Sonatrach/BP, unpublished studies)
indicates the traps to be of Lat e Carboniferous age, i.e.
Hercynian. The period of gas migration into developing
structures is confined to a very narrow time frame in the
Carboniferous, probably synchronous with structural
growth. Exami nat i on of t he Silurian and Devonian
source rocks in this region shows it to be overmat ure
but to contain primarily oil-prone kerogen. The model
thus put forward is t hat the source rocks expelled their
oil potential in the early Carboniferous and, by the
onset of the Hercyni an folding, were well into the gas
window. The mechanism by which Hercyni an inversion
traps were filled with gas during a period when the
source kitchen was being uplifted remains uncertain,
with possible explanations including re-migration from
earlier traps, late-stage expulsion resulting from
compression of the source rock pore space, and a time
delay resulting from slow migration in a low perme-
ability carrier bed. In ot her regions of North Africa,
where Palaeozoic sources were mat ured in pre-
Hercynian times, it is probable that the relationship
between generation and structuring was less favour-
able, and large amount s of pet rol eum were probably
released to surface at this time from pre-existing traps.
The relationships described above between source
maturity and trap formation seem to be the main
reason why Palaeozoic ( Si l ur i an- Lat e Devonian)
sources are tied to relatively large amounts of gas and
condensate ( Figure 6). This does not appear to be due
to a gas-prone kerogen content to these source rocks
(Sonatrach/BP Internal Data/Analysis). The high
proportion of oil associated with late Cretaceous and
Eocene sources can be also partly attributed to
generally favourable relationships between trap
format i on and periods of oil generation for these source
Basin
Development
Source Rock
Deposition
Trap
Formation*
Petroleum
Generation
Trap
Destruction
subsidence
R fting g
subsidence ~ Riftin [ ] [ ]
i
[ ] Iii!ilili!iiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiii!i!iiiiiiiii!il [ ]
[ ]
Hercynian Alpine
Camb Ord Sil Dev Carb :~erm Tr Jur Cret
~ Wi l s on Cycle 1 , Wi l son Cy c l e 2
Tert
* - existing hydrocarbon bearing traps only
Figure 12 Si mpl i f i ed t ect oni c and pet r ol eum system hi st ory f or North Africa. A pet rol eum cycle is apparent in t he Mesozoi c- Cenozoi c
which follows t he most recent Wi l son Cycle of Plate Tectoni cs in t he regi on. Si mi l ar tectoni c and pet r ol eum system cycles can be
i nferred in t he Palaeozoic, al t hough Palaeozoic t raps were pr obabl y l argel y dest royed duri ng Hercynian compressi on
Marine and Petroleum Geology 1996 Volume 13 Number 3 337
Hydrocarbon systems of North Africa: D. S. Macgregor
rocks.
The Al pi ne or ogeny in t he At l as region has
apparent l y led t o at least partial dest ruct i on of pre-
existing pet r ol eum systems. This is clearly evi denced by
the large number of seeps in t he area, particularly in
t he Sahara Atlas. In most regions of t he worl d, t here is
a good relationship bet ween seepage and reserves at a
basinal scale (Macgregor, 1993), but this is clearly not
t he case in Nort h Africa. This demonst rat es bot h the
unusually high degree of pet r ol eum ret ent i on in the
main Nort h African provi nces and t he advanced nat ure
of destructive processes in some basins.
I ntegrated petroleum and tectonic model
On the basis of t he exampl es descri bed, a simplified
i nt errel at ed tectonic and geochemical history can be
put forward for the Nort h African margin basins, with
the key event s tied to t wo large-scale cycles cont rol l ed
primarily by plate t ect oni c movement s (Figure 12). This
history, which is broadl y applicable t o all the key
pet r ol eum systems ot her than the late-stage Gul f of
Suez basin (which may represent t he onset of a third
cycle), is summari zed bel ow in highly generalized form
and in approxi mat e or der of events. It is emphasi zed
that t he relationship bet ween some of t hese event s
varies bet ween basins - - in some cases t hese event s
have occurred synchronously. In ot her cases their
or der is reversed, usually t hen with unfavourabl e
consequences for t he format i on or preservat i on of large
pet r ol eum systems.
Cycle 1: Palaeozoic
1. Cambro-Ordovi ci an rifting and basin genesis.
2. Deposi t i on of Pal aeozoi c source rocks in sags over
t hese early rifts.
3. Partial mat urat i on of t hese source rocks by con-
tinuing burial in t he Carboni ferous, particularly in
west ern regions.
4. Loss of most pre-existing pet r ol eum during t he
Hercyni an or ogeny (not e Ahnet Basin exception).
Cycle 2: Mes ozoic- Cenozoic
5. Format i on of a new set of basins over what was to
become the Nort h African margin from Per mi an-
mid Cret aceous times. For mat i on of Mesozoi c
extensional traps and of bl ocks over which drape
anticlines later formed.
6. Deposi t i on of Lat e Cret aceous and Eocene source
rocks in passive margin, sag and rift fill settings.
7. Mat urat i on of Pal aeozoi c source rocks bel ow Lat e
Mesozoi c over bur dens (Sahara region).
8. Mat urat i on of Lat e Cret aceous and Eocene source
rocks bel ow Tert i ary overburdens.
9. Partial dest ruct i on of some Mesozoi c pet r ol eum
systems during Al pi ne tectonic activity.
Frontier potential
Havi ng for mul at ed a model for t he successful systems
in the region, we are now in a position to revi ew mor e
underexpl ored areas. Unpr oduct i ve or poorl y produc-
tive basins in the region fall into t wo g r o u p i n g s -
interior Pal aeozoi c basins, which lie along product i ve
Silurian/Devonian source rock t rends (Figure 13) , and
Medi t erranean/ At l ant i c Mesozoi c margin basins, which
lie along product i ve Lat e Cr et aceous/ Eocene source
rock t rends (Figure 14).
The large Mesozoi c basin areas in Mor occo and
nort hern Algeria are still compl et el y devoi d of giant
field discoveries (Figure 2), despi t e t he drilling of a
combi ned total of some 300 expl orat i on wells. The
Established Province
Frontier Basin
Fi gure 13 Summar y map of t he combi ned Late Cret aceous/ E ocene source f ai r way in North Africa. Fronti er basins hi ghl i ght ed on
source criteria are shown, t hough ot her aspects of t hei r prospect i vi t y, e.g. reservoir, are not consi dered. Source mat ur i t y and t i mi ng of
generat i on are common cri ti cal factors
338 Mari ne and Petroleum Geol ogy 1996 Vol ume 13 Number 3
Hydrocarbon systems of North Africa: D. S. Macgregor
Established Province ~ Frontier Basin
cb Age of I nterpeted Hydrocarbon Generation (Cb-
Carboniferous, K=Cretaceous)
Figure 14 Summar y map of the combi ned Si l uri an/Late Devonian source f ai rway in North Africa. Fronti er basins hi ghl i ght ed on source
cri teri a are shown, t hough ot her aspects of t hei r prospect i vi t y, e.g. reservoi r, are not consi dered. In most cases, preservat i on of
Palaeozoic pet r ol eum is requi red. Ti mi ng of generat i on rel ati ve to trap f or mat i on and preservation are common critical factors, wi t h a
hi ghgradi ng of basins t hat are di stal f r om t he effects of t he Hercynian orogeny
regions where exploration has failed to date are
generally those where the main source rocks are
i mmat ure or overmat ure or where an unfavourable
relationship is apparent between generat i on, trap
format i on and destructive events, Many Moroccan
basins seem to have been doubly unfort unat e in
containing overmat ure Palaeozoic source rocks and
immature Late Cret aceous/ Eocene sources, although
potential can be identified in this region associated with
Jurassic source rock developments.
Al t hough relatively well drilled with respect to ot her
frontier African basins, exploration well densities
(generally less then 1 well/1000sq km) are con-
siderably lower than in many European basins in which
significant late-stage discoveries have been made.
Exami nat i on of such Eur opean analogues give some
hope for the basins where timing seems to be the main
explanation for failures to date. The heavily inverted
Mesozoic basins of NW Eur ope (e.g. Wessex Basin,
Broad Fourt eens, West Net herl ands basins) had
already been considerably explored with limited
success before the Wytch Farm giant was found in a
deep reservoir on a palaeostructure t hat had survived
inversion in an unal t ered form. This experience
suggests that a search for undefor med palaeostructures
in some of the inverted Mesozoic basins might provide
dividends.
The recent successes in the sub-nappe areas of the
Southern Apenni nes (Mattavelli et al. , 1993; D' Andr ea
et al. , 1993), in an area directly on trend with the
Tellian Atlas, demonst rat e the value of perseverance in
structurally complex areas such as the Atlas. It can now
be seen t hat success on the Alpine t rend, associated
with a variety of source rocks, seems almost entirely to
be associated with generat i on from Neogene depo-
centres - - examples are the Southern Apenni nes sub-
nappe and foreland areas, the Po Valley and the
Vienna Basin. This aspect clearly highlights potential
along the Tellian t rend of Algeria ( Figure 13) where
Late Cretaceous and/or Eocene source rocks should
have been mat ured by thrust loading, and possibly also
in the Ri f sub-nappe area of Morocco.
In the case of the non-productive interior Palaeozoic
basins ( Figure 1 4) , absence of major discoveries can be
at least partly at t ri but ed to lack of exploration effort.
Drilling density is generally below 0.5 wells per 1000
square kilometres. Most of the unproductive basins do
not show significant Mesozoic overburdens, and there-
fore require preservation of Palaeozoic petroleum. The
critical factor for exploration in these areas must there-
fore be timing of generat i on relative to trap format i on,
with source rock presence a concern only in eastern
basins such as Kufra ( Figure 14) . The Ahnet analogue
illustrates that the critical factors for such Palaeozoic
generation models are the relationships of structuring
phases to periods of source rock expulsion, state of
mat uri t y at this time, and the effects of late-state
Hercynian structuring on pet rol eum system preserva-
tion. The latter factor focuses interest on areas well
removed from Hercyni an fold belts, i.e. within the
various basins of southern Algeria and Libya.
Co nc l us i o ns
This paper has presented a simplified model for
petroleum distribution in Nort h Africa, based on the
quantitative signficance and continuity of three major
source rocks intervals. Variations in the maturity level
of these and in the relationship between generation and
trap formative/destructive events are identified as the
Mari ne and Petroleum Geol ogy 1996 Vol ume 13 Number 3 339
Hydrocarbon systems of North Africa: D. S. Macgregor
main controls on basin success and failure. Such factors
seem t he most likely reason for t he cont rast in explora-
tion success bet ween t he west ern and the central/
east ern parts of the region. The high resources of t he
larger pet r ol eum provinces are at t ri but abl e t o
moder at e t o good source rock devel opment s, large
migration cat chment areas and to unusually high
degrees of pet r ol eum ret ent i on and preservat i on.
Remai ni ng pot ent i al in t he est abl i shed provinces may
be largely tied t o subt l e and stratigraphic trapping
concepts.
Modelling of t he relationship bet ween generat i on
and structuring will be a key fact or in improving success
rates in currently non-product i ve areas. The explora-
tion geologist working this region oft en needs t o place
as much at t ent i on on post - ent r apment history as he
does on modelling t he initial filling of traps. The Ahnet
Basin gas fields provi de clear evi dence for t he survival
of Pal aoezoi c pet r ol eum and have i mport ant impli-
cations for expl orat i on strategies in ot her Pal aeozoi c
interior basins. In the case of Mesozoi c basins, areas
where Neogene mat urat i on of late Cret aceous and
Eocene source rocks can be i nvoked, such as the
Tellian At l as, are clearly favoured.
Ac knowl e dge me nt s
Peter Sharland worked with me to compile the palaeo-
geographic maps that form t he basi s of the figures in
this paper. Support i ng wor k was also provi ded by
Simon Pet r ol eum Technol ogy. I am grateful to Davi d
Dal t on, Ian Vann, Davi d Rober t s and an anonymous
revi ewer for their comment s and additions t o the
manuscript, and t o t he management of BP Expl orat i on
for permission t o publish this paper.
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