Sedimentary Basins & Petroleum System 3/8/2015

Sedimentary Basins Analysis and

Petroleum System

Basins part-1

DSc. Mustafa As-Saruri

March 2015

Sedimentary Basins and Petroleum System

Introduction and basin definition; the term of Geosynclinal Theory
Basins in the Plate Tectonic Environment
State of the Lithosphere; Isostasy-Heat Flow and Convection- Strength and
Rheology
Subsidence analysis: Subsidence and Thermal History
Classification of the sedimentary basins
Intracratonic basins
Rift basins
Arc basins
Foreland basins
Strike slip basins
Sedimentary Basins of Yemen
Paleozoic; Mesozoic, and Cenozoic basins
Lithostratigraphy, structural evolution of the sedimentary basins
Correlation between the sedimentary basins
Petroleum system of the sedimentary basin
Petroleum Exploration History of Yemen

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Sedimentary Basins & Petroleum System 3/8/2015

Important References (1)

Andrew M., 1990, Principles of Sedimentary Basin
Analysis, 2nd ed., Springer-Verlag, 669 p.
Allen, P.A. & J.R. Allen, 2005, Basin Analysis -
principles & applications, 2nd ed., Blackwell Science,
549 p.
Einsele, G., 1992, Sedimentary Basins, evolution,
facies and sediment budget, Springer-Verlag, 628 p.

Important References (2)

As-Saruri, M. L., and R. Sorkhabi, 2014, Petroleum Systems and
Basins of Yemen, in L. Marlow, C. Kendall, and L. Yose, eds.,
Petroleum System of the Tethyan Region: AAPG Memoir 106,
p.757-780, doi:10.1306/13431840M1063617.
As-Saruri M. A., R. Sorkhabi, and R. S. Baraba, 2013,
Sedimentary basins of Yemen: their tectonic development and
lithostratigraphic cover, in K. Al Hosani et al. eds., Lithosphere
Dynamic and Sedimentary Basins: The Arabian Plate and
Analogues, Frontiers in Earth Sciences, p. 361-373, doi:
10.1007/978-3-642-30609_18, Springer Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
2013.
As-Saruri M. A., R. Sorkhabi, and R. S. Baraba, 2010,
Sedimentary basins of Yemen: their tectonic development and
lithostratigraphic cover: Arabian Journal of Geosciences, v. 3, no.
4, p. 515-527, Springer, doi: 10.1007/s12517-010-0189-z.

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Important References (3)

Beydoun, Z. R., and M. L. As-Saruri, 1998, Phanerozoic
depositional basins and inter-basinal highs of Yemen: their
structural framework and sedimentary cover: Zeitschrift fr
Geologische Wissenschaften, v. 26, no. 5/6, p. 517-529, Berlin.
Beydoun, Z. R., M. L. As-Saruri, and R. S. Baraba, 1996,
Sedimentary basins of the Republic of Yemen: Their structural
evolution and geological characteristics: Revue de l' Institute
Francais du Petrole, v. 51, no. 6, p. 763-775, Paris.
Beydoun, Z. R., M. L. As-Saruri, H. El-Nakhal, I. N. Al-Ganad, R.
S. Baraba, A. O. Nani, and M. H. Al-Aawah, 1998, International
Lexicon of Stratigraphy, Republic of Yemen: Vol. III, Asia, fasc.
10b2, second edition, International Union of Geological Sciences
(IUGS) publication no. 34, 245 p..
Jungwirth, J., and M. L. As-Saruri, 1990, Structural Evolution of
the Platform Cover on Southern Arabian Peninsula: Zeitschrift
fr Geologische Wissenschaften, v. 18, no. 6, p. 505-514, Berlin.

Basin definition
Areas of the earth where there is a net sedimentation
Or in the ancient fossil record of such areas
Zones of pronounced subsidence where sediment can
accumulate.
The larger the thickness of sediments and longer the
accumulation has taken place,
the more interesting to the oil companies the basin becomes.
Examples
Gulf of Mexico (today and ancient)
Pyrenees (ancient)
Oman (oil from 570 Ma stromatolites still in living position)

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Basin definition
Sedimentary basins = areas where Earth's
crust dominated by subsidence
Sediment in basin accumulates to > 10 km
Deepest basin > 15km (Caspian & Gulf of
Mexico

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Basins
MAKEUP of the EARTH
Rheological divisions
RIGID
lithosphere

DUCTILE
asthenosphere

Key parts of Plate Tectonics

Lithosphere or rigid lid that holds both crust and

cold mantle together as one solid block (0-
100km)
asthenoshphere or plastic, ductile layer also within
the mantle (100km depth to 300 km depth??)

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Comparison of views earth structure

RIGID

Crust Lithosphere

DUCTILE
mantle
Mantle
Asthenosphere

Prediction of surface uplift and subsidence over time

on a large scale is one of the most important
outcomes of mantle flow models

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Why Do Ocean Basins and Continents Exist ?

Answer: Isostasy (Equal Standing)

Oceanic Crust
Average Density: 3.0 g/cm3
Average Thickness: 7 km
Maximum Age: 180 million years
Continental Crust
Average Density: 2.7 g/cm3
Average Thickness: 35-40
Maximum Age: 4.0 billion years

Note: Average Density of Mantle Material is 3.3 g/cm 3

Both oceanic and continental crust are welded to lithospheric
mantle (the hard, brittle, uppermost part of mantle to form
lithospheric plates)

Oceanic plates are heavier than continental plates !

Effect of Lithospheric Thickness:

For a buoyant
material, a thick block
stands higher than a
thin block
Example: top surface
of thick block of wood
stands higher above
water level than that
of thin block of wood.
However, the
proportion of material
standing above and
below water mark is
the same for all
blocks. So, low density of continents combined with
great crustal thickness make continents
stand higher than ocean floors

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Effects of Density
A block of continental lithosphere (containing continental crust plus
uppermost ) stands higher than a block of oceanic lithosphere
(containing oceanic crust) of the same dimensions

Continental crust:
Oceanic crust: 2.7 g/cm3
3.0 g/cm3 Lithospheric mantle
Lithospheric mantle ~ 3.3 g/cm3
~ 3.3 g/cm3

Asthenosphere (near-liquid part of mantle)

Oceanic lithosphere floats low on asthenosphere (forms basins)

Continental lithosphere floats high on asthenosphere (forms
continents)

ISOSTASY
The equilibrium that
exists between parts
of the earth's crust,
which behaves as if it
consists of blocks
floating on the
underlying mantle,
rising if material (such
as an ice cap) is
removed and
sinking if material is
deposited

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ISOSTASY
Removal of material
from the top will
induce uplift at the
surface.
Removal of material
from the bottom will
produce subsidence.
Thus, in the case of
tectonic extension,
isostasy will produce
an effect that is
opposite to thermal
uplift.

Concept of a Basin
Three dimensional architecture of basin fill.
Affected by spatial and temporal pattern of tectonic
subsidence:
Lithospheric deformation process.
Three basic causes of subsidence:
Loading and flexure (like an elastic plate).
Thermal and density changes - isostasy.
Faulting - isostasy.
Sea level changes.
Sediment supply rates and source position (drainage
basin outlets).

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Basin Classification
Extensional:
Half graben/ graben - Rift Basin, e.g. Basin and
Range, U.S.A.
Mature oceanic speading - e.g. Atlantic margin
(Passive Margin).
Syn-rift, post-rift megasequences.
Compressional:
Foreland basin - flexural loading of the Earth's
lithosphere.
Two types:
Collisional, e.g. Himalaya.
Back arc, e.g. Andes/ Precordillera.
Piggy-back basin (thrust sheet top basin).
Strike-Slip Basins:
E.g. Dead Sea,

Three types of plate boundaries

1. Divergent
2. Convergent
3. Transform

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Stress and Strain

Four events associated with increased pressure
As pressure begins to build up, the pressure is slight
and nothing visible is happening to the surface.
As the pressure increases, eventually the surface will
begin to deform into a concave surface
The concave shape builds up to the point where it is
no longer able to return to its original shape.
The surface will rupture and begin to break at the
point of the increasing pressure, releasing the
pressure.

Geologic structures
Strain is change in shape or volume arising from stress

Stress and resulting

strain:
1) compression:
shortening
2) tension:
stretching

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4 responses possible to stress

Translation (no change in shape)

Rotation (no change in shape)
Distortion (shape changes)
Volume change (dilation, contraction)

another way to look at it:

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A stress is some force that can compress,

pull apart, or deform a rock and there are
3 basic types:
Compressive stress is caused when two
plates move together or when one moves
and applies a force on another one that is
not moving.
Tensional stress occurs when one part of a
plate moves away from another part of a
plate.
Shear stress occurs when two plates slide
past one another

The adjustment to stress is called strain

and there are 3 basic types:
Elastic strain occurs when rocks recover to
their original shape.
Plastic strain occurs when rocks are molded
or bent under the stress and do not return
to their original shape.
Fracture strain is when the rocks crack or
break under the stress.

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Geologic structures
(Stress)

3 types of stress:
1. compression: pushed together,
2. tension: pulled apart,
3. shear stress: moved horizontally past each
other.
motions of tectonic plates on Earths surface
from where does stress come?

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Lithosphere plates
(7 plates)
African plate
Eurasian plate
Pacific plate
North American plate
South American plate
Antarctic plate
Indian-Australian plate

how rocks respond to stress

rocks behave as elastic, brittle, or ductile bodies depending on
amount and rate of stress application
type of rock
temperature & pressure

elastic: rock returns

to original shape when
stress is removed
(think rubber band)
brittle: rock breaks
at yield point
(strength of rock overcome)
lower T and P
rock under compression (break)
ductile: rock flows
at yield point
(no continuous break)
higher T and P

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Stress and
deformation
relationship
s for deeply
buried,
warm rocks
under high
pressure (A)
and cooler
rocks near
the surface
(B). Breaking
occurs when
stress
exceeds
rupture
strength.

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F1 Friction between convecting asthenosphere and rigid lithosphere

F2 Gravitational push from mid-ocean ridge (high topography)
F3 Pull from increasing density of slab as it cools
F4 Elastic resistance of oceanic plate being pulled into subduction zone
F5 Pull of overriding plate toward subduction zone as subducting plate bends
F6 Friction between subducting slab and overlying lithosphere
F7 Sinking of oceanic slab as it cools and becomes denser

1. Divergent
2. Convergent
3. Transform

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Structure of tectonic plates at a convergent margin. Along the line of subduction,

an oceanic trench is formed, and sediment deposited in the trench, as well as
sediment from the sinking plate, is compressed and deformed to create a mlange
of shattered and crushed rock shaped as a fore-arc ridge. The sinking oceanic
crust eventually reaches the temperature where melting commences and forms
andesitic magma, which then rises to form an arc of volcanoes on the overriding
plate. On the side of the island arc away from the trench, tensional forces lead to
the development of a back-arc basin.

Basin Classification Cont.

Passive Margins:
E.g. Atlantic Margin.
Subduction Related:
Oceanic trench, e.g. Marianas Trench.
Fore-arc basin, e.g Taiwan or Median Valley in
Scotland.
Back-arc basin, e.g. Sea of Japan.
Cratonic "sag" Basins:
E.g. Chad Basin, Africa.
Abyssal Plains.
Predictive models of facies distributions:
useful for subsurface exploration of oil or understanding
dispersal of pollutants.

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Island Arcs
Island arcs are of chains of volcanically active islands
arranged in a curved arc
An ocean trench occurs on the oceanwards side
Island arcs first develop on oceanic crust
The crustal thickness in an arc is intermediate
between oceanic and continental
Volcanic activity begins abruptly at a Volcanic Front
about 200 - 300 km in from the trench
The volcanic front and trench are separated by an
Arc-Trench gap with no volcanism

Island Arc Volcanism

Volcanic rocks in island arcs are mostly of
andesitic composition
The magmas originate mostly by partial melting
of subducted oceanic crust and overlying mantle
Melting begins when the slab descends to about
100 km depth, forming the volcanic front Partial
melting of basaltic ocean crust
Rising magmas Volcanic eruptions

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Chemical Differentiation
Mid-Ocean Ridge:
Partial melting of Mantle basalt magma
Subduction Zone:
Partial melting of basalt crust andesite magma
Mature Arcs:
Partial melting of andesite crust rhyolite magma
All of this is an irreversible chemical
differentiation of the mantle in several stages
Continental crust grows by accumulation of
increasingly silica-rich rocks

Ocean trench Sedimentation

Unconsolidated sediment from the ocean floor is
scraped off the descending plate at the trench
Slices of the oceanic crust may be included as
ophiolite belts
These rocks form a complex rock mass called an
Accretionary Wedge
The Accretionary Wedge is buckled upwards as
new material is pushed beneath its base
The chaotic jumble of rocks in the Accretionary
wedge is called a Tectonic Mlange Accretionary
Wedge

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Metamorphic Rocks and Subduction

High Tempraure - Low Pressure
Metamorphism
Occurs in the core of volcanic arcs
Abnormal heating of the crust
thermal effects of subduction-related magmatism
High Pressure-Low Temprature
Metamorphism
occurs in the accretionary wedge
cold rocks are dragged to great depths and then
upthrust again granites

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Eclogite with
garnets

The Earths Early Crust

Oceanic crust Continental crust
First appearance ~4.5 Ga ~4.3 Ga

Where formed ocean ridge submarine plateaus

High temperature Lower temperature

Composition basalt tonalite-trondhjemite-

granodiorite

Lateral extent widespread, rapidly local, rapidly recycled (?)

recycled
How generated partial melting of ultramafic partial melting of wet
rock in upper mantle mafic rocks

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Sedimentary Systems and Plate Tectonics

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