The evolution of Oman’s onshore sedimentary basins from the Late Precambrian to the Present is reflected by six tectono-stratigraphic units. Unit I, the Precambrian basement, represents continental accretion. Units II and III, Infracambrian to Ordovician, may reflect two periods of rifting, possibly related to Najd movements in western Saudi Arabia. The northeast-southwest trending salt basins formed during this time interval. A classical “steer’s head” basin geometry is developed in North Oman, whereas a less complete rift-sag sequence is preserved in South Oman. Of the entire time-span from Late Silurian to Mid-Carboniferous, only little Devonian (Emsian) sediment is preserved. Unit IV, Late Carboniferous to Mid-Cretaceous, reflects the break-up of Gondwana and the creation of the northeastern and southeastern passive margins of the Arabian Plate. Unit V documents intra-plate deformation related to Late Cretaceous continent-ocean obduction in the north and transpressional movements of the Indian Plate in the east. Unit VI, spanning the Tertiary, represents a return to quiet conditions followed by continent-continent collision in the north. Following Late Eocene uplift, the Gulf of Aden rift developed in the south in the early Oligocene, with sea-floor spreading from the Late Miocene onwards. Salt flow and dissolution, both playing a major role in the configuration of most intra- and post-salt hydrocarbon traps in Oman, are episodic and can be related to tectonic events.
Surface mining of coal can involve extensive footwall slopes parallel to shallow to moderately dipping coal measures strata. Footwall failure mechanisms typically invoke bedding-parallel defects but also require either the existence of flatter structures, which cross-cut bedding, or require break-out through the rock mass to allow failure surfaces to emerge.Permian-aged Baralaba Coal Measures of the Bowen Basin, Queensland, are prospective for coal with extraction by open-pit methods. The Baralaba Coal Measures contains multiple seams within an interburden sequence comprising sandstone, siltstone, mudstone and carbonaceous variations. The coal measures sequence has been deformed into a complex pattern of NW-striking folds which has resulted in bedding dip ranging from 15° to 60°. Bedding has been classified as shallow (10–30°) to moderate (30–60°).Geotechnical investigations conducted to support coal extraction up to depths of 200 m suggest that structural controls strongly influence footwall slope design. For the purpose of footwall slope design, a distinction can be made between deposit areas of relatively simple structure (uniformly dipping bedding on fold limbs) and structurally complex areas (where layer-parallel shortening close to fold hinges has resulted in a system of low-angle thrusts and asymmetrical minor folds).
Computer simulations allow the prediction of hydrocarbon volumes, composition and charge timing in undrilled petroleum prospects. Whereas different models may give different hydrocarbon charge predictions, it has now become evident that a dominant cause of erroneous predictions is the poor quality of input data. The main culprit for prediction errors is the uncertainty in the initial hydrogen index (H/C) of the source rock. A 10% uncertainty in the H/C may lead to 50% error in the predicted hydrocarbon volumes, and associated gas-oil ratio. Similarly, uncertainties in the maximum burial temperature and the kinetics of hydrocarbon generation may lead to 20-50% error. Despite this, charge modelling can have great value for the ranking of prospects in the same area with comparable geological histories.
Any investigation of regional geology and palaeomagnetism in the Middle East will show that in the Permian a series of terranes separated from Gondwana and drifted north, opening the Neo-Tethys Ocean in their wake. To the north of these terranes, the Palaeo-Tethys Ocean closed and was largely subducted. Eventually in a non-synchronous movement but largely in Late Triassic and Early Jurassic times, these terranes docked with the northern margin of the former Palaeo-Tethys during the Cimmerian Orogeny.
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