Assessment of petroleum system of Arabian–Iranian Basin in Kuwait

Abstract

Kuwait lies in the southwestern corner of the Mesopotamian Foredeep Basin of the Arabian Platform which extends between the Interior Platform in the west and Zagros Fold Belt at the east. The sedimentary column thickness ranges between 6,000 and 8,000 m in the south and the north respectively, from Triassic to Pleistocene. This study assessed the petroleum system in Kuwait using two methods; the first one is simulating the basins' construction history along with the changes in the physical properties of the different formations in Burgan and Dibdibba basins, using a Python 1D-Airy isostasy backstripping technique. The second method using the PetoMode® software to calculate the burial history and track the changes in petrophysical parameters through the deposition history. Integrating results with the previous studies gave us an understanding view of the petroleum system forming, hydrocarbon type, charging, and timing of oil generation. Also, the properties like compressibility, subsidence rate, and sedimentation rate. It found that the basins lost from 40 to 45% from the original thickness, while the porosity represents a percent (56-67%) from its original porosity because of the high subsidence rate which averaged by 0.05 mm/yr and kicked many up to 0.2 mm/yr.

Evaluation of the hydrocarbon source rock and the reservoir characterization of the Minagish Formation using wireline logs

“…It consists of two elongated anticline structures, an east-south anticline and a west anticline, connected in a U-shape ( Adasani, 1985 ). The Minagish Formation is affected by the tectonic events of the Cretaceous age: the break-up due to the drifting of India from Gondwanaland since 150 Ma, the subduction zone initiated from moving the Arabian Plate towards Eurasia since 130 Ma, and the ophiolite obduction onto the Arabian Margin between 80 and 90 Ma ( Aladwani, 2021a ; Harland et al., 1989 ). A set of anticlines appear on the gravity anomalies depth map ( Figure 3 ), which is calculated by the Source Parameter Imaging (SPI) module in Geosoft® software ( Aladwani, 2021b ).…”

Investigation of the Cretaceous total petroleum system using wireline logs, core, and geochemical data in Bahrah Field, Northern Basin, Kuwait

“…The Lower Cretaceous period recorded two transgressive-regressive cycles: the older cycle spanning Minagish and Ratawi formations and the younger cycle spanning Zubair and Shuaiba Formations (Haq and Al-Qahtani 2005;Sharland et al 2001). The younger regression cycle led to the deposition of the clastic sediments, represented by the Zubair, Burgan, Wara, and Ahmadi formations (Cross et al 2022;Aladwani 2021). The transgression system tracts followed the falling system tracts, forming Shuaiba, Mauddud, and Mishrif.…”

“…( 9) of Steckler and Watts (1978), the tectonic subsidence component was extracted from the total subsidence. This approach is explained by Lee et al (2019), Müller et al (2018, Diab and Khalil (2021), and Aladwani (2021).…”

“…The petroleum system study covers hydrocarbon generation, migration, accumulation, and entrapping styles (Magoon and Schmoker 2000). Estimating the amount of accumulated hydrocarbon in the prospect, its source rock, and the level of thermal maturity of total organic materials is the most typical technique to analyse the petroleum system in a specific location (Aladwani 2021;Meyer and Nederlof 1984). In the case of deep burial, there is a need to determine the migration path, especially in the thick stratigraphic column (Abdel-Fattah et al 2019;Selley 1998).…”

“…We usually assess the quality and quantity of organic content in the source rock and their maturity in the laboratory using chemical and microscopic analysis of core samples (Zhao et al 2016(Zhao et al , 2017. Kuwait covers an area of 17,800 km 2 and is located in the north-eastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, on the north-western coast of the Arabian Gulf (Aladwani 2021;Alsharhan et al 2014). It lies at the southwestern intersection of the large Mesopotamian Foredeep Basin of the Arabian Platform, joining parts of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Kuwait, and the Arabian Gulf (Fig.…”