Fracture patterns in the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt, Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Reif, Daniel; Decker, Kurt; Grasemann, Bernhard; Peresson, Herwig

doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2012.07.024

Cited by 31 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The Shorish-1 well is located near the border between the Low Folded Zone and the High Folded Zone. Here, the carbonate-rich succession is up to 10 km thick (Reif et al, 2012). The evolution of the study area is reviewed below, based mainly on Jassim and Goff (2006) and Aqrawi et al (2010).…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Source‐rock Maturity, Hydrocarbon Potential and Oil – Source‐rock Correlation in Well Shorish‐1, Erbil Province, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Sachsenhofer

Bechtel

Gratzer

et al. 2015

Journal of Petroleum Geology

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The Shorish-1 exploration well is located in Erbil Province in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, on the outskirts of Erbil City near the dividing line between the Low Folded and High Folded Zones of the Zagros foldbelt. The well penetrated rocks which are between Miocene and Late Triassic in age. The depositional environment, source potential and maturity of organicrich intervals within the well succession were investigated using 38 cuttings samples. All samples were analysed for bulk geochemical parameters (i.e. total organic carbon, total carbon, sulphur, Rock-Eval). A subset of 13 samples was selected for biomarker analysis, pyrolysis -gas chromatography and isotope investigations. In addition non-commercial oil and oil impregnations were investigated for oil-source correlations.Source rocks occur in the Jurassic Sargelu and Naokelekan Formations and the lowermost Cretaceous Chia Gara Formation. Analytical results suggest that these source rocks were deposited in a carbonate-rich, anoxic environment in an intrashelf basin setting with free H 2 S in the water column. Oxygen-depleted conditions were favoured by salinity stratification. The average preserved TOC contents of the 100 m thick Sargelu Formation and the 25 m thick Naokelekan Formation are 2.2 % and 4.6 %, respectively. The TOC content of the Chia Gara Formation decreases upwards and averages 3.2 % within its lower 40 m. Very high sulphur contents suggest the presence of kerogen Type II-S, and that all the formations have generated sulphur-rich hydrocarbons at relatively low maturities.In contrast to the oil impregnations within Jurassic strata, the oil and the oil impregnations within Cretaceous rocks are heavily biodegraded. Oil biomarker and isotope data indicate generation from the above-mentioned Jurassic and Cretaceous source rock formations. As a result, generation from Triassic and Paleogene rocks can be excluded or is of negligible significance.Numerical models show that hydrocarbon generation rates from the Sargelu, Naokelekan and Chia Gara Formations peaked firstly at about 55 Ma (Paleocene/Eocene) and then again at 5 Ma before present (late Miocene/Pliocene). The first peak resulted from increased Paleocene subsidence, and the second peak was related to deep late Miocene/Pliocene burial. Hydrocarbon generation ceased during Recent uplift, during which ~2000 m of the Late Neogene succession was eroded.

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Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Source‐rock Maturity, Hydrocarbon Potential and Oil – Source‐rock Correlation in Well Shorish‐1, Erbil Province, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Sachsenhofer

Bechtel

Gratzer

et al. 2015

Journal of Petroleum Geology

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“…While fault-related fractures have been shown to control river development in Kurdistan (Reif et al . 2012), Bretis, Bartl & Graseman (2011) did not see an influence of fracture on drainage pattern on two anticlines in the northwest Zagros. McQuillan (1973) found that fracture density was independent of structural setting in the Asmari limestone reservoir rock of the Khuzestan oilfield belt of SW Iran and Lacombe, Bellahsen & Mouthereau (2011) found that fracture patterns in the folded strata of the Zagros Simply Folded Belt in the Fars region are heterogeneous and complex, probably resulting from the interplay between both kinematic boundary conditions and local deformational events.…”

Section: Drainage Development In the Razak Idrmentioning

confidence: 90%

Reconstruction of ancestral drainage patterns in an internally draining region, Fars Province, Iran

Lee¹

2015

Geol. Mag.

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Google Earth imagery is used here in conjunction with a Geographic Information System to identify transverse drainages and recreate palaeodrainage in an internally draining region in Iran. At least 35 water gaps and 34 wind gaps are shown to exist in the region, as well as evidence for an integrated palaeodrainage that originated north of the internally draining region and emptied into the Mand watershed to the west. The topographic characteristics of the transverse drainages suggest a strong control by local topography, and support formation of the internally draining region by basin filling and overflow. Both climatic and tectonic factors may have controlled the loss of external connectivity.

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“…The Mesopotamian foredeep preserves the entire Phanerozoic stratigraphic succession of the Arabian platform and shows limited surface deformation, but buried structures have been inferred from reflection seismic and gravity data (Fouad, 2014(Fouad, , 2015Mohammed, 2006). Generally, most shortening structures in the NW Zagros High Folded Zone are SW-verging, with fold wavelengths of 5-10 km (median = 7.4 km) and amplitudes <2.5 km, showing linear to curvilinear hinge lines generated by lateral fold propagation (Fouad, 2014;Le Garzic et al, 2019;Reif et al, 2012;Zebari & Burberry, 2015). In contrast, structures near Mosul and Duhok area of the northwestern-most Zagros, exhibit both SW and NE vergence (Numan and Al-Azzawi, 1993 Tectonics fault-related folds (e.g., Awdal et al, 2013;Balaki & Omar, 2019;Fouad, 2014;László et al, 2012;Omar et al, 2015;Omar & Othman, 2018;Omar & Syan, 2016;Reif et al, 2012;Sapin et al, 2017;Zebari & Burberry, 2015).…”

Section: Structural Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Miocene Deformation Kinematics Along the NW Zagros Fold‐Thrust Belt, Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Constraints From Apatite (U‐Th)/He Thermochronometry and Balanced Cross Sections

et al. 2020

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Apatite (U-Th)/He (AHe) thermochronometric results are integrated with geologic cross sections, structural relationships, and stratigraphic data to reconstruct the growth of the NW Zagros orogenic belt in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Prolonged exhumation is documented across the belt with deformation advances and retreats from~14 Ma onward. After in-sequence propagation of deformation during middle to late Miocene times, preserved growth strata and AHe data show a deformation retreat by latest Miocene time (~5 Ma). In the NW Zagros, the Phanerozoic succession contains two principal décollements in Lower Triassic and middle Miocene units. The Triassic strata are interpreted as the main décollement for a thinskinned system that was dominant during most of the Cenozoic. By~8-5 Ma, the fold-thrust belt shifted to basement-involved deformation in association with growth of the mountain front flexure and reactivation of frontal structures. The shift from thinskinned to a hybrid thin-and thickskinned mode of shortening may reflect variations in the mechanical behavior of the upper crust and the presence of inherited basement discontinuities. On the basis of two NE-SW balanced cross sections spanning the NW Zagros, the estimated total minimum horizontal shortening is~18.2 km (6%) in the central and~16 km (7%) in the southern sectors of the Kurdistan region of Iraq. These findings suggest that the evolution of the NW Zagros orogenic belt was likely driven by the mechanical stratigraphy of the sedimentary cover, inherited basement discontinuities, and the dynamic and thermomechanical effects of potential slab breakoff and lithospheric mantle delamination events.

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Fracture patterns in the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt, Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Cited by 31 publications

References 24 publications

Source‐rock Maturity, Hydrocarbon Potential and Oil – Source‐rock Correlation in Well Shorish‐1, Erbil Province, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Source‐rock Maturity, Hydrocarbon Potential and Oil – Source‐rock Correlation in Well Shorish‐1, Erbil Province, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Reconstruction of ancestral drainage patterns in an internally draining region, Fars Province, Iran

Late Miocene Deformation Kinematics Along the NW Zagros Fold‐Thrust Belt, Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Constraints From Apatite (U‐Th)/He Thermochronometry and Balanced Cross Sections

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