Probable existence of a Gondwana transcontinental rift system in western India: Implications in hydrocarbon exploration in Kutch and Saurashtra offshore: A GIS-based approach

Abstract

The Gondwanaland assembly rifted dominantly during Late Carboniferous-Early Permian forming several intracratonic rift basins. These rifts were subsequently filled with a thick sequence of continental clastic sediments with minor marine intercalations in early phase. In western part of India, these sediments are recorded in enclaves of Bikaner-Nagaur and Jaisalmer basins in Rajasthan. Facies correlatives of these sediments are observed in a number of basins that were earlier thought to be associated with the western part of India. The present work is a GIS based approach to reconnect those basins to their position during rifting and reconstruct the tectono-sedimentary environment at that time range. The study indicates a rift system spanning from Arabian plate in the north and extending to southern part of Africa that passes through Indus basin, western part of India and Madagascar, and existed from Late Carboniferous to Early Jurassic. Extensions related to the opening of Neo-Tethys led to the formation of a number of cross trends in the rift systems that acted as barriers to marine transgressions from the north as well as disrupted the earlier continuous longitudinal drainage systems. The axis of this rift system is envisaged to pass through present day offshore Kutch and Saurashtra and implies a thick deposit of Late Carboniferous to Early Jurassic sediments in these areas. Based on analogy with other basins associated with this rift system, these sediments may be targeted for hydrocarbon exploration.

Middle Permian Mixed Siliciclastic‐Carbonate System on the Northwestern Margin of the Indian Plate, Pakistan: Implications for Paleoclimate and Carbonate Platform Evolution

“…1; Mazumder et al, 2017). The rift system was extended from South Africa to Madagascar, Saurashtra, Kutch, Rajasthan in India, Pakistan up to the Arabian Peninsula (Mazumder et al, 2017). The Permian deposits related to the rift in Pakistan are located in the Peshawar Basin, Swat, Hazara, and Kashmir (Mertmann, 2003).…”

Rock Magnetism of Late Cretaceous to Middle Eocene Strata in the Lesser Himalaya, Western Nepal: Inferences Regarding the Paleoenvironment

“…These deposits probably formed within a reducing environment during the still-stand phase of marine transgression (Potter et al, 1980;Riegel, 1991;Sarkar and Prasad, 2000;Singh et al, 2010). Besides, the zones I, IIIA, and V consist of sandstones, conglomerates, and interbedded shales and sandstone which exhibit comparatively lower rock magnetic parameters values (χ, SIRM, and HIRM 3) by prograding low-energy fluvial systems can be linked with marginal marine influences, such as delta front environments (Figure 9B) (Mazumder et al, 2017). Meanwhile, the asymmetrical ripple marks in light gray siliceous sandstone (e.g., zone IIIA) also indicate deposition under fluvial conditions (Debenay and Guillou, 2002).…”