Journal of Petroleum Geology,
vol. 21(3), July 1998, pp. 329-342
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF SYN-RIFT SEDIMENTS: AN EXAMPLE FROM THE SARIR
SANDSTONE, MESSLAH FIELD, SIRTE BASIN, LIBYA
R. Gras
The Messlah field, located in Arabian Gulf Oil Concessions 65 and 80
in the SE Sirte Basin, Libya, is a large combined structural-stratigraphic trap on the
flank of the Messlah High. The basement rocks of the Messlah High are onlapped by the
Lower Cretaceous Sarir Sandstone, where the pay is trapped. The thickness of the Sarir
Sandstone reservoir has been analysed using a statistical approach. Regression of the
thickness of the Sarir Sandstone indicates that the unit wedges out against basement. The
reservoir geometry developed as a result of syn-rift tilting of the Basement and
truncation at the top of the Sarir Sandstone. Post-rift deformation of the Messlah field
is restricted to subsidence with- minor tilting, without significant faulting. The results
of the linear regression are relevant to the exploration for similar traps in the area of
the Messlah High.
