Journal of Petroleum Geology, Vol.17, No.3, pp. 279-300, 1994

©Copyright 2000 Scientific Press, Ltd.

ALBIAN CLASTICS IN THE WESTERN ARABIAN GULF REGION: A SEDIMENTOLOGICAL AND PETROLEUM-GEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION

A. S. Alsharhan*

* Desert and Marine Environment Research Centre, United Arab Emirates University, PO Box 17777, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.

Abstract

Clastic sediments of Albian age are widely distributed throughout the Arabian Gulf; varying in thickness from less than 78 m to more than 390 m. The transition from sandstones in the northern part of the western Arabian Gulf (South Iraq, Kuwait and eastern Saudi Arabia) to shales in the SW and southern part (Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman) shows vertical and lateral variations. A complex nomenclature has been applied to different facies across the region, and the sediments may have several formation and member names (such as Nahr Umr and Burgan Formations, or Khafji and Safaniya Members).