Abstract North Africa,located on the northern margin of the Gondwana continent in Paleozoic era,is one of the important oil and gas enrichment areas worldwide,experiencing two rift-sag-foreland basin evolution cycles,namely the Paleozoic Gondwana and the Mesozoic Cenozoic Tethys. Based on a comprehensive analysis of publicly available geological data and oil and gas exploration data,this article identified three types of petroliferous basins in the North African region: cratonic superimposed sags,rifts,and passive margin related basins;summarized two basin evolution cycles: Gondwana and Tethyan basin-forming cycle;clarified the controlling role of tectonic evolution on basin types,basin structures,and the development of source,reservoir,and cap rocks. Under the influence of the global plate tectonic evolution,different regions in North Africa have gone through five stages of tectonic evolution: (1)late Proterozoic-early Cambrian basement assembly and rift stage;(2)Cambrian-Early Carboniferous intra-cratonic sag stage;(3)Late Carboniferous-Early Permian Hercynian orogenic stage;(4)Late Permian-Early Cretaceous rift stage; and (5)Late Cretaceous-Present Alpine orogenic stage. Marked by the Hercynian orogeny,the basin features cycles that consist of the Paleozoic Gondwana Cycle and the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Tethyan Cycle. The evolution of the basins in western North Africa are dominated both by the Gondwana and Tethyan cycles,forming superimposed sag basins, while the evolution of the eastern basins are dominated by the Mesozoic and Cenozoic Tethyan cycle,forming the Mesozoic and Cenozoic rift basins and passive continental margin basins. Controlled by the development differences of basins,the source rocks of the western superimposed sag basins are developed mainly in Silurian and Devonian,with including the Paleozoic and Triassic reservoirs. The regional cap rocks are Silurian shale and Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic evaporate. In comparison the source rocks of the eastern rift basins developed in Cretaceous,Paleogene,and Neogene,with pre-rift Paleozoic and syn-rift Mesozoic and Cenozoic reservoirs. The regional caprocks include the Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic evaporites rocks deposited in the rifting stages. Overall,the differential tectonic evolution in the North African controls the formation mechanism of petroliferous basins and the distribution of source,reservoir,and cap rocks.
Fund:National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.42272191)and the Sinopec Department of Science and Technology Program(Nos. P19021-4, P22086)
Corresponding Authors:
CAO Zhe,born in 1987,is an associate researcher. He is mainly engaged in petroleum geology and global oil and gas distributions. E-mail: caozhe328.syky@sinopec.com.
About author: LÜ Xueyan,born in 1972,is a senior engineer. She is mainly engaged in petroleum geology and forming mechanism of hydrocarbons. E-mail: luxy.syky@sinopec.com.
Cite this article:
. Tectonic evolution and petroliferous basin formation in North Africa[J]. JOPC, 2024, 26(1): 28-44.
. Tectonic evolution and petroliferous basin formation in North Africa[J]. JOPC, 2024, 26(1): 28-44.
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