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The Euphrates-Anah graben system, Iraq: An integrated satellite/seismic survey

Client:

Various major oil companies

Location:

NW Iraq (Anah graben, Abu Jir fault zone), SE Syria (Euphrates graben).

Terrain and Climate:

Arid, hilly region dissected by major wadis.

Area - km²:

N/A

Objectives:

SE Syria, in the Euphrates graben, is a known area of hydrocarbon occurrences with major oil fields. The region has comprehensive seismic coverage by comparison to the sparse seismic coverage across the border in Iraq, where only three wells have been drilled in the last decade.

NPA have carried out a geological and terrain evaluation of the Euphrates-Anah graben system, integrating a seismic structure map of SE Syria, and extrapolating and outlining structures which are common to both regions.

Geology and Prospectivity:

The Euphrates and Anah graben systems occur between two stable Palaeozoic blocks - the Rutbha and Khlessia highs. The intervening mobile zones are topographic lows which have undergone Jurassic tectonic swing, mid Cretaceous transtension, Neogene inversion and the formation of flower structures. Its stratigraphic section is similar to the proven SE Syria fields. Many of the fields present in SE Syria have a surface representation that is clearly evident across the border in Iraq, also there are several zones of fault intersections that show excellent follow-up potential.

Data available for integration:

A 1:250,000 scale seismic structure map for SE Syria
Sparse borehole data
Presently no geological map for Iraq at a scale smaller than 1:1,000,000

Methods and Products:

Four computer enhanced Landsat TM scenes at 1:250,000 scale and an accompanying digital mosaic at 1:500,000 scale.
Both are accompanied by full colour clear film overlays outlining the drainage regime and geological interpretation. A structural domain map was created for the mosaic outlining zones of distinct structural configuration.
A week was spent in the client's office liaising with staff and attempting to form a model for the evolution of the graben system.

Benefits and Results:

The structures and trends were assessed with relation to the deformational events that the region had undergone. Hence a structural chronology has been outlined.

Careful analysis of the satellite imagery indicated that the topographic nature of the area is related directly to the underlying geology; this is an area that is sparsely mapped and in which the structural configuration is only poorly understood.

A field survey and potential seismic survey was planned directly from structures identified on the imagery.

Innovation:

N/A

Cost:

N/A

Future Developments:

N/A