Structural Development of a Major Late Cenozoic Basin and Transpressional Belt in Central Iran: the Central Basin in the Qom-Saveh Area
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Structural development of a major late Cenozoic basin and transpressional belt in central Iran: The Central Basin in the Qom-Saveh area Chris K. Morley PTTEP (PTT Exploration and Production), Offi ce Building, 555 Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand Booncherd Kongwung PTTEP (PTT Exploration and Production), Tehran Branch Offi ce, Unit 5 & 6, 5th Floor Sayeh Tower, Vali-e-Asr Avenue, 19677 13671 Tehran, Iran Ali A. Julapour Mohsen Abdolghafourian Mahmoud Hajian National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Exploration Directorate, 1st Dead-end, Seoul St., NE Sheikh Bahaei Sq., P.O. Box 19395-6669 Tehran, Iran Douglas Waples Consultant, PTTEP (PTT Exploration and Production), 555 Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand John Warren* Shell Chair in Carbonate Studies, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 17, Postal Code Al-Khodh-123, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman Heiko Otterdoom PTTEP (PTT Exploration and Production), Tehran Branch Offi ce, Unit 5 & 6, 5th Floor Sayeh Tower, Vali-e-Asr Avenue, 19677 13671 Tehran, Iran Kittipong Srisuriyon PTTEP (PTT Exploration and Production), Offi ce Building, 555 Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand Hassan Kazemi PTTEP (PTT Exploration and Production), Tehran Branch Offi ce, Unit 5 & 6, 5th Floor Sayeh Tower, Vali-e-Asr Avenue, 19677 13671 Tehran, Iran ABSTRACT as 4–5 km of Upper Red Formation section of Upper Red Formation were deposited being deposited in some parts of the basin in the main depocenters. Northwest-south- The Central Basin of the Iran Plateau during this stage. The upper part of the east– to north-northwest–south-southeast– is between the geologically better-known Upper Red Formation is associated with a striking dextral strike-slip to compressional regions of the Zagros and Alborz Moun- change to transpressional deformation, with faults dominate the area, with subordinate tains. Hydrocarbon exploration in the Cen- the development of thrusts and folds. This east-west and north-south fault orienta- tral Basin has revealed the details of the latest (probably middle and/or late Miocene– tions also present. These different fault sets late Eocene–Holocene evolution of the basin Holocene) deformation is transpressional, combine in places to form major strike-slip based on seismic refl ection data, geologi- and includes a mixture of basement- duplex geometries. The Eocene volcanic belt cal fi eld work, basin modeling, and satellite involved strike-slip and thrust faults and (Urumieh-Dokhtar zone) along the southern interpretation. The multistage basin his- thin-skinned folding and thrusting detached margin of the basin forms a chain of massifs tory commenced with broad sag-type sub- on Oligocene evaporites. Local detachment as much as 3 km high, the outcrops of which sidence and isolated normal faults during levels higher in the stratigraphy also exist. were exhumed by movement along major Oligocene–early Miocene time. It evolved Subsidence in mini-foredeep basins and thrusts from 5–6 km depth between the to an extensional or transtensional basin strike-slip fault bounded basins occurred middle Miocene and present day. The Cen- in the early-middle Miocene, with as much during this stage, and several kilometers tral Basin–Urumieh-Dokhtar zone forms a *Present address: Petroleum Geoscience, Department of Geology, Chulalongkorn University, Phatumphan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand Geosphere; August 2009; v. 5; no. 4; p. 325–362; doi: 10.1130/GES00223.1; 31 fi gures. For permission to copy, contact [email protected] 325 © 2009 Geological Society of America Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geosphere/article-pdf/5/4/325/3337666/i1553-040X-5-4-325.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Morley et al. distinctive transpressional belt that under- went a minimum of 38 km shortening block Tabas between the late Miocene and Holocene. The Central Basin and the Zagros and 55°E Darouneh Fault Darouneh Urumieh-Dokhtar (Eocene zone igneous trend) Alborz Mountains all indicate that the Basin Central sedimentary rocks Cenozoic faults of faults Cenozoic Iran the Central trend strike-slip onset of widespread crustal shortening in CENTRAL CENTRAL IRANIAN MICROCONTINENT Iran occurred late (latest early Miocene or block Yazd later), relative to the initial collision of the Arabia Peninsula with Eurasia during the late Eocene or early Oligocene. Uplift of the Central Basin surface from approximately Great Kavir sea level to 900–1000 m occurred during the middle or late Miocene, after deposition of salt diapirs Cenozoic of the Great Kavir the marine Qom Formation. es and the main Cenozoic fault trends INTRODUCTION rjan Zone Alborz Mountains Caspian Sea Iran is one of the world’s best examples of Sanadaj-Si N Main Zagros Thrust a youthful stage of continent-continent colli- High Zagros Mountains sion. The collision between Arabia and Eurasia Saveh-Qom area Zagros Simply Folded Belt appears to have commenced during the late 50°E Eocene–early Oligocene (Agard et al., 2005; 100 km Fig. 2a Fig. Vincent et al., 2005, 2007; Allen and Armstrong, 35°N 2008; Horton et al., 2008). However, the most 30°N B conspicuous manifestations of the collision, the Persian Gulf Zagros and Alborz Mountains, have undergone their most signifi cant deformation during the middle Miocene–Holocene (see review in Allen et al., 2004), and earlier deformation is largely confi ned to a much narrower belt between the Sanadaj-Sirjan zone and High Zagros (Agard et al., 2005; Fakhari et al., 2008). A better under- standing of the orogenic belt requires defi ning 55°E and dating the geological events associated with (1) the poorly known early stages of collision (Oligocene–early Miocene), and (2) Miocene– Holocene deformation in the Iran Plateau, which is between the more intensively studied Alborz and Zagros Mountains (Fig. 1). In this Central Iran Plateau regard, the Oligocene–Pliocene sedimentary rocks of the Central Basin of the Iran Plateau are particularly important. Caspian Sea Sanadaj-Sirjan Zone Fig. 2a Fig. High Zagros Mountains The Central Basin is defi cient in published Zagros Simply Folded Belt modern studies, despite important contributions Alborz Mountains by Jackson et al. (1990), Walker and Jackson (2004), Allen et al. (2004), Talbot and Aftabi 50°E (2004), and Letouzey and Rudkiewicz (2005). Persian Gulf Excellent older descriptions of the Central Basin structure and stratigraphy were given by Huber 1b Fig. (1951), Sonder (1951, 1954, 1956), Gansser 300 km (1955a, 1957), Furrer and Sonder (1955), and in 1:100,000-scale map sheets (Geological Survey 200 of Iran, Geological Maps of Iran, Aran, Farma- hin, Qom, Saveh, Tafresh). Recent exploration 100 for hydrocarbons in the Oligocene–Pliocene Arabian Peninsula 35°N 30°N sedimentary rocks of the Central Basin has 0 resulted in new data and descriptions of the A structure of the plateau. The aim of this paper is to describe the 0 m Figure 1. Regional geological setting. (A) Regional topographic map. (B) Tectonic map of Iran showing the main tectonic provinc Tectonic 1. Regional geological setting. (A) topographic map. (B) Figure associated with central Iran. 2000 m 3000 m structural styles and evidence for timing of 1000 m 326 Geosphere, August 2009 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geosphere/article-pdf/5/4/325/3337666/i1553-040X-5-4-325.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Cenozoic transpression Central Iran deformation in a part of the Central Basin through time. The fi nal and dominant style is Immediately adjacent to the excellent exposures referred to here as the Saveh-Qom area. The strong dextral transpressional deformation that are large, fl at remnant basins that are covered PTT Exploration and Production Public occurred toward the end of basin development by 2D seismic data (Fig. 2). The combination Company Limited (PTTEP) and the National during the Neogene. This latest deformation of surface and subsurface data makes the Cen- Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) have together lifted parts of the basin as substantial massifs to tral Basin a spectacular and well-documented been exploring for hydrocarbons in the Saveh- as much as ~3000 m high, and left remnant parts example of transpressional deformation, yet the Qom area, which is ~100 km south of Tehran of the basin behind, forming fl at-lying plains at basin is little known outside Iran. (Fig. 1). The data presented here are based on elevations between 850 and 1000 m (Fig. 1). The new two-dimensional (2D) seismic refl ection massifs, which predominantly expose Eocene GEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND data, reprocessing and reinterpretation of older volcanics, are referred to as the Urumieh- vintage 2D seismic refl ection data, fi eld work, Dokhtar zone. The Central Basin and Urumieh- The broad tectonic divisions of Iran compose and satellite image interpretation conducted Dokhtar zone contain very extensive outcrops the Eurasian plate in the northeast half of the between 2005 and 2007. Figure 2B shows the in hilly to mountainous terrane. Consequently, country and the Arabian plate in the southwest location of the 2D seismic lines with respect to large-scale folds, thrusts, strike-slip faults, and half, separated by the central Iran Zagros suture the outcrop geology. halokinetic features within the basin sediments zone (Fig. 1B). During the Cretaceous, the This paper describes the polyphase history of and underlying Eocene volcanics can be clearly Arabian plate moved northward and converged the Central Basin and its varying structural styles identifi ed in outcrop and on satellite