Total Petroleum Systems of the Grand Erg/Ahnet Province, Algeria and Morocco—The Tanezzuft- Timimoun, Tanezzuft-Ahnet, Tanezzuft-Sbaa, Tanezzuft-Mouydir, Tanezzuft-Benoud, and Tanezzuft-Béchar/Abadla By T.R. Klett U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2202-B U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Charles G. Groat, Director This report is only available online at: http://greenwood.cr.usgs.gov/pub/bulletins/b2202-b/ Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government Published in the Central Region, Denver, Colorado Manuscript approved for publication June 16, 2000 Graphics by the author Photocomposition by Norma J. Maes Edited by Lorna Carter Contents Foreword................................................................................................................................................ 1 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. 2 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................... 2 Introduction........................................................................................................................................... 2 Province Geology ................................................................................................................................. 3 Tectonic History .......................................................................................................................... 9 Stratigraphy.................................................................................................................................. 9 Petroleum Occurrence .............................................................................................................. 13 Regional Exploration History.............................................................................................................. 13 The Tanezzuft-Timimoun Total Petroleum System (205801).......................................................... 13 Source Rocks............................................................................................................................... 13 Overburden Rocks....................................................................................................................... 13 Reservoir Rocks .......................................................................................................................... 13 Seal Rocks ................................................................................................................................... 15 Trap Types in Oil and Gas Fields............................................................................................... 15 Assessment of Undiscovered Petroleum by Assessment Unit ........................................... 15 The Tanezzuft-Ahnet Total Petroleum System (205802) ............................................................... 15 Source Rocks............................................................................................................................... 15 Overburden Rocks....................................................................................................................... 17 Reservoir Rocks .......................................................................................................................... 17 Seal Rocks ................................................................................................................................... 17 Trap Types in Oil and Gas Fields............................................................................................... 17 Assessment of Undiscovered Petroleum by Assessment Unit ........................................... 17 The Tanezzuft-Sbaa Total Petroleum System (205803).................................................................. 17 Source Rocks............................................................................................................................... 17 Overburden Rocks....................................................................................................................... 19 Reservoir Rocks .......................................................................................................................... 19 Seal Rocks ................................................................................................................................... 19 Trap Types in Oil and Gas Fields............................................................................................... 19 Assessment of Undiscovered Petroleum by Assessment Unit ........................................... 19 The Tanezzuft-Mouydir Total Petroleum System (205804)............................................................ 19 Source Rocks............................................................................................................................... 19 Overburden Rocks....................................................................................................................... 21 Reservoir Rocks .......................................................................................................................... 21 Seal Rocks ................................................................................................................................... 21 Trap Types in Oil and Gas Fields............................................................................................... 21 Assessment of Undiscovered Petroleum by Assessment Unit ........................................... 21 The Tanezzuft-Benoud Total Petroleum System (205805)............................................................. 21 Source Rocks............................................................................................................................... 21 Overburden Rocks....................................................................................................................... 23 Reservoir Rocks .......................................................................................................................... 23 Seal Rocks ................................................................................................................................... 23 Trap Types in Oil and Gas Fields............................................................................................... 23 Assessment of Undiscovered Petroleum by Assessment Unit ........................................... 23 The Tanezzuft-Béchar/Abadla Total Petroleum System (205806)................................................ 23 Source Rocks............................................................................................................................... 23 Overburden Rocks....................................................................................................................... 25 Reservoir Rocks .......................................................................................................................... 25 Seal Rocks ................................................................................................................................... 25 Trap Types in Oil and Gas Fields............................................................................................... 25 Assessment of Undiscovered Petroleum by Assessment Unit ........................................... 25 Summary................................................................................................................................................ 25 References Cited.................................................................................................................................. 26 III Appendices 1. Exploration-activity and discovery-history plots for the Tanezzuft-Timimoun Structural/Stratigraphic Assessment unit 2. Exploration-activity and discovery-history plots for the Tanezzuft-Ahnet Structural/Stratigraphic Assessment Unit 3. Exploration-activity and discovery-history plots for the Tanezzuft-Sbaa Structural/Stratigraphic Assessment Unit Figures 1–3. Maps showing approximate locations of: 1. USGS-defined geologic provinces and major structures in north- central Africa .............................................................................................................. 4 2. Areal extent of total petroleum systems and Silurian source rocks (Tanezzuft Formation), and locations of stratigraphic cross sections, north-central Africa.................................................................................. 5 3. Areal extent of assessment units within Grand Erg/Ahnet Province............... 6 4. Stratigraphic cross sections through Grand Erg/Ahnet and neighboring provinces.............................................................................................................................. 7 5. Columnar section and stratigraphic nomenclature for Illizi, Triassic, and Ghadames (Berkine) Basins ............................................................................................. 11 6–11. Events charts for: 6. Tanezzuft-Timimoun Total Petroleum System ....................................................... 14 7. Tanezzuft-Ahnet Total Petroleum System.............................................................. 16 8. Tanezzuft-Sbaa