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Schematic geologic map a�er Sissakian (1997), reinterpreted and changed based on our observations. The frame is identical to Figure 1b. Anticline axes and names marked on map.
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The studied area in Kurdistan Region of Iraq lies across an important topographic/structural boundary between the southern lowlands and the northern, folded and imbricated Zagros Mountains. It also encompasses a prominent change in structural orientation of the northern Zagros, from a general NW-SE "Zagros" to an E-W "Taurus" trend. Geological mapp...
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Lithologic characteristics and diagenitic processes of the Baluti Formation (Upper Triassic) from two well-exposed sections are studied. The sections are located northwest (Sararu village) and southeast (Sarki village) of Amadyia district, within High Folded Zone, in the Iraqi-Kurdistan. The Baluti Formation consists of intimately interbedded green...
Citations
... Through an intricate analysis of the Khabour, Kaista, Ora, and Harur formations, this research in this area focuses on the evaluation of Hydrocarbon generation potential and thermal maturity ( Figure 2). [27]; Sissakian [28]; Csontos et al. [29]). ...
In this study, 12 outcropped rock samples from the Khabour, Kaista, Ora, and Harur formations (Paleozoic) in the Khabour Valley were studied. The location is innorthern Iraq, in the Imbricated Thrust Zone, northeast of Duhok City. Rock-Eval Pyrolysis was utilized to assess the thermal maturity, organic matter composition, hydrocarbon potential, and organic richness of the Khabour, Kaista, Ora, and Harur formations situated within the Khabour Valley. The content of Total Organic Carbonranges from 0.19 to 0.37 wt.%, with an average of 0.29 wt.% for the Khabour formation, 2.07 to 3.09 wt.% for the Kaista formation, 0.58 wt.% for the Ora formation, and 0.31 to 1.55 wt.% for the Harur formation. The source rock was ratedpoor based on the TOC wt.% content. According to the results, the Khabour Valley formations have low amounts of S2 (average 0.12 mg HC/g Rock, range 0.01-0.29mg HC/g Rock) and Hydrogen Index (HI) (average 15.2 mg HC/g TOC, range 2-41mg HC/g TOC). Drawing insights from the analysis of Rock-Eval data, theformations exhibit kerogen types classified as type IV kerogen. According to thecross plot of S2 versus TOC%, all the samples show a poor potentiality to createhydrocarbons. The graph of HI vs Tmax demonstrates that Tmax ranges from immature to postmature.
... A distinct, glauconite-rich layer at the base of the Shiranish Formation can be used as a lithostratigraphic marker bed (Dunnington, 1958;van Bellen et al., 1959). Field observations suggest that in places the basal and top boundaries of the Kometan Formation are cut-off by post-depositional (early Miocene to Pliocene) faults accompanying the anticlinal structures of the north-western Zagros in the Kurdistan region (cf., Csontos et al., 2012). ...
Journal Pre-proof Outcrop-to-subsurface correlation and sequence stratigraphy of a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic ramp using element geochemistry and well logging; Upper cretaceous Kometan Formation, Zagros Foreland, NE Iraq Please cite this article as: H.S. Hussein, O. Bábek, H. Mansurbeg, et al., Outcrop-to-subsurface correlation and sequence stratigraphy of a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic ramp using element geochemistry and well logging; Upper cretaceous Kometan Formation, Zagros Foreland, NE Iraq, Sedimentary Geology (2023), https://doi. Abstract Surface analogues are suitable tools to link reservoir models to real facies but they require a robust outcrop-to-subsurface stratigraphic correlation. In this study, we correlate gamma-ray (GR), and porosity logs from nine wells drilled in the Cretaceous Kometan Formation, a prolific carbonate reservoir of northern Iraq, with geochemical logs from three sections representing surface analogues. The sections were sampled for microfacies, X-ray diffraction mineralogy, and element geochemistry using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry calibrated by ICP-MS data. Six microfacies composed of mudstones to packstones with planktonic, and benthic foraminifers were identified in outcrop, and interpreted as middle ramp, outer ramp, and basin deposits. The microfacies show increasing Al and K, and decreasing Ca concentration trends from the middle ramp to the basin settings. Their subsurface analogues are carbonates, marls and shales with benthic foraminifers, deposited in proximal, inner to middle ramp parts of the Kometan mixed carbonate-siliciclastic ramp system. The K+Al logs are correlated for 33 km, and the subsurface GR logs for over 100 km distance, but both reflect detrital admixture in biogenic carbonate. However, the outcrop-and subsurface log patterns show opposite vertical trends. The subsurface, inner ramp GR maxima in the middle Kometan, correlate with the outcrop K+Al minima jointly reflecting landward and seaward shifts of the middle J o u r n a l P r e-p r o o f Journal Pre-proof ramp carbonate factory during transgressions and regressions, respectively. The maxima and minima are interpreted as maximum regression (mrs) and maximum flooding surfaces (mfs) in the T-R sequence-stratigraphic model. Neutron-density and sonic logs indicate that the best reservoir quality is achieved in fractured pure carbonates, which are controlled by these T-R cycles. The results highlight the importance of elemental geochemistry in stratigraphic correlation of lithologically uniform sequences, and suggest that outcrop geochemistry can be correlated with well logs.
... The current importance of petroleum provinces has increased interest in this area. Therefore, the northwestern segment of the belt in the Kurdistan Region-Iraq (KRI) become the focus of some latest investigations (e.g.: Bretis et al., 2011;Csontos et al., 2012;Reif et al., 2012;Awdal et al., 2016, Koshnaw et al., 2017Le Garzic et al., 2019;Tozer et al., 2019, Yousif et al., ). In 1978, three wells (TT-01, TT-02, and TT-03) have been drilled by the Northern Oil Company, which led to the discovery of the Taq Taq oil field. ...
Taq Taq is a prolific oilfield in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It consists of a longitudinal double plunged anticline that is located within the Foothill Zone of the Zagros Fold-Thrust Belt. We studied the structural style of the Taq Taq Anticline from three balanced and retro-deformed structural cross-sections constrained by the integration of intensive surface geological observations, seismic sections and well data. The sections were constructed to understand the variation in the structural architecture of the anticline both along strike and up-section, and to describe the kinematic evolution and plausible fold model of the structure. The anticline exhibits symmetrical to slightly reverse asymmetry, and bounded by two main blind thrust faults (fore- and back-thrusts) that dip toward each other. The thrusts are interpreted to be detached along a deep-lying décollement in the KurraChine Formation (Upper Triassic) without involving basement fault. Thus, the structure can be considered as a faulted-detachment fold anticline with pop-up geometry. The average horizontal shortening value ranges between 5.6% and 8.1% with an average value of ca. 6.7%. Generally, the shortening values decrease gradually to the up section due to slight decrease in the fault offset value up-section. The increase in deformation intensity, asymmetry, shortening rate and geometry variation toward SE is mainly related to displacement variation on individual thrusts, fold wavelength and amplitude, or may be related to the effect of strike-slip fault. Therefore, the middle and NW parts of the structure can be considered as a better well location for the Taq Taq crestal reservoir.
... The study area in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq lies in the Bekhme anticline, which consists of various outcropping units ranging in age from Jurassic-Cretaceous to Miocene (Figures 1 and 2A, [14,15]). The Bekhme Formation belongs to the Upper Campanian-Maastrichtian cycle. ...
... Geological map of northern Iraq (A) showing the distribution of the Bekhme Formation (green) and Bekhme Anticline (red line) in the Kurdistan Region (B) (after[14]). ...
Field observations, together with the results of gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and stable carbon isotope analysis of bitumen, coupled with fluid inclusion microthermometry and stable isotope analyses of closely associated vug- and fracture-filling columnar calcite in the Upper Cretaceous Bekhme Formation, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, suggest that the degradation of crude oil was caused by the regional incursion of meteoric waters. This incursion, which is interpreted to have occurred during tectonic uplift during the Zagros Orogeny, is evidenced by: (i) the depletion of n-alkanes and acyclic isoprenoid alkanes (pristane and phytane) in the bitumen; (ii) low δ13CVPDB values (−8.5‰ to −3.9‰) and δ18OVPDB values (−22.9‰ to −15.0‰), with more radiogenic Sr isotopic ratios (0.70771–0.70772) compared to Cretaceous seawater; and (iii) low salinity and low temperatures (20 to 40 °C) in fluid inclusions of the columnar calcite. This study demonstrates that regional meteoric water incursion into sedimentary basins can be linked to crude oil degradation accompanied by calcite cementation events in carbonate reservoirs.
... The continuous collision of both plates, which started in the Late Cretaceous is still ongoing and has exerted forces following the progressive subduction of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere underneath Eurasia [6][7][8]4]. The convergence process of the collision is continuous and governs the structural and geomorphologic evolution of the region including the Safeen anticline. ...
... Others are developed on both sides of the anticline (Figs. [6][7][8], and along Hiran hanging syncline (Fig. 9). ...
... The region is part of the Zagros-Fold Thrust Belt (ZFTB), whose persistent alternation of W-E anticline ridges and synclines represents the main structural feature of the local and supra-regional landscape (Forti et al., 2021;Sissakian, 2014;Zebari et al., 2019). In the study area, lithological bodies were deformed during the continental collision between the Arabian and Eurasian plates, active since the Early Miocene (Csontos et al., 2012;Dercourt et al., 1986;Dewey et al., 1973;Fouad, 2014;Jassim & Goff, 2006;Mouthereau et al., 2012). ...
During the Assyrian rule over Northern Mesopotamia (present-day northern Iraq), complex systems of canals were built to increase the surface of cultivable land and improve the movement of people and goods across the irrigated waterscape of the hinterland of Nineveh and other major urban centres, with the aim of granting socio-economic prosperity to the empire. Nevertheless, supra-regional political instability eventually led to the rapid downfall of the Assyrian state during the late seventh century BCE, causing the swift abandonment of the canal systems. In this study, we examine the post-abandonment formation processes of the natural and anthropogenic infillings of three portions of King Sennacherib’s Khinis canal system (705–681 BCE, northwestern Kurdistan Region of Iraq) through means of archaeological, sedimentological and micromorphological analyses. We identify water lain sediments, desiccation features, colluvial gravel intake and pastoral occupation layers, anchoring the deposit to radiometric dating and contextualising it against the known regional climatic history. The interpretation of pedostratigraphic evidence highlights subsequent phases of use, abandonment, and repurposing of the canals, reflecting shifts in land-use from agriculture to pastoralism and dynamic adaptation and resilience of the local ancient communities in response to Late-Holocene climate changes and geopolitical events.
... The study area in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq lies in the Bekhme anticline, which consists of various outcropping units ranging in age from Jurassic-Cretaceous to Miocene (Figures 1 and 2A, [14,15]). The Bekhme Formation belongs to the Upper Campanian-Maastrichtian cycle. ...
... Geological map of northern Iraq (A) showing the distribution of the Bekhme Formation (green) and Bekhme Anticline (red line) in the Kurdistan Region (B) (after[14]). ...
Field observations together with the results of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) of bitumen, coupled with fluid-inclusion microthermometry and stable isotope analyses of closely associated vug- and fracture-filling columnar calcite in the Upper Cretaceous Bekhme Formation, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, suggest that the degradation of crude oil was caused by the regional incursion of meteoric waters. This incursion, which is interpreted to have occurred during tectonic uplift during the Zagros Orogeny, is evidenced by: (i) the depletion of n -alkanes and acyclic isoprenoid alkanes (pristane and phytane) in the bitumen, (ii) low δ ¹³ C VPDB values (-8.5‰ to -3.9‰) and δ ¹⁸ O VPDB (-22.9‰ to -15.0‰), more radiogenic Sr isotopic ratios (0.70771–0.70772) compared to Cretaceous seawater, and (iv) as well as by nil salinity and low temperatures in fluid inclusions of the columnar calcite. This study demonstrates that regional meteoric water incursion into sedimentary basins can be linked to degradation of crude oil accompanied by calcite cementation events in carbonate reservoirs.
... In the same manner, in the studied area, Awdal et al. (2014 and2016) and Reif et al. (2012) indicated three prevalent fractures (joints) systems that strike NE-SW, NW-SE, and N-S. They At the southwest of Aqra town, Csontos et al. (2012) have observed three directions of the oblique joint sets. They cited that in the eastern Bekhme anticline, the fracture set is symmetrical to a SE-trending fold axial plane. ...
... Detachment levels usually developed in fold-thrust belts within a weak lithology, such as salt or shale, under high over-pressure conditions (Boyer and Elliott, 1982;Morley et al., 2021). Internal thrusts may detach on the gently-dipping ductile layers within the sedimentary succession to form potential detachment horizons in the Zagros foldthrust belt in Kurdistan (Csontos et al., 2012) (Koyi and Mansurbeg, 2021). Bedding spacing and clay content played the main role in the development and growth of a detachment zone within stratigraphic units (Morley et al., 2021). ...
This study is the first detailed investigation of the tectono-stratigraphy, regional structure and mesoscopic fractures of the Zagros fold-thrust belt in the Duhok region, Kurdistan, Northern Iraq, and is based on field studies, remote sensing-GIS analyses, cross-section restorations, and tectonic analysis of key structures. The Duhok fold belt is a frontal zone of the north-western part of the Zagros fold and thrust belt in the Kurdistan region near the north-eastern margin of the Arabian Plate. It is characterized by WNW-ESE striking, doubly-plunging, upright symmetric to asymmetric detachment folds that involve ~8.2–10.9 km of Paleozoic to Quaternary strata. These folds vary from 5 to 75 km long, 4–20 km wide and have a surface relief (caused by basement uplift) up to 3.2 km. Five regional and twelve local structural cross-sections were constructed parallel to the regional SSW tectonic transport and perpendicular to the fold axial trends. Section lengths vary between 4.94 km and 101.55 km. Two main detachment levels have been inferred for the Duhok fold belt. A deep basal detachment was placed at the base of the Paleozoic successions within the Ordovician shales of the Khabour Formation at depths from 8 km to 10 km. Shallower, intermediate detachment levels occur within the shales and evaporites of the Mid-Upper Permian and Upper Jurassic strata at depths 1.7 km in the frontal sectors to around 5.5 km in the hinterland. The thickness of the Paleozoic succession in the Duhok fold belt is ~2 km. Deformation by thin-skinned detachment folding together with thick-skinned thrusting is inferred to have occurred in the Duhok region from the Mid Miocene through to the Present-Day. The maximum NNE-SSW-directed shortening produced by detachment folding was about 18.62 km (19.71%) over a section length of 94.45 km. The maximum shortening along thrust faults was around 1.98 km (1.95%) over a section length of 101.55 km. The mesoscopic fracture patterns in the study area were grouped into two major extension sets, four major shear-hybrid sets and eight minor shear-hybrid sets. Field characteristics and relative chronology indicate that most of the fractures are tectonic in origin, and they developed before (i.e., pre-folding fractures) and during (i.e., early- and late-folding fractures) the Mid Miocene folding in the Duhok fold belt.
... Based on the surface measurements and the propriety seismic section transformed to depth, Safen anticline showed as fold related NE dipping thrust fault, (Fig. 7). Fig. 7. Geosiesmic section shows safen anticline as fold related NE dipping thrust fault (Csontos et al. (2012) ...
The study area is located in the southeastern part of Safen Anticline, northeastern Iraq. The aim of the study is to discuss the listric fault role in the change of the deposition basin topography of Bekhme and Shiranish formations and finally change of their thicknesses. The field data picked up in September of 2020 include bed attitudes and formation boundaries, with their positions. After the drawing of three cross sections and calculating the thickness of Bekhme and Shiranish formations in the studied area, the results showed that the thickness of the Bekhme Formation which represents the reef environment, increases in thickness within the northeastern limb of the fold, While the thickness of the Shiranish Formation which represents the deep environment, increases within the southwestern limb of the fold. These changes were concluded as result occurred due to the reverse movement of the Listeric fault responsible for the growth of the fold synchronously with Bekhme and Shiranish formation deposition.
