Sirte Basin
The Sirte Basin is a late
Characteristics
The Sirte Basin ranks 13th among the world's
The Late Cretaceous Sirte Shale is the primary hydrocarbon source bed.[2] Reservoirs range in rock type and age from fractured Precambrian basement, clastic reservoirs in the Cambrian-Ordovician Gargaf Sandstone, and Lower Cretaceous Nubian Sandstone to Paleocene Zelten Formation and Eocene carbonates usually in the form of bioherms.
Hydrocarbon generation commenced about 50 million years ago (Ma) in the deeper basins, about 40 Ma in many other areas, and may continue to the present day. Geothermal gradients generally range from 1 °F/100 ft to 1.8 °F/100 ft; horsts and grabens generally have roughly equivalent thermal regimes relative to the primary source rock. Along the southwest and west margins of the province are extrusive igneous deposits that tend to diminish the hydrocarbon potential of these areas. The Gialo High is a relatively small horst block in the eastern Sirte Basin. It is most important and primarily known for the stacked oil fields in rocks ranging from the Early Cretaceous to Oligocene age. There are several billion barrels of oil reserves associated with the structure both over the crest of the horst as well as flanking the high in the adjacent graben.[3]
Characteristics
Statistic | Amount |
---|---|
Formation | Late Mesozoic-Cenozoic |
Land area | ≈230,000 km2 |
Source rock | Sirte Shale |
Dominant trap style | Structural |
Rift Type | Triple junction |
System | Tethyan Rift System |
Notes:
1. USGS 2002.
Land area
The land area in the Sirte basin is characterized by desert steppes and includes
The area of the Sirte Basin occupies about 230,000 km2, with a
Geologic setting
The Sirte Basin province is considered to be a
The area's structural weakness is exemplified by alternating periods of
Trap style
In geology, "trap" refers to the stratigraphic or tectonic structural feature that ensures the juxtaposition of reservoir and seal such that hydrocarbons remain trapped in the subsurface, rather than escaping (due to their natural
Petroleum history
The first reported petroleum occurrence in the Sirte Basin was observed in a coastal water well drilled by Italian colonists during the
Petroleum occurrence
In 2007, the Energy Information Administration estimated that the Sirte Basin Province contains approximately 80% of Libya's total proven oil reserves (41.5 billion barrels (6.60×109 m3) as of January 2007) and accounted for roughly 90% of the country's total oil output, which was 1.80 Mbbl/d (286,000 m3/d) in 2006.[13] Over twenty-three large oil fields and sixteen giant oil fields occur in the province.[14] Libya's onshore oil has historically been discovered mainly within the confines of three major geological trends occurring in the Sirte Basin:
- Western fairway
- North-central Libya
- Easterly trend
Basin petroleum data: selected fields
Field | Geological Trend | Annual Production | Reserves | Discovery | Operator(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Samah Field | Western | NA | Gof | NA | WOC |
Beida Field | Western | NA | Gof | NA | NOC |
Dahra-Hofra Field | Western | NA | Gof | NA | WOC |
Raguba Field | Western | NA | Gof | 1961 | SOC |
Bahi Field | Western | NA | NA | 1958 | NOC |
Waha Field | Northcentral | 350,000 bbl/d (56,000 m3/d) | Gof | 1961 | ConocoPhillips |
Nasser Field | Northcentral | NA | 2.5 Bbbl | 1956 | SOC |
Hateiba gas field | Northcentral | NA | NA | 1960 | SOC |
Sarir Field | Eastern | NA | 12.0 Bbbl | 1961 | Agoco |
Messla Field | Eastern | NA | Gof | 1971 | Agoco |
Gialo Field | Eastern | NA | Gof | NA | WOC |
Bu Attifel Field | Eastern | 80,000 bbl/d (13,000 m3/d) | Gof | 1968 | Agip |
Intisar Field | Eastern | NA | Gof | 1967 | ZOC |
Nafoora-Augila Field | Eastern | 100,000 bbl/d (16,000 m3/d) | Gof | 1965 | Agoco |
Amal Field | Eastern | Gof | 1959 | Harouge | |
En-Naga Field | Western | 24,000 bbl/d (3,800 m3/d)[15] | Gof | 1998 | Harouge |
Notes:
1. USGS 2002 (Bbbl = "billion barrels of oil"). 2. LOF = large oil fields (>100 million
The Amal Field produces from the Cambro-
Due to the debts of companies in the sector, oil production dropped by 300,000 barrels per day in Libya, falling to less than 1 million b/d in April 2021 from 1.3 million the month before.[20]
References
- ^ "NPA Group - Oil and Mineral Study: Libya". Archived from the original on 2007-07-14. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ^ USGS Bulletin 2202–F
- ^ G. Abdulghader (1996)
- ^ C. Lewis (1990)
- ^ Futyan (1996)
- ^ A. Bally and S. Snelson (1980) p.9
- ^ A. Clifford (1986) p.336
- ^ T. Ahlbrandt (2002) p.9
- ^ T. Ahlbrandt (2002) p.21
- ^ P. Mobbs (2004) p. 19.1
- ^ "Libya: Operations onshore Sirte Basin transferred to new company | The North Africa Post". northafricapost.com. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ "LIBYA : How the NOC is trying to resurrect the ill-fated Mourzouq and Ghadames oil basins - 30/08/2021". Africa Intelligence. 30 August 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ EIA 2005 p.2
- ^ H. Belazi (1989) p. 353
- ^ Major Discoveries 2001
- ^ Roberts, J.M., 1970, Amal Field, Libya, in Geology of Giant Petroleum Fields, AAPG Memoir 14, Halbouty, M.T., editor, Tulsa, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, p. 438.
- ^ Sanford, R.M., Sarir Oil Field, Libya-Desert Surprise, in Geology of Giant Petroleum Fields, AAPG Memoir 14, Halbouty, M.T., editor, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, p. 449
- ISBN 0891813063, p. 507
- ISBN 0891813063, p. 543
- ^ Dubessy, Frédéric. "Libya to study the establishment of several oil refineries". Econostrum | Economic News in the Mediterranean. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
Bibliography
- C.J Lewis (1990) Dahab Field: Sirte Basin, Libya
- Energy Information Administration (2007) Libya: Country Analysis Brief
- World Bank (2006), Libya: Economic Report, Social & Economic Development Group
- P. Mobbs (2002) Mineral Industry of Libya
- P. Mobbs (2000) Mineral Industry of Libya
- T. Ahlbrandt (2001) Sirte Basin Province: Sirte-Zelten Total Petroleum System USGS
- G. Abdulghader (1996),Sedimentology & Reservoir Heterogeneities of the Nubian Formation, in Geology of the Sirt Basin: Amsterdam v.2
- D. Bebout (1975), Secondary Carbonate Porosity as related to Early Tertiary Depositional Facies, Zelten: AAPG, v.59
- H. Belazi (1989), Geology of the Nafoora Oil Field, Sirte Basin: In the Journal of Petroleum Geology, Vol. 12, p. 353–366
- A. Futyan (1996), Hydrocarbon Habitat of the Oil & Gas fields of North Africa: Sirt Basin, in Geology of the Sirt Basin: Amsterdam v.2