Stratigraphic Analysis of the Cretaceous Petroluem System, Sulaimani Area, Kurdistan, Iraq

Abstract

The Cretaceous sequence of northeast Iraq form an important petroleum system in housing potential source rocks such as the Balambo, Sarmord and partly Shiranish Formations. It also includes an important reservoir rocks accompanied by good secondary porosity such as the Qamchuqa and Kometan Formations. This study examined three surface localities at Pira Migroon anticline, northeast of Sulaimani city, and three subsurface wells of neighboring oil fields: Miran East (ME-1) , Bazian (Ba-1), and Chemchamal (Ch-2) from Sulaimani area of Kurdistan region of northeastern Iraq. The study applies stratigraphic analysis, microfacies investigations, and lithostratigraphic correlation in an attempt to characterize these units at this area, and to give an insight regarding their stratigraphic architecture's impact on the development of the important Cretaceous petroleum system of the area.

High-resolution biostratigraphic zonation across the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary from the Sulaymaniyah area, Kurdistan Region, Northeastern Iraq

“…G. cretacea as the index for P0 was first used by Smit and Ten Kate (1982), later Keller (1988) subdivided it into P0a (G. cretacea) and P0b (Globoconusa conusa) but then P0 was reviewed as the top of mass extinction and LO of P.eugubina (Keller, et al, 1995). P0 in Iraq was not well defined until 21 st century, most probably due to the consequence of distant sample interval in the work (Kassab, 1972;Abawi, Kireem and Yousef, 1982;Ghafor, 1988;Al-Qayim and Al-Shaibani, 1989). The G. cretacea Zone in this study was correlated with Sharbazheri, Ghafor and Muhammed (2009;), Al-Nuaimy, et al (2020), and Bamerni et al (2021 inside Iraq and other records of the P0 zone globally (Fig.…”

“…The studies conducted on the boundary in particular shed light on the nature of sedimentation across the boundary and whether the boundary itself represents an unconformity or a hiatus surface. Most of the recent studies use planktic foraminifera, palynomorphs (Spores and Pollen), and nannofossils emphasizing that the Early Danian sediments exist between Tanjero and Kolosh Formations and mark the boundary as a conformable surface (i.e., without a break in sedimentation) (Al-Qayim and Al-Shaibani, 1989;Ghafor, 2000;Muhammed, 2009, 2011;Kharajiany, Al-Qayim and Wise, 2019;Al-Nuaimy, et al, 2020;Al-Qayim, Kharajiany and Wise, 2020;Kharajiany, Wise and Al-Qayim, 2020;Bamerni, et al, 2021), while many other studies mark the boundary as an unconformable surface (Kassab, 1972;Ghafor, 1988;Al-Shaibani, Al-Hashimi and Ghafor, 1993;Jassim and Goff, 2006;Sissakian and Al-Jubouri, 2014;Lawa and Qadir, 2023). One of the prominent works conducted on the contact between Tanjero and Kolosh Formations by Bellen, et al (1959), concluded that in some areas of Northern Iraq, the boundary could represent conformable surfaces.…”