Assessment of petroleum system of Arabian–Iranian Basin in Kuwait

ABSTRACT

Kuwait lies in the southwestern corner of the Mesopotamian Foredeep Basin of the Arabian Platform which extends between the Interior Platform in the west and Zagros Fold Belt at the east. The sedimentary column thickness ranges between 6,000 and 8,000 m in the south and the north respectively, from Triassic to Pleistocene. This study assessed the petroleum system in Kuwait using two methods; the first one is simulating the basins' construction history along with the changes in the physical properties of the different formations in Burgan and Dibdibba basins, using a Python 1D-Airy isostasy backstripping technique. The second method using the PetoMode® software to calculate the burial history and track the changes in petrophysical parameters through the deposition history. Integrating results with the previous studies gave us an understanding view of the petroleum system forming, hydrocarbon type, charging, and timing of oil generation. Also, the properties like compressibility, subsidence rate, and sedimentation rate. It found that the basins lost from 40 to 45% from the original thickness, while the porosity represents a percent (56–67%) from its original porosity because of the high subsidence rate which averaged by 0.05 mm/yr and kicked many up to 0.2 mm/yr.

KEYWORDS:

• Kuwait
• the Burgan and the dibdibba
• backstripping technique
• petroleum system
• Arabian-Iranian Basin

Acknowledgments

Great thanks to H. Khalil for helping in writing the Python’s code. There are no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper. Finally, this paper is not considered for publishing elsewhere.