f Comparative Analysis Of The Paleozoic Petroleum Systems Of Northern Gondwana With Special Focus On The Silurian “Hot Shales”

The core-Gondwana continent has undergone a series of tectonic episodes, that influenced the distribution of Paleozoic source rocks and impacted their thickness, petrophysical properties, maturity, thermal and subsidence histories and effectiveness of their associated petroleum systems. Key amongst them are the Pan-African Orogeny and Arabian Plate accretion (850-520 Ma), where the resulting structural fabric has influenced the deposition of later Paleozoic source rocks, and impacted the maturity of Infracambrian sources. Secondly, the mid Carboniferous structural event (Hercynian) which is a major influence the formation of traps and the timing of charge.