f Quantitative Basin Analysis Of Libya Murzuq Basin, Area 147 - Block 3 And 4

The Paleozoic section in Murzuq Basin constitutes the main hydrocarbon system. Organic-rich Silurian "hot" shales of Tanezzuft Formation are the primary source rock as widely recognized and proven in most of the North Africa. Paleozoic shales mainly Silurian Tanezzuft Formation are also the main seal in the region. The primary reservoirs are the Ordovician glacio-marine and fluviodeltaic sandstones (which are called Ordovician_SS herein after) in the Murzuq Basin. A key risk in hydrocarbon exploration is the distribution of the postglacial hot shales at the base of the lower Silurian Tanezzuft Formation. During the late Ordovician west Gondwana was located close to the South Pole at high latitude and the Murzuq Basin was lying along its continental margin (Davidson et al., 2000). The "hot" shale distribution is patchy and reflects the residual topography on the upper surface of the Upper Ordovician sediments (Lüning et al. 2000, 2003). The Murzuq Basin is filled with continental Mesozoic and Cenozoic sediments lying unconformably on the marine Paleozoic rocks, which reach a maximum thickness of about 10,000 ft in the basin centre.