oa Basement Configuration and its Impact on Permian–Triassic Prospectivity in Kuwait

Petroleum exploration efforts to date primarily have been focused on the Cretaceous and Jurassic targets and very little effort has been made for exploring deeper prospects in Kuwait. The seismic data quality due to its infestation with multiples does not allow for mapping the deeper prospects with confidence. For meeting this objective, an integrated modelling of seismic, gravity, magnetic and borehole data is carried out for generating a basement configuration map to evaluate the likely preservation of the Lower Silurian Qusaiba hot shale. The Qusaiba hot shale is the source for some of the most important petroleum systems of the Middle East and is believed to have charged the Devonian Jauf, Carboniferous–Permian Unayzah and Permian–Triassic Khuff formations.