Regional Play-Based Exploration of the Mafraq Formation, North Oman: Targeting Sweet Spots and Play Concepts

The Jurassic Mafraq Formation (Sahtan Group) in North Oman represents an emerging, yet underexplored, opportunity for hydrocarbon exploration and development ( Figure 1A ). Recent discoveries by Petroleum Development Oman in stratigraphic and combination traps suggest the potential for it to evolve into a significant new core play in the region.

Despite its promise, white space and uncertainties remain regarding the Mafraq Formation’s overall exploration potential. This study adopts a regional play-based exploration approach to assess the Formation’s prospectivity. It aims to characterise the play within a broader geological context, define play fairway sweet spots, identify viable play concepts, and evaluate the remaining exploration potential of the Mafraq Formation.

Mafraq Formation onlaps on the titled Akhdar Group (Permo-Triassic) unconformity from NW to the SE. Mafraq Formation is thicker in the NW (basin wards) and gets thinner towards the SE. The sedimentological and sequence stratigraphic framework of the Mafraq Formation reveals the complexity of this unique period with diachronous depositional system that shows a wide range of environments (offshore to alluvial plain). This enabled mapping regional transgressive-regressive cycles that supported to build a regional stratigraphic framework of the Mafraq Formation using a suite of data including core, wireline log responses and seismic data.