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Marine and Petroleum Geology
Abstract Volume 151, May 2023, 106185
Introduction
Section snippets
Paleozoic geological evolution of
References (42)
Southeastern Tunisia, North Africa: New
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insights from subsurface data
Marwa Ghalgaoui a b , Kawthar Sebei a b, Dalel Manai a b, Haifa Boussigua a c,
Noomen Dkhaili d, Samir Kharbachi b e, Mohamed Hedi Inoubli a b
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Abstract
This study documents the Paleozoic events and their impact on the geological
evolution of the Jeffara Basin and the Dahar High. Nine regional seismic profiles
were interpreted, revealing the Paleozoic sedimentary record across the region.
The geological history comprises two distinct periods: the early Paleozoic
consisting mainly of sandstone and shale, and the late Paleozoic rich in
carbonate sequences. Structurally, two different basins, separated by a
structural high, were identified. We reconstructed the geological evolution of
the area, focusing on the major unconformities. We described several tectonic
events that resulted in the Dahar High uplift and the Jeffara Basin development.
Extensional tectonic phases prevailed in the region during the Cambro-
Ordovician, while compressional events and structural inversion affected the
area during Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian. Four major unconformities
(Taconic, Caledonian, Hercynian and Permian unconformities) outline these
tectonic events. These deformations are superimposed onto the global tectonic
events. The results of this study also show that the uplift of the Dahar High is
proven to be a polyphase progressive uplift that was initiated since at least the
Taconic event and reactivated during major tectonic phases. Finally, the uplift of
the paleohigh has affected the petroleum system evolution of the surrounding
basins. Stratigraphic and structural traps were proven around the high and they
constitute potential plays.
Introduction
This study focused on the tectono-sedimentary evolution of the South East of
Tunisia during the Paleozoic. The investigated area is subdivided, according to
altitude, into two main zones: the Jeffara low zone and the Dahar high zone.
The Jeffara region (Fig. 1) covers approximately 18,000 km2. It is bordered to the
north-east by the central Mediterranean Sea and to the west and south by the
considered ‘stable’ Sahara platform domain (Burollet, 1991). South-eastward, it
constitutes the western edge of the Jeffara Libyan that extends to the Gulf of
Sirte.
Structurally, the region can be subdivided into two distinct geological domains.
(Bouaziz, 2000; Gabtni et al., 2009): (1) the Jeffara Basin to the east, which is
characterized by an average topography near mean sea level, formed since the
Paleozoic time, and mainly covered with Mio-Plio-Quaternary outcrops
(Bouaziz, 2000; Raulin et al., 2011), and (2) the Dahar domain to the west,
consisting of Mesozoic outcrops structured in sub-tabular plateau dipping of
1°–2° westward. However, in the subsurface bellow the Mesozoic series, this
domain includes an E-W trending structural high called the Dahar High or
mostly the Telemzane Arch (Gabtni et al., 2006).
The area is marked by a major NW - SE tectonic feature, called the Jeffara Fault
System, or the Southern Tunisian Accident (Fig. 2) (Raulin et al., 2011) that
greatly affected the Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary series. It is interpreted
as a Carboniferous syn-depositional fault system, related to the Hercynian phase
(Burollet et al., 1978) and reactivated during the Mesozoic (Touati and Rodgers,
1998). This extensive movement has led to the subsidence of the Jeffara Basin to
the north-east (Bouaziz et al., 2002; Guiraud et al., 2005; Touati and Rodgers,
1998).
Successive tectonic activities along the E-W faults have affected the
sedimentary deposits in the Jeffara region, resulting in the formation of horsts,
grabens and tilted blocks. These major E-W faults are thought to be structural
features inherited from the Paleozoic basement including the Azizia Fault (AF),
Zemlet el Ghar Fault (ZGF) and Tebaga Fault (TF) (Fig. 2) (Raulin et al., 2011).
Section snippets
Geological setting
Since the beginning of the lower Paleozoic time the Jeffara area has been the
seat of alternating compressional and extensional tectonic events, which have
resulted in a complex and polyphase structural history (Bouaziz et al., 2002;
Burollet, 1991).…
Data and methodology
The available data sets used in this study consist of borehole data and selected
2D seismic reflection lines, which are well distributed in the region and are
provided by the Tunisian National Oil Company (ETAP) database. Borehole data
consists of 20 petroleum exploration wells (W1–W20) (Fig. 2), reaching a
maximum depth of investigation of 4247 m in well W-3. The data include the
final geological reports (geological summary, formation tops, litho-stratigraphy
descriptions and cuttings…
Stratigraphic analysis
This section focused on the Paleozoic stratigraphic succession of the Jeffara
area; it is mainly based on the data analysis of drilled boreholes in the studied
area and the adjacent region. A regional NE - SW lithostratigraphic chart (Fig. 4)
was constructed, highlighting a stratigraphic succession extending from the
Precambrian to the Triassic and revealing the occurrence of several
unconformities and sedimentary hiatuses over most of the Paleozoic sediments.
This research work will discuss…
Geological evolution
The different stages of the geological evolution of the Jeffara Basin – Dahar High
are summarized in a palinspatic reconstruction of the regional seismic profile
S9. This 200 km long profile is composed of six 2D seismic sections, aligned
approximately in N–S direction across the area (Fig. 15). The Paleozoic
evolution, summarized in Fig. 16, is divided into three stages corresponding to
the major unconformities, which we introduced below.…
Conclusions
The current research work provides, for the first time, a series of interpreted
regional seismic sections with boreholes data analysis, detailing the Paleozoic
sedimentary record and the geological evolution of the Jeffara Basin and the
Dahar High. The geological and geophysical analysis allowed the identification,
calibration and interpretation of the top of the Precambrian basement and six
key Paleozoic horizons, including four main angular and erosional
unconformities: the Taconic…
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or
personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported
in this paper.…
Acknowledgments
Many thanks go to the Tunisian National Oil Company (ETAP), mainly data base
team for providing subsurface data. Discussions with the URGAMM members
were very fruitful for improving the study. Special thanks are extended to Dr.
Adnen Amiri (Assistant Professor of geology and geophysics at the Faculty of
Sciences of Tunis) for his constructive suggestions and proposed corrections
that enhance the manuscript quality greatly.…
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