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The Mesopotamian Petroleum researches..
Article
Petroleum Geology Of Mesopotamia (general review)
Abdul-Mutalib Hasson
Al-Marsoumi*
Petroleum
(Rock-Oil) occurs widely as gas and liquid, or semi
solid, chemically petroleum is extremely complex mixture
of hydrocarbons compounds with minor amount of
nitrogene, oxygen and sulfur. From the beginning of the
recorded history down to the present time petroleum play
an action role in the life of peoples around the global.
There is close relationship between this material and
the human development history, in Iraq where the early
civilization rises up, there are many historical
recorded elucidate the uses of oil for many purposes
mainly for medical treatments of skin diseases, as well
as for paving their reed boats as water proofing and to
facilitate their flow. Therefore, there are many
indications of searching for petroleum by ancient Iraqis
6000 B.C using preliminary methods.
Petroleum occurs in Iraq over a variety of ways,
surface seepages are mentioned in many earliest
writings, the most common seepages occurs in Hit area (
Al-Anbar Governorate), in this area there are many
natural springs that discharging water and bitumen, it
is believed that this bituminous material brought up
from deep oil reservoir(Jurassic age) via many
fractures, with the passage time many bituminous pools
where initiated around many springs for example; Awasil,
Abu-Jir and Al-Jabha. The presence of fissures through
the sedimentary cover of the many oil reserviors in
northern Iraq provide a passage way for the
leakage of gas and oil become inevitable, for instance,
the celebrated '' Eternal Fire" of kirkuk area still
burn today as they did in the time of Nebuchadnezzar
(the famous Babylon King). On the other hand, the gas
seepages in Nahar Umar area about 30 km north Basrah
town attracts the attentions of the pioneer of oil
explorer, and lead to the discovery of Nahar Umr oil
field in 1949.
The presence of surface indications and the
discovery of petroleum in Iran and other neighboring
countries encourage the British companies to carried out
their geophysical prospecting for oil exploration in
Mesopotamia sonly after the first global war, few years
latter these prospecting activities lead to discover
number of structural traps, thereafter many oil fields
were found; Zubair, Rumaila, Nahr Umar, Ratawi, Suba,
luhais, Majnoon mainly in Basrah Governorate.
Furthermore, Nasyriah, Noor, Amara, Abu-Gharab and other
oil fileds were discovering in other Mesopotamia areas.
It is worth to be mentioned that the first oil well
drilled in Iraq was conducted by Turkish Oil Company,
drilling started in 1902 and finished 1905 with total
depth of 705 m in Fat'ha Formation- Butmah area Northern
Iraq.
Mesopotamia considered as one of the
richest area in oil, for the following reasons;
The high thickness of oil reservoir with good porosity
and excellent permeability, the presence of source
rocks, the high and approximately complete stratigraphic
column which preserved the hydrocarbon accumulations,
and the presence of broad structure with high closure
that accommodate the huge amounts of hydrocarbons. Most
of these structures are resulted from salt tectonism.
Three main oil reservoirs were recognized, they are from
top to bottom; The Fat'ha Formation(Middle Miocene)- The
first pay, Mishrif Formation (Cenomanian)- the second
pay, The upper sandstone Member-Zubair Formation( Aptian)-
the third pay.
The stratigraphic column of southern Iraq
is characterized by thick Cretaceous succession with
important hydrocarbon accumulations within many
formations. Zubair and Mishrif Formation represent the
most productive reservoirs in southern Iraq oil fields
mainly in Zubair and Rumaila Oil Fields. The
source rocks for those two formations are Sargelu
(Middle Jurrasic)and Chiagara( Upper Jurrasic)
Formations. The oil produced from the Lower Cretaceous
reservoirs is of good quality. The Nahar Umr
reservoir in Nhar Umer field has 43 API°, While in
Rumaila and Zubair Fields 35 – 42 API°, Mishrif oil
reservoir produce oil with 26 API° in Rumaila and Zubair
oil fields, eventually , the Fat'ha oil reservoir has an
API° ranged between 10 -20 in Nahr Umr and Zubair oil
fields.
* Phd: Abdul – Mutalib Hasson
Mohammed Al-Marsoumi
E-mail:
abdmars@yahoo.com
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