Chemostratigraphic and sedimentologic evolution of Wajid Group (Wajid Sandstone): An outcrop analog study from the Cambrian to Permian, SW Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The Paleozoic age succession in Saudi Arabia represents one of the most prolific petroleum producing systems in the Arabian Peninsula. This succession is also considered important for unconventional tight gas and shale gas reservoirs. The Wajid Group (Wajid Sandstone) in SW Saudi Arabia consists of four formations, namely, Dibsiyah (Lower and Upper), Sanamah, Khusayyayn and Juwayl from bottom to top. This study investigates the major oxides, trace and rare earth elements for the Wajid Group formations in southwestern Saudi Arabia. We characterize and compare the sandstone types, provenance, tectonic setting, and climate. Moreover, we applied the chemostratigraphic technique for stratigraphic differentiation. Concentrations of certain elements indicate that Wajid Group was deposited in a passive continental margin. The geochemical analysis reveals that Wajid Group sediments were likely derived from the upper and bulk continental crust and mafic igneous provenance. The elemental geochemical data has been applied in this study to improve the stratigraphic subdivision and correlation. Using selected elements, geochemical vertical profiles, binary, and ternary diagrams allow clearly distinguishing between Wajid Group formations. Thus supports the established formation boundaries that constructed using lithostratigraphy and sedimentology. The geochemical elements variation between formations can be related to differences in rock-forming minerals, facies change, climate, and provenance. The results of this study may help in constraining and correlating complex facies strata and can be used as a guide for stratigraphic correlations in the subsurface within the Wajid basin and other equivalent stratigraphic successions within Saudi Arabia.