Gravity Survey on the Oil-Bearing Dammam Dome (Eastern Saudi Arabia) and Its Implications

Konstantinos Chavanidis,Grigorios N Tsokas,Roman Pasteka,Maurizio Fedi,Markos Tranos,Alexandros Stampolidis,Panagiotis Kirmizakis,Khalid Al-Ramadan,Sanlinn Kaka,Pantelis Soupios

doi:10.3390/rs14030735

Abstract

A detailed gravity survey with 235 measurements was carried out at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals campus, which is located at the crest of the oil-bearing Dammam Dome (Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia). This survey allows us to better understand the geometry of the underlying Dammam Dome and its tectonic regime. The acquired data were processed using conventional gravity data reduction techniques. The effectiveness of terrain correction was evaluated using several recently developed algorithms. Afterward, processed data were subject to geophysical filters for edge detection (terracing transformation and horizontal gradient) and depth estimation (tilt derivative and 3D inversion). 3D Bouguer maps were generated and compared to the proposed geological models for the Dammam Dome. The results show the existence of ENE-WSW striking tectonic lines, where two nearly vertical, km long tectonic lines were predominant. The orientation of these tectonic lines defines an NNW-SSE trend for the least principal stress axis (σ3) and an ENE-WSW trend for the σ1σ2 stress plane of the driving stress regime, fitting well with the transtension stress regime recently suggested for the area. More importantly, the results of this study demonstrate that the Dammam Dome was affected by the intraplate stresses transferred from the convergence between the Arabian and Eurasian plates along the Zagros orogeny.

Highlights

For the Oil and Gas Industry, the presence of a dome indicates the entrapment of hydrocarbons since many stratigraphic and structural traps are formed [1].Especially in a salt dome, hydrocarbons get trapped in different parts because of the upward salt motion creating impermeable barriers that stop the flow and migration of oil or gas inside the reservoir [2]
Mode I structures trending ENE-WSW. Their orientations define the least principal stress axis (σ3 ) of the driving stress regime, which is normal to their planes, to trend NNW-SSE
Their planes coincide with the σ1 σ2 -principal stress plane of the driving stress regime and define that the horizontal greatest stress axis trends ENE-WSW, i.e., similar to in situ stresses defined by the open natural fractures found in the reservoirs of the Eastern Province [38,39]

Summary

Introduction

In a salt dome, hydrocarbons get trapped in different parts because of the upward salt motion creating impermeable barriers that stop the flow and migration of oil or gas inside the reservoir [2]. This is why the present study was undertaken on the campus of the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), located at the crest of the Dammam Dome, not far from the first discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia, back in. The. Dammam Dome is located in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia (Figure 1a), covering an area of about 150 km2 [5]. The cities of Al Dhahran, Al Khobar, and part of the Al Dammam are established on this dome, which lies along the coast of the Arabian Gulf (Figure 1b)

Methods

Results

Conclusion