The Impact of Evaporites in the Greek and Albanian Oil Systems

Abstract

Summary Triassic Evaporites are widespread in the External Hellenides and Albanides zones of Greece and mainly in the Ionian zone, playing an important role in the formation of folds and thrust belts. They also contribute in the westward propagating contractional deformation and thrusting process in the External Hellenides orogenic (fold-and-thrust) belt. Scope of the present work is to shed light on the significance of evaporites in the oil systems of Greece and Albania. This scope is implemented by combining geological information, well data and seismic reflection data. The wells drilled both in Greece and in Albania indicate a wide extension of the evaporites on the surface but they are absent in the Kruja zone in Albania and Greece. Evaporitic diapirs have extruded through the pre-existing, tectonic axis, thrusting faults and younger extensional structures, resulting locally in NNW - SSE trending diapiric walls (W. Greece). Concerning the thickness of the evaporites, it is ranging between 2 and 3 kilometers (Ionian zone), that locally may be more than 3 Km related to diapirisms. Evaporite thickness is decreasing westwards, at the Pre-Apulia platform margins (Pre-Apulia zone).