Research Article| December 01, 2011 PROVENANCE, DIAGENESIS AND RESERVOIR QUALITY OF THE LOWER CRETACEOUS SANDSTONE OF THE ORANGE BASIN, SOUTH AFRICA. O.A. FADIPE; O.A. FADIPE Department of Earth Sciences, University of the Western Cape, P.M.B. X17, Bellville 7535, Cape Town, South Africa., e-mail: ofadipe@uwc.ac.za; paul.carey@getech.com; aakinlua@oauife.edu.ng; adekoladsolo@gmail.com Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar P.F. CAREY; P.F. CAREY Department of Earth Sciences, University of the Western Cape, P.M.B. X17, Bellville 7535, Cape Town, South Africa., e-mail: ofadipe@uwc.ac.za; paul.carey@getech.com; aakinlua@oauife.edu.ng; adekoladsolo@gmail.com Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar A. AKINLUA; A. AKINLUA Department of Earth Sciences, University of the Western Cape, P.M.B. X17, Bellville 7535, Cape Town, South Africa., e-mail: ofadipe@uwc.ac.za; paul.carey@getech.com; aakinlua@oauife.edu.ng; adekoladsolo@gmail.com Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar S.A. ADEKOLA S.A. ADEKOLA Department of Earth Sciences, University of the Western Cape, P.M.B. X17, Bellville 7535, Cape Town, South Africa., e-mail: ofadipe@uwc.ac.za; paul.carey@getech.com; aakinlua@oauife.edu.ng; adekoladsolo@gmail.com Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information O.A. FADIPE Department of Earth Sciences, University of the Western Cape, P.M.B. X17, Bellville 7535, Cape Town, South Africa., e-mail: ofadipe@uwc.ac.za; paul.carey@getech.com; aakinlua@oauife.edu.ng; adekoladsolo@gmail.com P.F. CAREY Department of Earth Sciences, University of the Western Cape, P.M.B. X17, Bellville 7535, Cape Town, South Africa., e-mail: ofadipe@uwc.ac.za; paul.carey@getech.com; aakinlua@oauife.edu.ng; adekoladsolo@gmail.com A. AKINLUA Department of Earth Sciences, University of the Western Cape, P.M.B. X17, Bellville 7535, Cape Town, South Africa., e-mail: ofadipe@uwc.ac.za; paul.carey@getech.com; aakinlua@oauife.edu.ng; adekoladsolo@gmail.com S.A. ADEKOLA Department of Earth Sciences, University of the Western Cape, P.M.B. X17, Bellville 7535, Cape Town, South Africa., e-mail: ofadipe@uwc.ac.za; paul.carey@getech.com; aakinlua@oauife.edu.ng; adekoladsolo@gmail.com Publisher: Geological Society of South Africa First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1996-8590 Print ISSN: 1012-0750 © 2011 Geological Society of South Africa South African Journal of Geology (2011) 114 (3-4): 433–448. https://doi.org/10.2113/gssajg.114.3-4.433 Article history First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation O.A. FADIPE, P.F. CAREY, A. AKINLUA, S.A. ADEKOLA; PROVENANCE, DIAGENESIS AND RESERVOIR QUALITY OF THE LOWER CRETACEOUS SANDSTONE OF THE ORANGE BASIN, SOUTH AFRICA.. South African Journal of Geology 2011;; 114 (3-4): 433–448. doi: https://doi.org/10.2113/gssajg.114.3-4.433 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietySouth African Journal of Geology Search Advanced Search Abstract The Orange Basin, offshore South Africa, formed as a result of Gondwana break-up and rifting during the late Jurassic to early Cretaceous periods followed by drifting apart of the African and South American plates. A number of wells have been drilled over the last three decades in the Orange Basin, focussed primarily in water depths of less than 500m with gas/condensate and one oil discovery in the syn-rift succession illustrating a working petroleum system. Lower Cretaceous (Albian age) sandstones of the Orange Basin conformably overlie Aptian age sedimentary rocks including potential source rocks for Albian reservoirs, although well testing has yet to demonstrate commercial volumes of hydrocarbons. This work examines sandstones sampled from well A-W1 and attempts to clarify sediment provenance and post-depositional diagenetic modification of these potential reservoir sands through a combination of analytical techniques including thin section petrographic characterization, X-ray diffractometry (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses (major element analysis after Al-Harbi and Khan, 2008), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The data generated from these analytical techniques have been utilized to interpret the diagenetic and geochemical variation and development of the Albian sands of this well as characteristic of the potential play area.Albian age sandstones have a detrital mineralogy dominated by quartz, K-feldspar and mica and range from greywacke to litharenites. Diagenetic modifications include feldspar and lithic fragment dissolution, compaction and reduction of the depositional porosity through grain rearrangements, rotation and fragmentation of grains and cementation (primarily quartz and carbonate). Relatively early formation of authigenic chlorite, followed quartz cementation occurred in an environment where the movement of formation waters was relatively unrestricted. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.