Petroleum Resource Potential of northern Afghanistan

244 Pages·2006·0.63 MB·English

Assessment of Undiscovered Technically Recoverable
Conventional Petroleum Resources of Northern Afghanistan
By T.R. Klett, G.F. Ulmishek, C.J. Wandrey, Warren F. Agena, and the U.S. Geological
Survey-Afghanistan Ministry of Mines and Industry Joint Oil and Gas Resource
Assessment Team
Geographic Information Systems, spatial data management, and petroleum-generation
modeling by Douglas Steinshouer
The U.S. Geological Survey-Afghanistan Ministry of Mines and Industry Joint Oil and Gas Resource Assessment
Team includes T.R. Klett1 (Team Leader; [email protected]), Gregory F. Ulmishek1, C.J. Wandrey1 (Project Chief),
Warren F. Agena1, David J. Taylor1, Ronald Hill1, Michael Pribil1, J. David King1, Mark J. Pawlewicz1, Charles E.
Barker1, Thomas S. Ahlbrandt1, Ronald R. Charpentier1, Richard M. Pollastro1, Christopher J. Schenk1
1. U.S. Geological Survey, Box 25046, Denver Federal Center, MS 939, Denver, CO 80225 U.S.A.

U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2006-1253
U. S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
DIRK KEMPTHORNE, Secretary
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
P.Patrick Leahy, Acting Director
Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for
descriptive purposes only and does not imply
endorsement by the U.S. Government.
Published in the Central Region, Denver, Colorado
Manuscript approved for publication
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Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - USGS Fact Sheet 2006-3031
ASSESSMENT UNIT MAP (Figure 11.)
ASSESSMENT RESULT (Table1.)
Contents........................................................................................................................................iii
ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................vii
INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................1
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS....................................................................................................................2
TRANSLITERATION.........................................................................................................................2
REGIONAL GEOLOGY.......................................................................................................................3
Basin History...............................................................................................................................5
Principal Present-Day Structural Elements.................................................................................9
Amu Darya Basin...................................................................................................................10
North Afghan High.................................................................................................................12
Repetek zone.........................................................................................................................13
Kushka depression and Kushka zone....................................................................................14
Parapamiz-Bande Turkestan range.......................................................................................14
Harrirud fault zone.................................................................................................................15
Southwest Gissar Meganticline and Spur.............................................................................15
Alburz-Marmul fault...............................................................................................................16
Afghan-Tajik Basin................................................................................................................16
Tectonic Development...............................................................................................................21
Paleozoic...............................................................................................................................22
Triassic..................................................................................................................................23
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Jurassic.................................................................................................................................24
Cretaceous............................................................................................................................40
Paleogene.............................................................................................................................45
Neogene................................................................................................................................53
Quaternary.............................................................................................................................58
Stratigraphy...............................................................................................................................59
TOTAL PETROLEUM SYSTEMS......................................................................................................93
Geochemistry........................................................................................................................96
AMU DARYA BASIN................................................................................................................108
Amu Darya Jurassic-Cretaceous Total Petroleum System (115401)........................................108
Discovery History:............................................................................................................................108
Petroleum Occurrence:..................................................................................................................112
Source Rocks:..................................................................................................................................118
Maturation:.......................................................................................................................................122
Reservoir Rocks:..............................................................................................................................124
Traps:.................................................................................................................................................126
Seals:.................................................................................................................................................128
Assessment Units:...........................................................................................................................129
KALAIMOR-KAISAR BASIN.....................................................................................................133
Kalaimor-Kaisar Jurassic Total Petroleum System (115402)...................................................133
Discovery History:............................................................................................................................133
Petroleum Occurrence:..................................................................................................................134
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Source Rocks:..................................................................................................................................134
Maturation:.......................................................................................................................................135
Reservoir Rocks:..............................................................................................................................135
Traps:.................................................................................................................................................136
Seals:.................................................................................................................................................136
Assessment Units:...........................................................................................................................136
NORTH AFGHAN HIGH............................................................................................................137
AFGHAN-TAJIK BASIN...........................................................................................................138
Afghan-Tajik Jurassic Total Petroleum System (115601).........................................................140
Discovery History:............................................................................................................................140
Petroleum Occurrence:..................................................................................................................140
Source Rocks:..................................................................................................................................141
Maturation:.......................................................................................................................................142
Reservoir Rocks:..............................................................................................................................143
Traps:.................................................................................................................................................144
Seals:.................................................................................................................................................144
Assessment Units:...........................................................................................................................144
Afghan-Tajik Paleogene Total Petroleum System (115602).....................................................147
Discovery History:............................................................................................................................147
Petroleum Occurrence:..................................................................................................................147
Source Rocks:..................................................................................................................................147
Maturation:.......................................................................................................................................149
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Reservoir Rocks:..............................................................................................................................150
Traps:.................................................................................................................................................151
Seals:.................................................................................................................................................152
Assessment Units:...........................................................................................................................152
Conclusions.................................................................................................................................157
References Cited.........................................................................................................................158
List of tables................................................................................................................................189
List of figures...............................................................................................................................190
Appendices
1. Assessment input forms
2. Assessment results reports
3. Description of assessment methodology…………………………………………..…203
4. One page geologic summaries………………………………………………………..212
5. Seismic survey report………………………………………………………………...235
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ABSTRACT
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey–Afghanistan
Ministry of Mines and Industry Joint Oil and Gas Resource Assessment estimated mean volumes
of undiscovered petroleum in northern Afghanistan; the resulting estimates are 1.6 billion barrels
(0.2 billion metric tons) of crude oil, 16 trillion cubic feet (0.4 trillion cubic meters) of natural gas,
and 0.5 billion barrels (0.8 billion metric tons) of natural gas liquids. Most of the undiscovered
crude oil is in the Afghan-Tajik Basin and most of the undiscovered natural gas is in the Amu
Darya Basin.
Four total petroleum systems were identified, and these were subdivided into eight assessment
units for the purpose of this resource assessment. The area with the greatest potential for
undiscovered natural gas accumulations is in Upper Jurassic carbonate and reef reservoirs
beneath an impermeable salt layer in relatively unexplored parts of northern Afghanistan. The
Afghan-Tajik Basin has the greatest potential for undiscovered crude oil accumulations, and
these are potentially in Cretaceous to Paleogene carbonate reservoir rocks associated with
thrust faulting and folding.
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INTRODUCTION
Crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids/condensate (collectively called
“petroleum”) resources are important for the redevelopment of Afghanistan’s
infrastructure. One of the results of more than two decades of strife in Afghanistan is a
shortage or absence of energy required to improve living conditions. Food, clothing,
shelter, heat, sanitation, and industry, in general, depend on the availability of energy.
The presence of petroleum resources has long been known in Afghanistan but these
resources were exploited only to a limited extent. Improved living and economic
conditions in Afghanistan require increasing the availability of energy, particularly by
exploitation of Afghanistan’s petroleum resources.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) cooperated with the Afghanistan Ministry of Mines
and Industry to assess the potentially undiscovered technically recoverable conventional
petroleum resources of Afghanistan. Funding for this effort was provided by the U.S.
Trade and Development Agency.
The assessment is based on the geologic elements of a total petroleum system, which
include (1) source-rock presence, maturation, petroleum generation, and migration; (2)
distribution and quality of reservoir rocks; and (3) character of traps and time of formation
with respect to petroleum migration. Data from detailed studies of geochemistry,
petroleum geology, geophysics, and tectonics combined with historical exploration and
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production analyses were used to aid in the estimation of the number and sizes of
undiscovered petroleum accumulations.
Much of the petroleum resource potential of Afghanistan and all of the known crude oil
and natural gas reserves are in northern Afghanistan, located in parts of two petroliferous
geologic basins — the Amu Darya Basin to the west and the Afghan-Tajik Basin to the
east (fig. 1). In addition to previous exploration, this study shows that potential still exists
for additional crude oil and natural gas discoveries in northern Afghanistan.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to acknowledge the constructive technical reviews by Christopher
Schenk and Vito Nuccio, editorial reviews by Lorna Carter, and graphical assistance by
Phuong Le, L. Steve Cazenave, and Christa Lopez.
TRANSLITERATION
Most geographical and geological names for northern Afghanistan were transliterated
directly from Dari to English by geologists and
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and used in this report. Geographical and geological names for neighboring
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan used in this report are transliterations from
Russian. Some obvious discrepancies in the spelling of names among countries are
observed in this report. For example, the word for pilgrim is spelled “Khoja” for
Afghanistan, but spelled “Khodzha” for Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.
REGIONAL GEOLOGY
The Amu Darya and the Afghan-Tajik Basins are located in desert and semi-desert areas
of Turkmenistan, southwest Uzbekistan, southeastern Tajikistan, and northern
Afghanistan (fig. 1) (Ulmishek, 2004). The two basins encompass approximately 87,000
square kilometers (34,000 square miles) in those portions that lie within Afghanistan. The
Amu Darya Basin is west of the Afghan-Tajik Basin, and they are separated from one
another by the southern subsurface extension of the Southwestern Gissar meganticline
and spur. The Amu Darya and the Afghan-Tajik Basins occupy a narrow zone between
the Amu Darya River to the north and west, the Alburz-Marmul fault, North Afghan High,
and Bande Turkestan Range to the south. The east boundary is the Hindu Kush and
Badakhshan.
Northern Afghanistan has pre-Jurassic basement unconformably overlain by Jurassic to
Paleogene oil- and gas-bearing terrigenous and carbonate rocks, which in turn are
unconformably overlain by Neogene orogenic continental clastics (Kulakov, 1979;
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