Challenging Middle Eastern Stratigraphic Misconceptions — An Example for Creation and Infill of the Gotnia Basin

The Jurassic stratigraphy of the Middle East contains some of the world’s most economically significant petroleum systems comprising world-class source rock, reservoir and seal packages. Yet these depositional systems are still not fully understood in their regional context, leading to inconsistencies in the use of lithostratigraphic nomenclature across international boundaries. This, in turn, results in misconceptions of stratigraphic architecture and evolution, with implications for the distribution and quality of petroleum systems elements, as well as exploration and production strategies. This revised interpretation utilizing the latest public domain datasets challenges some of these long-standing misconceptions. One of these stratigraphic inconsistencies includes the creation and infill of the Late Jurassic Gotnia Basin. The development of the Gotnia Basin is cited by many authors to be tectonically controlled. However, an alternative model based on the concepts of carbonate sequence stratigraphy and its relationship to eustatic sea-level change can be proposed. This new insight has impacted the prediction and distribution of source, reservoir and seal facies, and the presence of stratigraphic traps.