Fadhil Sadooni - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Fadhil Sadooni
MethodsX, 2021
Although several indices have been constructed and available at the Index database (IDB) for Sent... more Although several indices have been constructed and available at the Index database (IDB) for Sentinel-2 satellite to map and study several earth resources, no indices have been developed to map oil spill. We constructed band ratios (5 + 6)/7, (3 + 4)/2, (11 + 12)/8 and 3/2, (3 + 4)/2, (6 + 7)/5 using the high-resolution MSI (multispectral instrument) visible-near infrared-shortwave infrared spectral bands of Sentinel-2 by summing-up the bands representing the shoulders of absorption features as numerator and the band located nearest to the absorption feature as denominator to discriminate oil spill, and demonstrate the potential of this method to map the Wakashio oil spill which occurred in the Indian Ocean, off Mauritius. The resulted images discriminated the oil spill well. We also decorrelated the spectral bands 4, 3 and 2 by studying the spectral band absorptions and discriminated the spill as very thick, thick and thin. The results of decorrelation stretch method exhibited the distribution of types of oil spill in a different tone, distinctly. Both the image transformation methods (band ratios and decorrelation stretch methods) showed their capability to map oil spills, and these methods are recommended to use for similar spectral bands of other sensors to map oil spills. • This study demonstrated the application of band ratios and decorrelation stretch methods to map oil spill. • The methods discriminated the oil spill off Mauritius, and showed spill thicknesses from the Sentinel-2 data. • The new methods are recommended to use for the spectral bands of other sensors to map oil spill.
Petroleum Science and Technology
The old land of Iraq is characterized by the presence of many oil seepages that date back to the ... more The old land of Iraq is characterized by the presence of many oil seepages that date back to the Babylonian time. During the last few years, the country has witnessed an accelerating pattern of earthquakes that may have activated some of the major old faults and released entrapped hydrocarbons that eventually mixed with groundwater. The recent phenomenon of mixing hydrocarbons with this water has resulted in significant economic losses. Many geochemical analyses were conducted for four samples of oil contaminated with groundwater in the Karbala and Najaf regions and compared them with five samples of seep oil in the Ramadi region and one sample of bitumen extracted from the Lower Fars (Fatha) formation of Kifl-1 oil well, to find out the origin of these oils and to identify potential reservoirs that could hold important undiscovered oil reserves. Results indicate that the groundwater oils were highly mature and originated from Lower Cretaceous carbonate sources deposited under upwelling deep water, anoxic conditions. This is roughly corresponding to the bitumen extract sample of the Lower Fars Formation taken from the Kifl-1 oil well, confirming that these oils belong to the reservoir units in this formation and may therefore contain economically amounts of oil.
Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering
The Yamama Formation is an important reservoir as well as a good source rocks in many of the oilf... more The Yamama Formation is an important reservoir as well as a good source rocks in many of the oilfields of the southern Mesopotamian Basin, Iraq. The formation represents a regressive cycle deposited in a shallow carbonate ramp that was under clastic influence from the nearby land. This setting is a determining factor in the organic matter content. Geochemical pyrolysis, palynofacies, biomarkers, and carbon isotope analyses were conducted on 152 samples from 27 oil wells. The formation represents a regressive cycle deposited in a shallow carbonate ramp that was under clastic influence from the nearby land. Based on pyrolysis analyses, the source rocks have poor to excellent hydrocarbon potential. The kerogen types of the Yamama source are varied, including II, II/III, III, and I. This is due to the varied depositional environments and related organic matter sources (continental to marine). The studied samples also showed a variety in distribution between oil-prone kerogen type II, distal suboxic-anoxic and the dysoxic-anoxic marine carbonate environments of (IX) and (VIII) zones of Tyson Ternary, which reflect the wide variations in the sediment depositional paleo-environments. The difference in the variations of normal alkanes of light alkanes in the range of n-C13 to n-C19 of the gas chromatography analyses, as well as the verities of the biomarker ratio of the tricyclic terpanes, hopane, and homohopane, indicate differences in the depositional setting. Similarly, the carbon stable isotope compositions of 13 C (‰) saturated and 13 C (‰) aromatic hydrocarbons, as well as the canonical variable value for Yamama source rock extracts, correspond to a variety of organic matter sources, ranging from open marine to terrestrial with plants. The Tmax values for most Yamama source samples range from 430 • C to 451 • C, the C 27 Ts/Tm, C 29 sterane 20S/(20 S + 20 R) and ββ/(ββ+αα) stereoisomer, and triaromatic steroids 3 [TAS3]) ratios, indicating that the studied samples are in the range "immature to oil window", and that Tmax of 430-450 • C corresponds to an early to peak oil window stage. The Yamama source intervals entered the early oil window in the Late Cretaceous ranging from 80 to 62 Ma and completed oil generation in the early Eocene to Late Miocene approximately 80 to 62 Ma, according to 1D-Burial, thermal history modeling, and the timing of oil generation of selected wells covering the studied area (58-7 Ma). This confirms that these source intervals have completed petroleum generation and have contributed significantly to the supplies of crude oil and gas to surrounding reservoirs.
مجلة البحوث و الدراسات النفطية, Apr 21, 2022
The X Formation, which dates from the Late Cenomanian to the early Turonian, is the largest carbo... more The X Formation, which dates from the Late Cenomanian to the early Turonian, is the largest carbonate reservoir in Iraq's South Mesopotamian Basin. There are two shallowing-up depositional periods in it, which begin with deep water mudstone associated with wackestone, which gradually shallows into rudist and is dominated by big foraminifera shoals and barriers, which are followed by lagoonal and intertidal facies. The identification of five distinct reservoir rock types, including mB2, mB1, CRII, mA, and CRI, was based on a combination of sediment types and diagenetic processes that influenced porosity types. The formation oil geochemical studies point to a Lower Cretaceous marine carbonate source depositional environment that is early mature and anoxic.
Petroleum Science and Technology, 2019
Ten oil samples from the Yamama reservoirs and ten extracts of purported source rocks from sixtee... more Ten oil samples from the Yamama reservoirs and ten extracts of purported source rocks from sixteen wells in the Mesopotamian Basin, Southern Iraq have been analyzed using GC, GC/MS and Stable Carbon Isotope. Yamama oils were non-biodegraded, moderate to higher maturity based on C 27 Ts of range from 0.17 to 0.77and TAS3 of 0.3 to 0.63, marine carbonate and marl source rocks, deposited under saline, anoxic conditions. Two oil groups were investigated based on the results of the geochemical analysis. These oils have similarly biomarkers ratios to those of the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous source rocks in the Mesopotamian Basin.
Science of The Total Environment, 2021
Remote sensing of inland sabkha of Qatar is studied for sustainable development. • Minerals and r... more Remote sensing of inland sabkha of Qatar is studied for sustainable development. • Minerals and rock types of sabkha are mapped using Hyperion and ASTER data. • Salinity of sabkha region is monitored using Sentinel-2 data by NDSI index. • Applications of satellite data are validated by field and laboratory studies. • Capability of sensors is demonstrated to study the sabkha of arid region.
GEOPHYSICS, 2021
At the site of a water drainage shaft on the campus of Qatar University that serves as a man-made... more At the site of a water drainage shaft on the campus of Qatar University that serves as a man-made karst analog, two seismic imaging techniques were adapted to utilize resonant scattered waves recorded during active-source seismic and during a passive ambient-noise surveys. Data acquisition included two seismic transmission surveys that encompassed the shaft and a passive ambient-noise survey that extended across the top of the shaft. Seismic imaging of bandpass-filtered resonance waves correctly estimated the location and dimension of the shaft. Furthermore, the method detected the presence and the location of a horizontal drainage pipe and gravel bed connecting neighboring water shafts. Ambient-noise data were analyzed by computing amplitude values of the seismic records in spectral passbands. The results show an amplification of seismic amplitudes above the shaft for low-frequency passbands and a sharp decrease of amplitude values for high-frequency passbands. The high- and low-am...
Building Resilience at Universities: Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 2021
Gas shale is the future hydrocarbon reservoir of Qatar. The Qatari geologic section has had impor... more Gas shale is the future hydrocarbon reservoir of Qatar. The Qatari geologic section has had important successions of gas shale at different geologic times including the Eocene Midra shale, the Cretaceous Ratawi and Nahr Umr, and the Paleozoic Qusaibah and Unayzah formations. Shale samples were collected from the outcrops of the Midra Shale in Dukhan and Umm Bab areas. Samples were subjected to geochemical analyses using XRD and RXF. Selected samples were examined under SEM and TEM microscopes. All the studied samples contain palygorskite as the main mineral and, in some cases, the only mineral present, as indicated by X-ray diffraction patterns. XRF analysis shows palygorskite range from ideal palygorskite (equal aluminum and magnesium content) to aluminous palygorskite where no magnesium is recorded. The most common other minor minerals are halite, quartz, calcite, and other clay minerals: illite, smectite and sepiolite. The palygorskite chain phyllo silicates results in a fibrous ...
University of the Future: Re-Imagining Research and Higher Education, 2020
The Arabian Gulf represents a significant water body and strategic pathway, which has pronounced ... more The Arabian Gulf represents a significant water body and strategic pathway, which has pronounced regional and international benefits. This research investigated the evolution of the Arabian Gulf geosyncline. Furthermore, it explored the formation, geologic and tectonic settings of Halul and Al-Alyia offshore Islands, as examples of two different evolution models, within the emergence framework. The Arabian Gulf geosyncline has been emerged during the Cenozoic Era (Late Miocene-Pliocene Epoch), situated in the northeastern collisional marginal part of the Arabian Plate, as a foredeep geosyncline or basin, squeezed or crammed between the stable Arabian Plate and the mobile Euro-Asian Plate, along the subduction zone, within Zagros Mountain Fold Thrust Belt. Halul Island is situated to the northeast of the Greater Doha City and has great national economic value. It has a unique shape, elongated domal structure, oriented from South-West to North-East. The tectonic setting of Halul Islan...
Carbonates and Evaporites
Core samples were collected from three wells, one onshore and two offshore, from Qatar’s Upper Ju... more Core samples were collected from three wells, one onshore and two offshore, from Qatar’s Upper Jurassic Arab D reservoir. The samples were subjected to multiproxy petrographic and chemical analyses to identify their micro- and nanoporosity types and understand their evolution and destruction. Based on the petrographic and petrophysical properties of studied rocks, the Arab D succession was divided into seven rock types. Primary microporosity includes intergranular and interplanar, while secondary types include vuggy, intercrystalline, moldic, dissolution, pyrite displacement, microfracture, and microbial boring. Primary micropores were found mainly between the micrite grains in the lime mudstone facies, between the grains or the plates of clay minerals. Secondary micropores result from open and closed diagenetic systems. The open diagenetic system led to the development of dissolution and moldic micropores, while the closed system created pyrite displacement and boring porosity. Mec...
Goldschmidt2022 abstracts
Carbonates and Evaporites, 2017
Rudist buildups form the major oil-producing reservoirs in the Cretaceous carbonate strata of the... more Rudist buildups form the major oil-producing reservoirs in the Cretaceous carbonate strata of the Arabian Plate. They are the main components of the Shuaiba and Mishrif and to lesser extent, the Natih, Mauddud, Simsima, and the Hartha Formations. The demise of the rudist buildups in the region was achieved either by destruction, clastic invasion, or drowning. These processes are found to influence the resultant rocks and their reservoir properties. Destruction may lead to wide-scale scattering and deposition of thick, porous, and permeable strata of rudist-bearing grainstone/packstone beyond the buildup areas, whereas, those covered by clastic fronts are subjected to meteoric water and tend to be well-cemented. Drowned buildups tend to be compact and have more argillaceous materials. Both poroperm and capillary pressure data of these rock suites reflect such differentiation. Recognizing these processes may help predicting locations of the best-developed rudist-bearing reservoirs and enhance our understanding of their reservoir characteristics.
Building Resilience at Universities: Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 2021
Oil residue in the form of tarmat (TM) deposited on the coast of Arabian Gulf countries is a majo... more Oil residue in the form of tarmat (TM) deposited on the coast of Arabian Gulf countries is a major environmental concern. In this study, the current TM pollution trend along the west coast of Qatar has been assessed and compared with historical deposition trend. The range of TM distribution is 0–104 g m-1 with an average value of 9.25 g m-1. Though the current TM level is thirty-fold lesser than that was found during 1993–1997 (average 290 g m-1), the distribution pattern is similar. The chemical composition and structural characterization of TMs were studied using an ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, which indicated the presence of higher aromatic compounds in the north (N) coast TMs than those found in the northwest (NW) and southwest (SW) coasts. TM of NW coast is highly weathered compared to those found in the N and SW coasts. We found that the ATR-FTIR spectroscopic method is a rapid approach to characterize and study the weathering of TMs without any tedious sample preparation or solvent...
The Arabian Gulf represents a significant water body and strategic pathway, which has pronounced ... more The Arabian Gulf represents a significant water body and strategic pathway, which has pronounced regional and international benefits. This research investigated the evolution of the Arabian Gulf geosyncline. Furthermore, it explored the formation, geologic and tectonic settings of Halul and Al-Alyia offshore Islands, as examples of two different evolution models, within the emergence framework. The Arabian Gulf geosyncline has been emerged during the Cenozoic Era (Late Miocene-Pliocene Epoch), situated in the northeastern collisional marginal part of the Arabian Plate, as a foredeep geosyncline or basin, squeezed or crammed between the stable Arabian Plate and the mobile Euro-Asian Plate, along the subduction zone, within Zagros Mountain Fold Thrust Belt. Halul Island is situated to the northeast of the Greater Doha City and has great national economic value. It has a unique shape, elongated domal structure, oriented from South-West to North-East. The tectonic setting of Halul Islan...
The Middle-East has seen a recent boom in construction including the planning and development of ... more The Middle-East has seen a recent boom in construction including the planning and development of complete new sub-sections of metropolitan areas. Before planning and construction can commence, however, the development areas need to be investigated to determine their suitability for the planned project. Subsurface parameters such as the type of material (soil/rock), thickness of top soil or rock layers, depth and elastic parameters of basement, for example, comprise important information needed before a decision concerning the suitability of the site for construction can be made. A similar problem arises in environmental impact studies, when subsurface parameters are needed to assess the geological heterogeneity of the subsurface. Environmental impact studies are typically required for each construction project, particularly for the scale of the aforementioned building boom in the Middle East.
A major hazards in Qatar is the presence of karst, which is ubiquitous throughout the country inc... more A major hazards in Qatar is the presence of karst, which is ubiquitous throughout the country including depressions, sinkholes, and caves. Causes for the development of karst include faulting and fracturing where fluids find pathways through limestone and dissolve the host rock to form caverns. Of particular concern in rapidly growing metropolitan areas that expand in heretofore unexplored regions are the collapse of such caverns. Because Qatar has seen a recent boom in construction, including the planning and development of complete new sub-sections of metropolitan areas, the development areas need to be investigated for the presence of karst to determine their suitability for the planned project. In this paper, we present the results of a study to demonstrate a variety of seismic techniques to detect the presence of a karst analog in form of a vertical water-collection shaft located on the campus of Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
Using a multi-proxy approach based on core analysis, thin sections and log data from the Jurassic... more Using a multi-proxy approach based on core analysis, thin sections and log data from the Jurassic Arab reservoirs in selected wells in the offshore area of Qatar, the reservoir has been divided into a set of distinctive petrophysical units. The Arab Formation consists of cyclic sediments of oolitic grainstone/packstone, foraminifera-bearing packstonewackestone, lagoonal mudstone and dolomite, alternating with anhydrite. The sediments underwent a series of diagenetic processes such as leaching, micritization, cementation, dolomitization and fracturing. The impact of these diagenetic processes on the different depositional fabrics created a complex porosity system. So, in some cases there are preserved depositional porosity such as the intergranular porosity in the oolitic grainstone, but in other cases, diagenetic cementation blocked the same pores and eventually destroyed the pores. In other cases, diagenesis improved the texture of nonporous depositional texture such as mudstone th...
MethodsX, 2021
Although several indices have been constructed and available at the Index database (IDB) for Sent... more Although several indices have been constructed and available at the Index database (IDB) for Sentinel-2 satellite to map and study several earth resources, no indices have been developed to map oil spill. We constructed band ratios (5 + 6)/7, (3 + 4)/2, (11 + 12)/8 and 3/2, (3 + 4)/2, (6 + 7)/5 using the high-resolution MSI (multispectral instrument) visible-near infrared-shortwave infrared spectral bands of Sentinel-2 by summing-up the bands representing the shoulders of absorption features as numerator and the band located nearest to the absorption feature as denominator to discriminate oil spill, and demonstrate the potential of this method to map the Wakashio oil spill which occurred in the Indian Ocean, off Mauritius. The resulted images discriminated the oil spill well. We also decorrelated the spectral bands 4, 3 and 2 by studying the spectral band absorptions and discriminated the spill as very thick, thick and thin. The results of decorrelation stretch method exhibited the distribution of types of oil spill in a different tone, distinctly. Both the image transformation methods (band ratios and decorrelation stretch methods) showed their capability to map oil spills, and these methods are recommended to use for similar spectral bands of other sensors to map oil spills. • This study demonstrated the application of band ratios and decorrelation stretch methods to map oil spill. • The methods discriminated the oil spill off Mauritius, and showed spill thicknesses from the Sentinel-2 data. • The new methods are recommended to use for the spectral bands of other sensors to map oil spill.
Petroleum Science and Technology
The old land of Iraq is characterized by the presence of many oil seepages that date back to the ... more The old land of Iraq is characterized by the presence of many oil seepages that date back to the Babylonian time. During the last few years, the country has witnessed an accelerating pattern of earthquakes that may have activated some of the major old faults and released entrapped hydrocarbons that eventually mixed with groundwater. The recent phenomenon of mixing hydrocarbons with this water has resulted in significant economic losses. Many geochemical analyses were conducted for four samples of oil contaminated with groundwater in the Karbala and Najaf regions and compared them with five samples of seep oil in the Ramadi region and one sample of bitumen extracted from the Lower Fars (Fatha) formation of Kifl-1 oil well, to find out the origin of these oils and to identify potential reservoirs that could hold important undiscovered oil reserves. Results indicate that the groundwater oils were highly mature and originated from Lower Cretaceous carbonate sources deposited under upwelling deep water, anoxic conditions. This is roughly corresponding to the bitumen extract sample of the Lower Fars Formation taken from the Kifl-1 oil well, confirming that these oils belong to the reservoir units in this formation and may therefore contain economically amounts of oil.
Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering
The Yamama Formation is an important reservoir as well as a good source rocks in many of the oilf... more The Yamama Formation is an important reservoir as well as a good source rocks in many of the oilfields of the southern Mesopotamian Basin, Iraq. The formation represents a regressive cycle deposited in a shallow carbonate ramp that was under clastic influence from the nearby land. This setting is a determining factor in the organic matter content. Geochemical pyrolysis, palynofacies, biomarkers, and carbon isotope analyses were conducted on 152 samples from 27 oil wells. The formation represents a regressive cycle deposited in a shallow carbonate ramp that was under clastic influence from the nearby land. Based on pyrolysis analyses, the source rocks have poor to excellent hydrocarbon potential. The kerogen types of the Yamama source are varied, including II, II/III, III, and I. This is due to the varied depositional environments and related organic matter sources (continental to marine). The studied samples also showed a variety in distribution between oil-prone kerogen type II, distal suboxic-anoxic and the dysoxic-anoxic marine carbonate environments of (IX) and (VIII) zones of Tyson Ternary, which reflect the wide variations in the sediment depositional paleo-environments. The difference in the variations of normal alkanes of light alkanes in the range of n-C13 to n-C19 of the gas chromatography analyses, as well as the verities of the biomarker ratio of the tricyclic terpanes, hopane, and homohopane, indicate differences in the depositional setting. Similarly, the carbon stable isotope compositions of 13 C (‰) saturated and 13 C (‰) aromatic hydrocarbons, as well as the canonical variable value for Yamama source rock extracts, correspond to a variety of organic matter sources, ranging from open marine to terrestrial with plants. The Tmax values for most Yamama source samples range from 430 • C to 451 • C, the C 27 Ts/Tm, C 29 sterane 20S/(20 S + 20 R) and ββ/(ββ+αα) stereoisomer, and triaromatic steroids 3 [TAS3]) ratios, indicating that the studied samples are in the range "immature to oil window", and that Tmax of 430-450 • C corresponds to an early to peak oil window stage. The Yamama source intervals entered the early oil window in the Late Cretaceous ranging from 80 to 62 Ma and completed oil generation in the early Eocene to Late Miocene approximately 80 to 62 Ma, according to 1D-Burial, thermal history modeling, and the timing of oil generation of selected wells covering the studied area (58-7 Ma). This confirms that these source intervals have completed petroleum generation and have contributed significantly to the supplies of crude oil and gas to surrounding reservoirs.
مجلة البحوث و الدراسات النفطية, Apr 21, 2022
The X Formation, which dates from the Late Cenomanian to the early Turonian, is the largest carbo... more The X Formation, which dates from the Late Cenomanian to the early Turonian, is the largest carbonate reservoir in Iraq's South Mesopotamian Basin. There are two shallowing-up depositional periods in it, which begin with deep water mudstone associated with wackestone, which gradually shallows into rudist and is dominated by big foraminifera shoals and barriers, which are followed by lagoonal and intertidal facies. The identification of five distinct reservoir rock types, including mB2, mB1, CRII, mA, and CRI, was based on a combination of sediment types and diagenetic processes that influenced porosity types. The formation oil geochemical studies point to a Lower Cretaceous marine carbonate source depositional environment that is early mature and anoxic.
Petroleum Science and Technology, 2019
Ten oil samples from the Yamama reservoirs and ten extracts of purported source rocks from sixtee... more Ten oil samples from the Yamama reservoirs and ten extracts of purported source rocks from sixteen wells in the Mesopotamian Basin, Southern Iraq have been analyzed using GC, GC/MS and Stable Carbon Isotope. Yamama oils were non-biodegraded, moderate to higher maturity based on C 27 Ts of range from 0.17 to 0.77and TAS3 of 0.3 to 0.63, marine carbonate and marl source rocks, deposited under saline, anoxic conditions. Two oil groups were investigated based on the results of the geochemical analysis. These oils have similarly biomarkers ratios to those of the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous source rocks in the Mesopotamian Basin.
Science of The Total Environment, 2021
Remote sensing of inland sabkha of Qatar is studied for sustainable development. • Minerals and r... more Remote sensing of inland sabkha of Qatar is studied for sustainable development. • Minerals and rock types of sabkha are mapped using Hyperion and ASTER data. • Salinity of sabkha region is monitored using Sentinel-2 data by NDSI index. • Applications of satellite data are validated by field and laboratory studies. • Capability of sensors is demonstrated to study the sabkha of arid region.
GEOPHYSICS, 2021
At the site of a water drainage shaft on the campus of Qatar University that serves as a man-made... more At the site of a water drainage shaft on the campus of Qatar University that serves as a man-made karst analog, two seismic imaging techniques were adapted to utilize resonant scattered waves recorded during active-source seismic and during a passive ambient-noise surveys. Data acquisition included two seismic transmission surveys that encompassed the shaft and a passive ambient-noise survey that extended across the top of the shaft. Seismic imaging of bandpass-filtered resonance waves correctly estimated the location and dimension of the shaft. Furthermore, the method detected the presence and the location of a horizontal drainage pipe and gravel bed connecting neighboring water shafts. Ambient-noise data were analyzed by computing amplitude values of the seismic records in spectral passbands. The results show an amplification of seismic amplitudes above the shaft for low-frequency passbands and a sharp decrease of amplitude values for high-frequency passbands. The high- and low-am...
Building Resilience at Universities: Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 2021
Gas shale is the future hydrocarbon reservoir of Qatar. The Qatari geologic section has had impor... more Gas shale is the future hydrocarbon reservoir of Qatar. The Qatari geologic section has had important successions of gas shale at different geologic times including the Eocene Midra shale, the Cretaceous Ratawi and Nahr Umr, and the Paleozoic Qusaibah and Unayzah formations. Shale samples were collected from the outcrops of the Midra Shale in Dukhan and Umm Bab areas. Samples were subjected to geochemical analyses using XRD and RXF. Selected samples were examined under SEM and TEM microscopes. All the studied samples contain palygorskite as the main mineral and, in some cases, the only mineral present, as indicated by X-ray diffraction patterns. XRF analysis shows palygorskite range from ideal palygorskite (equal aluminum and magnesium content) to aluminous palygorskite where no magnesium is recorded. The most common other minor minerals are halite, quartz, calcite, and other clay minerals: illite, smectite and sepiolite. The palygorskite chain phyllo silicates results in a fibrous ...
University of the Future: Re-Imagining Research and Higher Education, 2020
The Arabian Gulf represents a significant water body and strategic pathway, which has pronounced ... more The Arabian Gulf represents a significant water body and strategic pathway, which has pronounced regional and international benefits. This research investigated the evolution of the Arabian Gulf geosyncline. Furthermore, it explored the formation, geologic and tectonic settings of Halul and Al-Alyia offshore Islands, as examples of two different evolution models, within the emergence framework. The Arabian Gulf geosyncline has been emerged during the Cenozoic Era (Late Miocene-Pliocene Epoch), situated in the northeastern collisional marginal part of the Arabian Plate, as a foredeep geosyncline or basin, squeezed or crammed between the stable Arabian Plate and the mobile Euro-Asian Plate, along the subduction zone, within Zagros Mountain Fold Thrust Belt. Halul Island is situated to the northeast of the Greater Doha City and has great national economic value. It has a unique shape, elongated domal structure, oriented from South-West to North-East. The tectonic setting of Halul Islan...
Carbonates and Evaporites
Core samples were collected from three wells, one onshore and two offshore, from Qatar’s Upper Ju... more Core samples were collected from three wells, one onshore and two offshore, from Qatar’s Upper Jurassic Arab D reservoir. The samples were subjected to multiproxy petrographic and chemical analyses to identify their micro- and nanoporosity types and understand their evolution and destruction. Based on the petrographic and petrophysical properties of studied rocks, the Arab D succession was divided into seven rock types. Primary microporosity includes intergranular and interplanar, while secondary types include vuggy, intercrystalline, moldic, dissolution, pyrite displacement, microfracture, and microbial boring. Primary micropores were found mainly between the micrite grains in the lime mudstone facies, between the grains or the plates of clay minerals. Secondary micropores result from open and closed diagenetic systems. The open diagenetic system led to the development of dissolution and moldic micropores, while the closed system created pyrite displacement and boring porosity. Mec...
Goldschmidt2022 abstracts
Carbonates and Evaporites, 2017
Rudist buildups form the major oil-producing reservoirs in the Cretaceous carbonate strata of the... more Rudist buildups form the major oil-producing reservoirs in the Cretaceous carbonate strata of the Arabian Plate. They are the main components of the Shuaiba and Mishrif and to lesser extent, the Natih, Mauddud, Simsima, and the Hartha Formations. The demise of the rudist buildups in the region was achieved either by destruction, clastic invasion, or drowning. These processes are found to influence the resultant rocks and their reservoir properties. Destruction may lead to wide-scale scattering and deposition of thick, porous, and permeable strata of rudist-bearing grainstone/packstone beyond the buildup areas, whereas, those covered by clastic fronts are subjected to meteoric water and tend to be well-cemented. Drowned buildups tend to be compact and have more argillaceous materials. Both poroperm and capillary pressure data of these rock suites reflect such differentiation. Recognizing these processes may help predicting locations of the best-developed rudist-bearing reservoirs and enhance our understanding of their reservoir characteristics.
Building Resilience at Universities: Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 2021
Oil residue in the form of tarmat (TM) deposited on the coast of Arabian Gulf countries is a majo... more Oil residue in the form of tarmat (TM) deposited on the coast of Arabian Gulf countries is a major environmental concern. In this study, the current TM pollution trend along the west coast of Qatar has been assessed and compared with historical deposition trend. The range of TM distribution is 0–104 g m-1 with an average value of 9.25 g m-1. Though the current TM level is thirty-fold lesser than that was found during 1993–1997 (average 290 g m-1), the distribution pattern is similar. The chemical composition and structural characterization of TMs were studied using an ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, which indicated the presence of higher aromatic compounds in the north (N) coast TMs than those found in the northwest (NW) and southwest (SW) coasts. TM of NW coast is highly weathered compared to those found in the N and SW coasts. We found that the ATR-FTIR spectroscopic method is a rapid approach to characterize and study the weathering of TMs without any tedious sample preparation or solvent...
The Arabian Gulf represents a significant water body and strategic pathway, which has pronounced ... more The Arabian Gulf represents a significant water body and strategic pathway, which has pronounced regional and international benefits. This research investigated the evolution of the Arabian Gulf geosyncline. Furthermore, it explored the formation, geologic and tectonic settings of Halul and Al-Alyia offshore Islands, as examples of two different evolution models, within the emergence framework. The Arabian Gulf geosyncline has been emerged during the Cenozoic Era (Late Miocene-Pliocene Epoch), situated in the northeastern collisional marginal part of the Arabian Plate, as a foredeep geosyncline or basin, squeezed or crammed between the stable Arabian Plate and the mobile Euro-Asian Plate, along the subduction zone, within Zagros Mountain Fold Thrust Belt. Halul Island is situated to the northeast of the Greater Doha City and has great national economic value. It has a unique shape, elongated domal structure, oriented from South-West to North-East. The tectonic setting of Halul Islan...
The Middle-East has seen a recent boom in construction including the planning and development of ... more The Middle-East has seen a recent boom in construction including the planning and development of complete new sub-sections of metropolitan areas. Before planning and construction can commence, however, the development areas need to be investigated to determine their suitability for the planned project. Subsurface parameters such as the type of material (soil/rock), thickness of top soil or rock layers, depth and elastic parameters of basement, for example, comprise important information needed before a decision concerning the suitability of the site for construction can be made. A similar problem arises in environmental impact studies, when subsurface parameters are needed to assess the geological heterogeneity of the subsurface. Environmental impact studies are typically required for each construction project, particularly for the scale of the aforementioned building boom in the Middle East.
A major hazards in Qatar is the presence of karst, which is ubiquitous throughout the country inc... more A major hazards in Qatar is the presence of karst, which is ubiquitous throughout the country including depressions, sinkholes, and caves. Causes for the development of karst include faulting and fracturing where fluids find pathways through limestone and dissolve the host rock to form caverns. Of particular concern in rapidly growing metropolitan areas that expand in heretofore unexplored regions are the collapse of such caverns. Because Qatar has seen a recent boom in construction, including the planning and development of complete new sub-sections of metropolitan areas, the development areas need to be investigated for the presence of karst to determine their suitability for the planned project. In this paper, we present the results of a study to demonstrate a variety of seismic techniques to detect the presence of a karst analog in form of a vertical water-collection shaft located on the campus of Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
Using a multi-proxy approach based on core analysis, thin sections and log data from the Jurassic... more Using a multi-proxy approach based on core analysis, thin sections and log data from the Jurassic Arab reservoirs in selected wells in the offshore area of Qatar, the reservoir has been divided into a set of distinctive petrophysical units. The Arab Formation consists of cyclic sediments of oolitic grainstone/packstone, foraminifera-bearing packstonewackestone, lagoonal mudstone and dolomite, alternating with anhydrite. The sediments underwent a series of diagenetic processes such as leaching, micritization, cementation, dolomitization and fracturing. The impact of these diagenetic processes on the different depositional fabrics created a complex porosity system. So, in some cases there are preserved depositional porosity such as the intergranular porosity in the oolitic grainstone, but in other cases, diagenetic cementation blocked the same pores and eventually destroyed the pores. In other cases, diagenesis improved the texture of nonporous depositional texture such as mudstone th...