Upper Cambrian Acritarchs from the Subsurface Arabian Gulf, Saudi Arabia

M. Miller¹, G. Wood¹, P. Breuer², K. Ertug², and M. Vecoli²

Abstract

An assemblage of age diagnostic marine microplankton (acritarchs) was recovered from a Saudi Aramco deep exploration well on the southeast margin of the Al-Batin Arch, offshore Arabian Gulf. The subcrop in this area was interpreted from seismic data to consist of Cambro-Ordovician sedimentary rocks. The sand-dominated Saq Formation occupies this part of the geological column in Eastern Saudi Arabia and is usually devoid of biostratigraphically useful fossils. The presence of Upper Cambrian acritarchs from this part of the Saq section provides definitive age control heretofore unavailable and provides the basis for local and regional correlations.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90188 ©GEO-2014, 11th Middle East Geosciences Conference and Exhibition, 10-12 March 2014, Manama, Bahrain