The Cretaceous Basins of West Central Africa
Summary
GETECH has completed a comprehensive study of the Cretaceous Rift System of Western Central Africa.
The study describes the geology, structure, development and extent of the basins deduced from field mapping, exploration wells, a comprehensive review of previous tectonic models and new interpretation of geophysical and geological data.
The Study Areas
- Module 1
Logone Birni, Doseo, Doba and Salamat Basins - Module 2
Upper Benue, Gongola and Yola-Garoua Basins - Module 3
Termit, Lake Chad and N'gel Edji Basins - Module 4
Tefidet, Tenere, Grein, Bilma and Kafra Basins
Scope of the study
The Regional Overview
- shows how changes in plate movement can be identified, and how these changes have affected the African stress field and controlled the development of the Mesozoic Central African Rift System
- propose a new multi-phase tectonic model for the region that fits the known geology, geophysics and plate movements
The Detailed Modules
- describe the nature and evidence for the poly-phased tectonic development of the basins, with particular reference to their time of emplacement, phases of tectonic subsidence, deformation and inversion
- use the gravity and magnetic data to delineate the sedimentary basins and their depth-to-basement, controlled by previous reports and known geology
Data Sources
- Gravity and magnetic data from GETECH's gravity (AGP) and magnetic (AMMP) compilations of Africa
- Published geological maps, reports and papers
- Unpublished material from the personal archive of René Guiraud
- Well information from 53 wells as summarised by Genik (1993)
- Two seismic lines across the Garoua and Logone Birni basins supplied by SNH
Deliverables
Report – hardcopy and PDF describing:
- Suite of enhancements of the gravity and magnetic data
- Basin locations and structure
- 2D profiles modelled with gravity and magnetics across the key basins
- Depth-to-basement analysis from 2D models and 3D gravity inversion
- Extensive bibliography
ArcGIS product - containing geo-referenced images of the gravity and magnetic data and their derivatives, lineament analysis, topography, Landsat images, geology, cultural and concession information, geological and geophysical cross sections, depth-to-basement, multi-phased structural model textual metadata and key references.
Authors
Dr René Guiraud, Emeritus Professor at the University of Montpellier in France and independent consultant, is an expert of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic geodynamics of the African sedimentary basins, and applications to oil prospecting. He has published over 300 papers, books and maps, and has undertaken consultancy work for oil companies for over 37 year.
Dr Derek Fairhead, (Managing Director of GETECH) was responsible for the first regional compilation of African gravity data and showed its importance in the structural development of the many rfit systems and their relationship to large-scale tectonic movements.
The study has been supported by the Societe Nationale des Hydrocarbures (SNH), Cameroon, who provided two seismic lines.
