Facies analysis and stratigraphic development of the Albian Succession in Nasiriyah Oil Field, Southern Iraq

The Carbonate - Clastic succession in this study is represented by the Nahr Uamr and Mauddud Formations deposited during the Albian Sequence. This study includes facies analysis and stratigraphic development for this succession in 5 boreholes within Nasiriyah oil field. There are several types of microfacies were recognized in the succession of the Mauddud Formation. Their characteristic grain types and depositional texture enabled the recognition of six facies associations (depositional environments) were distinguished in the Mauddud Formation, they are: shallow open marine, restricted, reef, slope, deep open marine and basinal. Two types of rocks are observed within the Nahr Umr Formation; the first is the upper part which characterized by shale dominated rocks and the second (lower part) is characterized by sand dominated rocks. Four facies associations (depositional environments) were distinguished in the Nahr Umr Formation, they are: delta plain, prodelta, bay fill, and distributary channels. The microfacies analysis and reconstructed the paleoenvironments of the Albain basin in the studied area; there are three stages of the deposition: - during the first stage the sea level was rise which led to progress prodelta facies (retrogradation) and onlapping the unconformity. This part is represented by TST stage in all studied boreholes. The prodelta facies was changed to distributary channel facies up-wared to mark the mfs between these two facies. This refers to deposition during the high stand period as two cycles. The sea level was reactivated to progress after the last step of Nahr Umr deposition, to start the Mauddud Formation deposition. At second stage the facies change was shown three steps of the sea level rise (TST) to deposition the restricted, reef-back reef and shallow open marine/slope. Overlying the slope facies to the shallow marine and then deposited the shallow marine refer to maximum flooding surfaces after deposition the last ones. Therefore, the shallowing up-ward succession which deposition later was represented the high stand stage (HST). The final stage is represented by reactivated the sea level rise to deposition the basinal facies within the Mauddud Formation. The continued rise in sea level during the period of transgression (TST) is a preparation for the Ahmadi basin, which is characterized by deposition in a deep environment and conformable lower contact with the Mauddud Formation.