Rub' al Khali Basin
Large basin containing the Rub' al Khali desert / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Rub' al Khali Basin (ٱلرُّبْع ٱلْخَالِي) or ar-Rubʻ al-Khālī / ar-rubʿ al-ḵālī Basin, Arabic for "Empty Quarter Basin", is a major endorheic sedimentary basin of approximately 560,000 square kilometres (220,000 sq mi) in southern Saudi Arabia, northeastern Yemen, southeastern Oman and southeasternmost United Arab Emirates. The onshore foreland on Mesozoic rift basin is geographically defined by the eponymous Rub' al Khali and covers the regions of Najran and Riyadh and the Eastern Province. The basin is geologically bound by the Central Arabian Arch in the north, the Oman Thrust in the east, the Northern Hadramaut Arch in the south, and the Arabian Shield in the west. Politically, the southwestern boundary is formed by the border with Yemen and the border with Oman forms the southeastern boundary.
Rub' al Khali Basin | |
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ٱلرُّبْع ٱلْخَالِي | |
Coordinates | 21°00′00″N 51°30′00″E |
Etymology | Arabic: "empty quarter" |
Region | Rub' al Khali |
Country | Saudi Arabia Oman United Arab Emirates Yemen |
State(s) | Eastern Province, Najran & Riyadh Regions |
Cities | Najran |
Characteristics | |
On/Offshore | Onshore |
Boundaries | Central Arabian Arch (N), Oman Thrust (E), Northern Hadramaut Arch (S), Arabian Shield (W) |
Part of | Arabian Desert |
Area | 560,000 km2 (220,000 sq mi) |
Hydrology | |
River(s) | Wadis |
Lake(s) | Occasional saline lakes |
Geology | |
Basin type | Active margin (early Early Cretaceous-recent) Passive margin (Early-Mid Mesozoic) Back-arc (Late Paleozoic-Early Mesozoic) Intracratonic (Proterozoic-Early Paleozoic) |
Plate | Arabian |
Orogeny | Hercynian (Paleozoic) Break-up of Pangea (Mesozoic) Zagros-Alpine (Cenozoic) |
Age | Neoproterozoic to Holocene |
Stratigraphy | Stratigraphy |
Faults | Najd Fault System, Dibba Transform Fault |
Field(s) | Oil: Shaybah, Ramlah Gas: Kidan |
The stratigraphy of the basin ranges from Proterozoic to recent and comprises various cycles of clastic and carbonate sediments separated by regional unconformities. The stratigraphic column contains various levels of source rock formations, and reservoirs and seals are common in the late Paleozoic and Mesozoic succession. Traps are formed by the compression of the Oman Thrust in the east.
Compared to the petroleum-producing areas to the north of the basin, the Rub' al Khali Basin is relatively underexplored and has two producing oil fields (Shaybah and Ramlah) and a gas field; Kidan. The Total Petroleum System assessment made by the USGS in 2019 analyzed the potential of the basin, with the Silurian Qusaiba and Cretaceous Thamama/Wasia systems as most prolific.