Scientific Quarterly Journal of Geosciences

Scientific Quarterly Journal of Geosciences

Paleozoic Isopach and Facies Reconstructions of Iran and the Arabian Peninsula

Author
International Geological Consultant, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.
Abstract
Present day isopach and lithofacies distributions as well as palinspastic reconstructions for strata of Cambro- Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous ages are mapped for an area in the Middle East extending approximately 20 of latitude from S. E. Turkey to N. Yemen and about 20 of longitude from Jerusalem to Hormuz.
The primary purpose of this study is to document the regional extent of Paleozoic petroleum source rocks, which in the Lower Silurian are known to contain richly organic black graptolitic shales, and Paleozoic sandstone reservoir rocks, which are often good to excellent in the Carboniferous and Devonian, and fair to relatively poor in the Cambro- Ordovician.
A second objective is to reconstruct as much as possible older Paleozoic regional stratigraphic patterns across the Main Zagros Fault, undeterred by strike slip offsets of several kinds and ages, and in spite of metamorphic and intrusive igneous episodes in Central Iran which tend to mask what would otherwise have been fairly obvious regional sedimentary patterns.
Keywords

Subjects


Abu- Ali, M., U. Franz, J. Shen, F. Monnier, and T. Chambers, 1991, Hydrocarbon Generation and Migration in the Paleozoic Sequence of Saudi Arabia, Soc. Petrol. Eng., paper 21376, Middle East Oil Show, Bahrain, p. 345-349.
Al Sahlawi, M., 1992, Qatar prepares to move into gas export market, OPBC Bulletin, vol. XXIII, no. 8, p. 20-23.
Alavi, M., 1994, Tectonics of the Zagros orogenic belt of Iran: new data and interpretations, Tectonophysics, vol. 229, p. 211-238.
Beydoun, Z., 1964, The Stratigraphy and Structure of the Eastern Aden Protectorate, Overseas Geol. Min. Resources Suppl. 5, HMSO, London, 107p.
Beydoun, Z., 1966, Geology of the Arabian Peninsula: Aden Protectorate and Part of Dhufar, U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 560- H, 49p. Wash., D. C.
Beydoun, Z., 1988, The Middle East: Regional Geology and Petroleum Resources, Scientific Press, Ltd. (U.K.), 292p.
Beydoun, Z., 1989, Hydrocarbon Potential of the deep (pre-Mesozoic) formations in the Middle East Arab Countries, Technical papers Presented at the Seminar on Deep Formations in the Arab Countries held in Abu Dhabi October 1989, published by Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries, Kuwait, p. 31- 84.
Beydoun, Z., 1991, Arabian Plate Hydrocarbon Geology and Potential- A Plate Tectonic Approach, AAPG, Studies in Geology, 33, Tulsa, 77p.
Bordenave, M., and R. Burwood, 1990, Source Rock Distribution and Maturation in the Zagros Orogenic Belt: Provenance of the Asmari and Bangestan Reservoir Oil Accumulations, Advances in Organic Geochemistry, 1989, Org. Geochem., vol. 16, no. 1-3, p. 369-387.
Braud, J. and L- E. Ricou, 1971, L'accident du Zagros ou Main Thrust, un charriage et un coulissement, Comptes rendus Hebd. Seances Acad. Sci. Paris, vol. 272, Ser. D,p. 203-206.
Brinkmann, R., 1976, Geology of Turkey, 158p., Elsevier, Amsterdam.
Christian, L., 1991, Subsurface Geology of Turkey- Syria- Iraq Border Area, Private Consultants Report, 95 pages, 40 maps.
Christian, L., 1994a, Projection of Triassic, Permian, and Carboniferous Isopach Trends from Arabia Across the Persian Gulf into Iran, and Proposed Sinistral Displacement of Permian Isopachs along the Main Zagros Fault, Geol. Survey of Iran, Sci. Qtrly. Jour., vol. 3 no. 11, p. 43-69.
Christian, L., 1994b, Geologic Setting for Additional Paleozoic Petroleum Potential in the Middle East, presented at 17 Jan. '94 meeting of Houston Geol. Soc. Intern'l. Group.
Christian, L. 1994c, Distribution of Super- Giant Middle East Oil Fields in three distinct classes of structural traps, presented at 14 Dec. '94 mmeting of Dallas Geol. Soc. Intern'l Group.
Christian, L. and D. Johnston, 1995, Super- Giant Oil Fields and Future Prospects in the Middle East (Abstract), Bull. Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol., vol. 79, no. 6, p. 907.
Cole, G., W. Carrigan, S. Aoudeh, M. Abu- Ali, M. Tobey, and H. Halpern, 1994, Maturity Modeling of the Basal Qusaiba Source Rock, Northwest Saudi Arabia, Arab. Journ. Sci. and Eng., vol. 19, no. 2B, p. 249- 271.
 
Cole, G., H. Halpern, and S. Aoudeh, 1995, The Relationships between Iran- Sulfur- Carbon and Gamma- Ray Response, Silurian Basal Qusaiba Shale, Northern Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco Jour. Tech., Fall- Winter 1994-95, p. 9-19.
Dercourt, J., C. Zonenshain, C. Ricou, V. L-E Kazmin, X. LePichon, A. Knipper, C. Grandjaquet, I. Sburtshikov, J. Geyssant, C. Lepvrier, D. Pechersky, J. Boulin, J- C Sibuet, L. Savostin, O. Sorokhtin, M. Westphal, M. Bazhenov, J. Lauer, and B. Biju- Duval, 1986, Geologic Evolution of the Tethys belt from the Atlantic to the Pamirs since the Lias, Tectonophysics, vol. 121, 241-315.
Ferguson, G., and T. Chambers, 1991, Subsurface Stratigraphy, Depositional History, and Reservoir Development of the Early- to- Late Permian Unayzah Formation in Central Saudi Arabia, Soc. Petrol. 487-496.
Eng. Middle East Oil Show, Bahrain, Nov. 1991, Proceedings p. Freund, R., Z. Garfunkel, I. Zak, M. Goldberg, T. Weissbrod, and B. Derin, 1970, The Shear Along the Dead
Sea Rift, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. London, A. 267, p. 107-130. Gidon, M., F. Berthier, J. Billiault, B. Halbroun, and P. Maurizot, 1974, Sur les caracteres et l'Ampleur du) Zagros Coulissement de la "Main Fault" dans la region de Borujerd- Dorud Orientale, Iran), Comptes rendus des Seances de Academie des Sciences, Paris, Ser. D, vol. 278, p. 421-424.
Gvirtzman, G. and T. Weissbrod, 1984, The Hercynian Geanticline of Helez and the late Palaeozoic history of the Levant, in The Geol. Evol. of East. Medit., ed. J. Dixon and A. Robertson, Geol. Soc. London, p.
177-186. Harput, O., and O. Erturk, 1991, The Organic Geochemical evaluation of the 9th and 10th Districts of S. E. Anatolia, Journal of Southeast Asian Earth Sciences, vol. 5, no. 1-4, p. 421-428.
Harput, B., F. Goodarzi and N. Bozdogan, 1982, A preliminary source rock analysis study in southeast Turkey by using organic petrographical techniques, Sixth Petrol. Congress of Turkey, p. 33- 48 (in Turkish).
Hatcher, R., I. Zietz, and R. Regan, 1981, Sinistral strike-slip motion on the Dead Sea Rift: Confirmation from new magnetic data, Geol., vol. 9, p. 458-462.
Jackson, J., and D. McKenzie, 1988, The relationship between plate motions and seismic moment tensors, and the rates of active deformation in the Mediterranean and Middle East, Geoph. Jour., vol. 93, p. 45-73.
Kashfi, M., 1985, The Pre- Zagros Integrity of the Iranian Platform. Jour. Petrol. Geol., vol. 8, no. 3, p. 353-360. Quennel, A., 1959, Tectonics of the Dead Sea Rift, Intn'l. Geol. Congress, 20th, Mexico City, ASGA, p. 385-403.
Quennel, A., 1984, The Western Arabia Rift System, in The Geol. Evol. of the Eastern Mediterranean, Dixon & Robertwon, ed., Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ. no. 17, p. 775-788.
Ruttner, A., 1984, The Pre-Liassic Basement of the Eastern Kopet Dagh Range, N. Jb. Geol. Palaont. Abh., vol. 168, no. 2/3, p. 256- 268.
Scotese, C. and W. McKerrow, 1990, Revised World Maps and Introduction, in Paleogeography and Biogeography, Geol. Soc. Memoir no. 12, p. 1-21.
Sengor, A., 1990, A new model for the late Palaeozoic- Mesozoic tectonic evolution of Iran and implications for Oman, in Robertson, A., M. Searke & A. Ries, eds., The Geol. and Tectonics of the Oman Region, Geol. Soc. Special Publication no. 49, p. 797-831.
Sengor, A., D. Altiner, A. Cin, T. Ustaomer, and K. Hsu, 1988, Origin and assembly of the Tethyside orogenic collage at the expense of Gondwana Land, in Gondwana and Tethys, ed. M. Audley- Charles and A. Hallam, Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ. 37, p. 119-181.
Tchalenko, J., and J. Braud, 1974, Seismicity and Structure of the Zagros (Iran): The Main Recent Fault Between 33 and 35 N, Royal Soc. London, Transactions, vol. 277, A. 1262, 25p.
Wensink, H., 1981, Le contact Gondwana- Eurasie en Iran d'apres les recherches paleomagnetiques, Bull. Geol. Soc. France, Ser.7, vol. 23, no. 6, p. 547-552.
 
Additional References
Al-Laboun, A., 1986, Stratigraphy and Hydrocarbon Potential of the Paleozoic Succession in both Tabuk and Widyan Basins, Arabia, in M. Halbouty, ed., Future Petroleum Provinces of the World, Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol., Mem. 40, p. 373-397.
Al-Laboun, A., 1987, Unayzah Formation: A New Permian- Carboniferous Unit in Saudi Arabia, Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. Bull., vol. 71, no. 1, p. 29-38.
Al-Laboun, A., 1988, The Distribution of Carboniferous- Permian Siliciclastic Rocks in the Greater Arabian Basin, Geol. Soc. Amer. Bull., vol. 100, p. 362-373.
Al-Laboun, A., 1990, The Paleozoic Succession and Influence of the Hercynian Equivalent Movements in the Greater Arabian basin, Jour. King Abdulaziz University, Earth Sci., vol. 3, Jeddah, 1409 A. H. Symposium, (1989 A. D.), p. 201-215.
Al-Laboun, Abdulaziz Abdullah, 1993, Lexicon of the Paleozoic and Lower Mesozoic of Saudi Arabia, Part 1, Al-Hudhud Publishers, Riyadh, p. 1-351.
Al-Marjeby, A., and D. Nash, 1986, A summary of the geology and oil habitat of the Eastern Flank Hydrocarbon Province of South Oman, Marine and Petrol. Geol., vol. 3, p. 306- 314.
Ali, A., and S. Silwadi, 1989, Hydrocarbon Potential of Paleozoic Pre- Khuff Clastics in Abu Dhabi U. A. E., Middle East Oil Tech. Conf., Bahrain, Soc. Pet. Eng. paper 18009, p. 819-829.
Alsharhan, A., 1994, Geology and hydrocarbon accurrences of the Clastic Permo-Carboniferous in the Central and Eastern Arabian Basin, Geol. en Mijnb., vol. 73, p. 63- 78.
Alsharhan, A., and A. Nairn, 1994, The Late Permian Carbonates (Khuff Formation) in the Western Arabian Gulf: Its Hydrocarbon Parameters and Paleogeographic Aspects, Carbonates and Evaporites, vol. 9, no. 2, p. 132-142.
Alsharhan, A., A. Nairn, and O. Shegewi, 1991, The Paleozoic sandstones of the Rub Al Khali Basin, Arabia: a review, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, vol. 85, p. 161- 168.
Barazangi, M., D. Seber, T. Chaimov, J. Best and R. Litak, 1993, Tectonic Evolution of the Northern Arabian Plate in Western Syria, in E. Boschi, E. Mantovani and A. Morelli, Recent Evolution and Seismicity of the Mediterranean Region, p. 117- 140, Kluwer Acad. Publ./NATO Sci. Affairs Div., Dordrecht, Netherlands.
Bender, F., 1967, Geologische Karte von Jordanien, Beitrage sur Regionalen Geologie der Erde, Band F: Geologie von Jordanien, Berlin.
Bender, F., 1968, Uber das Alter und die Entstehungsgeschicte, des Jordangrabens am Biespiel seines Sudabschnittes (Wadi Araba, Jordanien), Geol. Jb., vol. 86, p. 177-196.
Bishlawy, S., 1985, Geology and Hydrocarbon Occurrence of the Khuff Formation in Abu Dhabi, U. A. E., Soc. Petrol. Eng., Middle East Oil Show, Proceed., p. 9-24.
Bishop, P., 1994, Maturation History of the Lower Paleozoic of the Eastern Arabian platform, GEO'94 Middle East Geoscience Conference, Bahrain, Vol. II, p. 180- 189.
Boote, D., D. Mou, and R. Waite, 1990, Structural Evolution of the Suneinah Foreland, Central Oman Mountains, in Robertson et al, The Geology and Tectonics of the Oman Region, Geol, Soc, Spec. Pub. no. 49, p. 397-418.
Bozdogan, N., O. Baycelebi, and R. Willink, 1987, Paleozoic Stratigraphy and Petroleum Potential of Hazro Area, S. E. Turkey, Turkiye 7 Petrol Kongresi, p. 117- 130, (in Turkish).
Bozdogan, N., and T. Erten, 1990, The Age and Effects of the Mardin High, S. E. Anatolia, Turkiye 8 Petrol Kongresi, Ankara, p. 207- 227 (in Turkish).
Bratsch, V., 1975, Kerman- Kashmer trough, Iran, and the problem of the junction between pre- Jurassic structures of the Turanian Plate and the Mediterranean belt, Geotectonics (English ed.), vol, 9, p. 101- 107.
Bratash, V., 1978, Vendean- Paleozoic Downwarps of the Iranian Segment of Alpine Mobile Belt, Bull., Moscow O- Va. Isp. Prirody Otd. Geol., vol. 53, no. 4, p. 5-22 (in Russian).
Davoudzadeh, M., G. Lensch, and K. Weber- Diefenbach, 1986, Contribution to the Paleogeography, Stratigraphy, and Tectonics of the Infracambrian and Lower Paleozoic of Iran, N. Jb. Geol. Palaeont.
Abh., vol. 172, no. 2, p. 245-269, Stuttgart. Davoudzadeh, M., and K. Schmidt, 1981, Contribution to the Paleogeography and Stratigraphy of the Upper Triassic to Middle Jurassic of Iran, N. Jb. Geol. Palaeont. Abh., vol. 162, no. 2, p. 137- 163, Stuttgart.
Davoudzadeh, M., and K. Schmidt, 1982, Zur Trias des Iran, Geol. Rund., vol. 71, no. 3, p. 1021-1039.
 Davoudzadeh, M., and K. Schmidt, 1984, A Review of the Mesozoic Paleogeography and Paleotectonic Evolution of Iran, N. Jb. Geol. Palaont. Abh., vol. 168, no. 2/3, p. 182- 207.
Dean, W., 1980, The Ordovician System in the Near and Middle East, International Union of Geol. Sci. Pub. no. 1, p. 1-16.
Dean, W., and O. Monod, 1990, Revised stratigraphy and relationships of Lower Paleozoic rocks, eastern Taurus Mountains, south central Turkey, Geol. Mag., vol. 127, no. 4, p. 333-347.
Demidov, V., 1981, Osobyennosti Formirovaniya Struktur Mesopotamskovo Progiba i Sklona Arabiskoi Plit, Mosk. O-VA Ispytatyelyei Prirody OTD Geol., vol. 56, no. 3, p. 45- 48 (in Russian).
Dyer, R., and M. Husseini, 1991, The Western Rub' al-Khali Infracambrian Graben System, Soc. Petrol. Eng. Middle East Oil Show, Bahrain, Nov. 1991, p. 505-512.
Edgell, H., 1977, The Permian System as an Oil and Gas Reservoir in Iran, Iraq and Arabia, The Iranian Petroleum Institute, Proceedings of the Second Geol. Symposium of Iran, Teheran, p. 160- 195.
 Edgell, H., 1989, Geological Framework of Saudi Arabia Groundwater Resources, 1st Saudi Symposium on Earth Sci., Jeddah, Jour. King Abdulaziz Univ., Earth Sci., vol. 3, p. 267- 286.
Edgell, H., 1991, Proterozoic salt basins of the Persian Gulf area and their role in hydrocarbon generation, Precambrian Research, vol. 54, p. 1-14, Elsevier Science Publishers B. V., Amsterdam.
Edgell, H., 1992, Basement Tectonics of Saudi Arabia as Related to Oil Field Structures, in M. J. Richards et al (ed.), Basement Tectonics, p. 169- 193. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands.
Eshet, Y., 1990, Paleozoic- Mesozoic Palynology of Israel, vol I., Palynological Aspects of the Permo-Triassic Succession in the Subsurface, Geol. Survey Israel Bull. 81, p. 1-20.
Frieslander, U., Y. Rotstein, B. Derin, and P. Trachtman, 1990, Paleozoic Basin in Central Israel, Israel Geol. Soc. Annual meeting, Elat, 1990, p. 30.
Gaetani, M., 1967, Devonian of Northern and Eastern Iran, Northern Afghanistan and Northern Pakistan, in Alberta Soc. Petrol. Geol., Intern'l. Symposium on the Devonian System, D. Oswald, ed., Calgary, p. 519-544.
Gorin, G., L. Raiz, and M. Walter, 1982, Late Pre-cambrian- Cambrian sediments of the Huqf Group, Sultanate of Oman, Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. Bull., vol. 66, no. 12, p. 2609-2627.
Grantham, P., G. Lymback, J. Postuma, M. Hughes Clarke, and R. Willink, 1987, Origin of Crude Oils in Oman, Jour. Petrol. Geol., vol. 11, no.1, p. 61-80.
Guven, A., U. Karabulut, U. Tezcan, and O. Balkas, 1982, Stratigraphy of the Paleozoic formations and the facies analysis of Hazro formation in the area of Hazro Anticline, Turkiye-Altinei Petrol Kongresi, Ankara, p. 11-21 (in Turkish).
Husseini, M., 1988, The Arabian Infracambrian Extensional System, Tectonophysics, vol. 148, p. 93-103.
Husseini, M. and S. Husseini, 1990, Origin of the Infracambrian Salt Basins of the Middle East, in J. Brooks, ed., Classic Petroleum Provinces, Geol. Soc. Special Publication no. 50, p. 279-292.
Husseini, M., 1991, Tectonic and Depositional Model of the Arabian and Adjoining Plates During the Silurian- Devonian, Bull. Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol., vol. 75, no. 1, p. 108-120.
Kashfi, M., 1988, Evidence for Non- Collision Geology in the Middle East, Jour. Petrol. Geol., vol. 11, no. 4, p.443.
Koop, W., and R. Stoneley, 1982, Subsidence History of the Middle East Zagros Basin, Permian to Recent, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. London, A305, p. 149-168.
Le Nindre, Y.-M., J. Manivit, and D. Vaslet, 1990, Geodynamique et Paleogeographie de la Plate- Forme Arabe du Permien au Jurassique, Document Du BRGM no. 192, Histoire Geologique de la Bordure Occidentale de la Plate-Forme Arabe, vol. 2, 273 p., Orleans, France.
Le Nindre, Y.-M., D. Vaslet and J. Manivit, 1990, Le Permo- Trias d'Arabie Centrale, Document du BRGM no. 193, Histoire Geologique de la Bordure Occidentale de la Plate-Forme Arabe, vol. 3, Orleans, France.
Levell, B., J. Braakman, and K. Rutten, 1988, Oil-Bearing Sediments of Gondwana Glaciation in Oman, Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. Bull., vol. 72, no. 7, p. 775-796.
Leven, E., 1971, Permian Deposits of Iran, Bull. Mosk. Obs. Isp. Prirody, Otd. Geol., vol. 46, no. 5, p. 44-53 (in Russian).
Loutfi, G., and S. El Bishlawy, 1989, Geology and Hydrocarbon Potential of the Deep Paleozoic Sequence in Abu Dhabi, Org. Arab. Petrol. Export. Countries, Tech. Papers Presented at Abu Dhabi Seminar on Deep Formations in the Arab Countries, p. 87-129.
Mahmoud, M., D. Vaslet, and M. Husseini, 1992, The Lower Silurian Qalibah Formation of Saudi Arabia: An Important Hydrocarbon Source Rock, Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. Bull., vol. 76, p. 1491.
Marganou, Yu., and S. Rudakov, 1972, Paleozoic (pre- Permian) deposits in Iran and Afghanistan, Izvestia V. Vysshikh uchebnykh zavendenii Geologia i Razvendka, Moskva, no. 2, p. 24-40 (in Russian).
Mattes, B., and S. Conway Morris, 1990, carbonate / Evaporite deposition in the Late Precambrian- Early Cambrian Ara Formation of Southern Oman, in Robertson, A., M. Searle, and A. Ries, Geol. Soc. Special Publication No. 49, p. 617-636.
May, p., 1991, The Eastern Mediterranian Mesozoic Basin, Bull. Amer. Assoc. Petro. Geol., vol. 75, no.7, p. 1215-1232.
McBride, J., M. Barazangi, J. Best, D. Al-Saad, T. Sawaf, M. Al-Otri, and A. Gebron, 1990, Seismic Reflection Structure of Intracratonic Palmyride Fold-Thrust Belt and Surrounding Platform, Syria, Bull. Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol., vol. 75, no.3, p. 238- 258.
McGillivray, J., and M. Husseini, 1992, The Paleozoic Petroleum Geology of Central Arabia, Bull. Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol., vol. 76, no. 10, p. 1473- 1490.
Momenzadeh, M., and E. Heidari, 1995, Ore-Hydrocarbon Resources and alkaline magmatism of late Proterozoic- Early Cambrian in Iran: A Genetic Interpretation, Carbonate and Evaporites, vol. 10, no. 1, p. 79-88.
Montenat, C., A. de Lapperent, M. Lye, H. and G. Termier, and D. Vachard, 1976, La Transgression Permienne et son substratum dans le Jebel Akhdar (Montagnes d'Oman, Peninsula Arabique), Ann. Soc. Geol. Nord, vol. 96, no. 3, p. 239- 258.
Picard, L., U. Golani, Y. Bentor, A. Vroman, and I. Zak, 1986, Geologic Map of Israel, 2 sheets, 1:250,000 scale.
Ponikarov, V., et al, 1967, The Geology of Syria, Geol. Map of Syria, Explanatory Notes, Strat. Ign. Rocks and Tectonics, etc., U.S.S.R. Mission in Syria.
Powers, R., L. Ramirez, C. Redmond, and E. Elberg, 1966, Geology of the Arabian Peninsula: Sedimentary Geology Saudi Arabia, U. S. Geol. Survey, Prof. Paper 560-D, Wash., D. C., 147p.
Rigassi, D., 1971, Petroleum Geology of Turkey, in Geol. and History of Turkey, Petrol. Expl. Soc. Libya, Angus Campbell, ed., p. 453- 482.
Sadek, A., 1971, Early Paleozoic Sediments of the Zagros- Taurus Ranges, Geol. Rund., vol. 66, no. 1, p. 263-276.
Sallomy, J., and H. Al-Khatib, 1986, Analysis of Gravity and Magnetic Data in the Study of the Structure and Tectonics of the Arar area, Southwestern Desert, Iraq, Arab. Jour. Sci. and Engin., vol. 11, no. 3, p. 213-224.
Seber, D., M. Barazangi, T. Chaimov, D. Al-Saad, T. Sawaf, and M. Khaddour, 1993, Upper crustal velocity structure and basement morphology beneath the intracontinental Palmyride fold-thrust belt and north Arabian platform in Syria, Geoph. Jour. Intn'l., vol. 113, p. 752-766.
Stauffer, K., 1967, Devonian of India and Pakistan, in Alberta Soc. Petrol. Geol., Intnl. Symposium on the Devonian System, D. Oswald, ed., Calgary, p. 546.
Stocklin, J., A. Ruttner, and M. Nabari, 1964, New Data on the Lower Paleozoic and Pre-Cambrian of North Iran, Geol. Surv. Iran, Report no. 1, p. 1-29.
Styeranov, D., 1969, Paleozoic Stratigraphy of Iran, Bull. Moscow O-Va Isp. Prirody, Otd. Geol., vol. 44, no. 1, p. 5-16 (in Russian).
Szabo, F., and A. Kherad pir, 1978, Permian and Triassic Stratigraphy, Zagros Basin, South-West Iran, Jour. Petrol. Geol., vol. 1, no. 2, p. 57-82.
Tardu, T., T. Baskurt, Dr. A. Guven, A. Dincer, M. Tuna, and U. Tezcan, 1987, Structural and Stratigraphic Aspects of Akcakal Graben and its HC Potential, Turkiye 7 Petrol Kongresi, Ankara, p. 36- 49 (inTurkish).
Vaslet, D., 1990, Le Paleozoique (Ante- Permien superieur) d'Arabie Saoudite, Document du BRGM no. 191, Orleans,
Histoire Geologique de la Bordure Occidentale de la Plate-Forme Arabe, vol. 1, 209 p., France.
Vaziri, S., 1993, Distribution of the Permian System in the Abyck-Hiv Area (Central Alborz), Geol. Surv. Iran, Quarterly Jour., vol. 2, no. 8, p. 44-69.
Violetich, p. 1994, Dolomitization and H2S Generation in the Permian Khuff Formation, Offshore Dubai, U. A. E., Carbonates and Evaporites, vol. 9, no. 1, p. 42-57.
Weddige, K., 1984, Externally Controlled Late Paleozoic Events of the Iran Plate, N. Jb. Geol. Palaont. Abh., vol. 168, no. 2/3, p. 278-286, Stuttgart.
Weissbrod, T., 1976, The Permian in the Middle East, in H. Falke, ed., The Continental Permian in Central,
West and South Europe, Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute, Johannes Gutenberg Univ., Mainz, F. R. G., D. Reidel Puble. Co., Dordrecht, Holland.
Wolfart, R., 1965, Die Fauna des Karbons vom Jebel Abd-el-Aziz (Nordost Syrien), Geol. Jahrb., vol. 83, p. 277-313.
Wolfart, R. 1967, Geologie von Syrien und dem Libanon, in Beitrage Zur Regionalen Geologie der Erde, Berlin.
Wolfart, R., 1981, Lower Paleozoic Rocks of the Middle East, p. 1-129, C. H. Holland, ed., Dublin.
Zharkov, M., 1981, History of Paleozoic Salt Accumulation, p. 1-95, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York.
Zharkov, M., 1984, Paleozoic Salt Bearing Formations of the World, p. 1-10, Springer- Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, Tokyo.