Hassi Messaoud Formation

Hassi Messaoud Fm

Period:

Cambrian

Age Interval:

maybe Middle and Upper Cambrian.

Province:
Oued Mya Basin

Type Locality and Naming

Synonym:

References: Klett, 2000.

Lithology and Thickness

The Hassi Messaoud Fm is divided into four members (Ri, R0, R2, and R3), and it is characterized at the base by conglomerates (unit R3) that grade upwards into coarse-grained sandstones (units R2-R0-Ri) (Klett, 2000).

Lithology Pattern:

Aus conglomerate

Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

It unconformably overlies the Infracambrian Socle Basement Complex (Pan-African Unconformity – see Klett, 2000).

Upper contact

It is conformably overlain by the Zone des Alternances Fm.

Regional extent

GeoJSON

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Fossils

Age

Merely indicated as Cambrian (Klett, 2000); following the end-Neoproterozoic/earliest Cambrian “Pan-African Unconformity”. The end of this Pan-African episode in north Africa might be as young as ca. 520 Ma (from Google Gemini search summary); which is used here (ca. base Cambrian Stage 3). An arbitrary onset at base-Drumian used here, similar to the uncertain estimate for the base of the Hasawnah Fm in adjacent North Africa basins.

Age Span:

Beginning stage:

Drumian

Fraction up in beginning stage:

0.00

Beginning date (Ma):

504.50

Ending stage:

Cambrian Stage 10

Fraction up in the ending stage:

1.0

Ending date (Ma):

486.85

Depositional setting

Fluvial and shallow marine (Bessa, 2004)

Depositional pattern:

Additional Information

Compiler:

Enam O. Obiosio, Solomon Joshua Avong and Henry Nasir Suleiman (2024) - Stratigraphic Lexicon compiled from the following books:

Baouche, R., Ganguli, S. S., Sen, S., Radwan A. E. (2023): Assessment of reservoir stress state and its implications for Paleozoic tight oil reservoir development in the Oued Mya Basin, northeastern Algerian Sahara. Geosystems and Geoenvironment 2: pp.1-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geogeo.2022.100112

Fadila B. (2004): Reservoir Characterization and Reservoir Modeling in the Northwestern Part of Hassi Massaoud Field Algeria. A PhD thesis at the University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.

T.R. Klett (2000): Total Petroleum Systems of the Trias/Ghadames Province, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya - The Tanezzuft-Oued Mya, Tanezzuft-Melrhir, and Tanezzuft-Ghadames. U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin, 2202-C.

Kraouia et al., (2023): Ordovician–Upper Silurian–Triassic Petroleum System Assessment in the Chotts Area. In S. Khomsi and F. Roure (eds.), Geology of North Africa and the Mediterranean: Sedimentary Basins and Georesources, Regional Geology Reviews, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18747-6_7