Khalifa Formation

Khalifa Fm

Period:

Paleogene

Age Interval:

Paleocene (upper Selandian or lower Thanetian)

Province:
Sirte Basin

Type Locality and Naming

Its type section is in the AA1-59 well – at 282315N and 191748E (Tawadros, 2001).

Synonym:

References: Tawadros, 2001

Lithology and Thickness

The upper unit of the formation is about 60m thick, and is made up of dark grey, very clayey calcilutites with some shale interbeds. The lower part (101m thick) is dark grey to black shales with occasional thin calcareous stringers (Tawadros, 2001).

Lithology Pattern:

Shallow-marine marl

Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

It conformably overlies the Dahra Fm.

Upper contact

It is conformably overlain by the Zelten Fm of the Jabal Zelten Gr.

Regional extent

The Khalifa Formation is located in the subsurface of the .western and central basin,.

GeoJSON

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Fossils

Age

Schematic stratigraphic column of Ahlbrant (2001) places as either upper Selandian (used here for graphic purposes) or lower Thanetian.

Age Span:

Beginning stage:

Selandian

Fraction up in beginning stage:

0.5

Beginning date (Ma):

60.45

Ending stage:

Selandian

Fraction up in the ending stage:

1.0

Ending date (Ma):

59.24

Depositional setting

Deep water (Selley, 1997) or shallow-marine (Abugares, 2007).

Depositional pattern:

Additional Information

Compiler:

T. S. Ahlbrandt (2001): The Sirte Basin Province of Libya—Sirte-Zelten Total Petroleum System, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2202–F

R.C. Selley (1997): The Sirte Basin of Libya. In: African Basins. Sedimentary Basins of the World, 3, edited by R.C. Selley (Series Editor: K.J. Hsu), Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, pp. 27-37.

Abugares, Miloud M. (2007): Deposition, Diagenesis, and Reservoir Development of the Cretaceous Lidam Formation, SE Sirt Basin, Libya. Durham e-Theses. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/2599/

Elkanouni, I. E. D. (2014). Sedimentology, Sequence stratigraphy and Spatial-temporal Patterns of the late Paleocene Succession, western Sirt Basin, Libya, Durham e Theses. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/10538/