National and Global Petroleum Assessment

Assessment of Undiscovered Conventional Oil and Gas Resources of the

Grand Erg/Ahnet Province, Algeria, 2018
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of
378 million barrels of oil and 7 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Grand Erg/Ahnet Province of Algeria.

Introduction 4° W 0° 4° E 8° E
MEDITERRANEAN ALGERIA
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) quantitatively assessed the SEA TUNISIA
Benoud-Melrhir
potential for undiscovered, technically recoverable conventional oil and Trough Conventional
gas resources in the Grand Erg/Ahnet Province (Klett, 2000) of Alge- Oil AU
MOROCCO Allal-Idjerane
ria (fig. 1). North Africa was a north-facing passive continental margin 34° N High Conventional
until Late Carboniferous–Permian Hercynian compression reactivated Oil and Gas AU Meharez-Oued-Namous
GRAND ERG/AHNET Uplift Conventional Gas AU
regional fault systems that segmented the passive margin into a mosaic PROVINCE
Oued Mya
of basins and uplifts (Klett, 2000; Coward and Ries, 2003; Badalini and Basin Mesozoic
Reservoirs Conventional
others, 2009; Eschard and others, 2010). The Timimoun, Sbaa, Ahnet, Oil AU
Oued Mya, Benoud-Melrhir, and Mouydir Basins and the intervening Oued Mya
Basin Paleozoic Hassi
uplifts are within the USGS-defined Grand Erg/Ahnet Province (fig. 1). Timimoun Basin Reservoirs Messoud-Amguid
Silurian and Devonian source rocks deposited during the passive-margin 30° N Conventional Conventional High Conventional
Azzene-Djoua-Azzel Gas AU Gas AU Oil and Gas AU
phase are preserved in the basins but were largely eroded from the uplifts Matti High
during Hercynian compression (Eschard and others, 2010). Variations Conventional
Gas AU
in the magnitude of subsidence, uplift, and erosion among the basins led Mouydir Basin
to temporal and spatial variations in thermal maturation of the source Sbaa Basin Conventional
Conventional Gas AU
rocks. In some basins, gas is interpreted to have been generated prior to or Oil and Gas AU
during Hercynian compression, whereas in other basins, the source rocks Ahnet Basin
26° N Conventional
reached the thermal window for oil or gas generation in the Mesozoic Gas AU
(Makhous and others, 1997; Boote and others, 1998; Logan and Duddy,
ALGERIA GRAND ERG/AHNET
1998; Makhous and Galushkin, 2003; Eschard and others, 2010; Kaced PROVINCE
and Arab, 2012; Jaeger and others, 2017). 0 100 200 MILES
MALI
Total Petroleum System and Assessment Units 0 100 200 KILOMETERS
The USGS defined a Paleozoic Composite Total Petroleum System 22° N
Base map from U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service
(TPS) and 11 assessment units (AUs) within this TPS, and 10 of these AUs
SPAIN MEDITERRANEAN
were quantitatively assessed (table 1; Allal-Idjerane High Conventional ATLANTIC
SEA
OCEAN

TUNISIA
Oil and Gas AU was not assessed). The main source rocks for this com- Figure 1.  Map showing the
MOROCCO
Map
posite system are the organic-rich lower Silurian Tanezzuft Formation (and 11 conventional assessment units area
equivalent shales; Boote and others, 1998) and Upper Devonian (Frasnian

LIBYA
(AUs) in the Grand Erg/Ahnet
Stage) shales (Lüning and others, 2004). The hydrocarbons generated from Province of Algeria. The Allal-Idjerane ALGERIA

these shales were combined into a composite TPS. The geologic model High Conventional Oil and Gas AU MAURI-
for the Paleozoic Composite TPS is for oil and gas to have been generated TANIA MALI
was not assessed. NIGER
from Silurian and Devonian organic-rich shales, with generation possibly
ranging from Carboniferous through the Mesozoic. Oil and gas migrated
into conventional reservoirs within stratigraphic and structural traps in the References Cited
basins and migrated updip from the source rocks into conventional reser-
voirs along the flanks and crests of the uplifts. The uplifts are in a mature Badalini, G., Redfern, J., and Carr, I.D., 2009, A synthesis of current understanding of
the structural evolution of North Africa: Journal of Petroleum Geology, v. 25, no. 3,
stage of exploration, whereas the basins are less mature for conventional p. 249–258.
resources exploration. Assessment input data are summarized in table 1.
Boote, D.R.D., Clark-Lowes, D.D., and Traut, M.W., 1998, Paleozoic petroleum systems of
Undiscovered Resources Summary North Africa, in MacGregor, D.S., Moody, R.T.J., and Clark-Lowes, D.D., eds., Petroleum
geology of North Africa: The Geological Society of London, Special Publication No. 132,
The USGS quantitatively assessed conventional oil and gas resources p. 7–68.
in 10 of the 11 defined AUs (table 2) in the Grand Erg/Ahnet Province Coward, M.P., and Ries, A.C., 2003, Tectonic development of North African basins, in
of Algeria (Allal-Idjerane High Conventional Oil and Gas AU was not Arthur, T.J., MacGregor, D.S., and Cameron, N.R., eds., Petroleum geology of Africa—
assessed). For undiscovered, technically recoverable conventional oil and New themes and developing technologies: The Geological Society of London, Special
Publication No. 207, p. 61–83.
gas resources, the mean totals are 378 million barrels of oil (MMBO) with
an F95–F5 fractile range from 143 to 801 MMBO; 7,032 billion cubic feet Eschard, R., Braik, F., Bekkouche, D., Ben Rahuma, M., Desaubliaux, G., Deschamps, R.,
and Proust, J.N., 2010, Palaeohighs—Their influence on the North African Palaeozoic
of gas (BCFG), or 7 trillion cubic feet of gas, with an F95–F5 fractile range petroleum systems, in Vining, B.A., and Pickering, S.C., eds., Petroleum geology—From
from 2,896 to 13,572 BCFG; and 46 million barrels of natural gas liquids mature basins to new frontiers—Proceedings of the 7th Petroleum Geology Conference,
(MMBNGL) with an F95–F5 fractile range from 19 to 90 MMBNGL. London, March 30–April 2, 2009: The Geological Society of London, v. 7, p. 707–724.

U.S. Department of the Interior Fact Sheet 2019–3031

U.S. Geological Survey June 2019
Table 1.  Key input data for 10 conventional assessment units in the Grand Erg/Ahnet Province of Algeria.
[AU, assessment unit; BCFG, billion cubic feet of gas; MMBO, million barrels of oil. The Allal-Idjerane High Conventional
Oil and Gas AU was not assessed. Shading indicates not applicable]
Assessment input data— Timimoun Basin Conventional Gas AU Azzene-Djoua-Azzel Matti High Conventional Gas AU
Conventional AUs Minimum Median Maximum Calculated mean Minimum Median Maximum Calculated mean Grand Erg/Ahnet
Number of gas fields 1 25 100 27.6 1 15 45 16.0
Size of gas fields (BCFG) 30 60 1,000 85.1 30 40 200 45.0
Province Assessment
AU probability 1.0 1.0 Team
Assessment input data— Sbaa Basin Conventional Oil and Gas AU Ahnet Basin Conventional Gas AU
Conventional AUs Minimum Median Maximum Calculated mean Minimum Median Maximum Calculated mean
Christopher J. Schenk,
Number of oil fields 1 3 6 3.1 Tracey J. Mercier, Marilyn E.
Number of gas fields 1 3 6 3.1 1 10 35 10.8 Tennyson, Thomas M. Finn,
Size of oil fields (MMBO) 5 8 40 9.1 Phuong A. Le, Janet K.
Size of gas fields (BCFG) 30 48 100 49.7 30 50 200 55.2
Pitman, Ronald M. Drake II,
AU probability 1.0 1.0
Oued Mya Basin Paleozoic Reservoirs
Michael E. Brownfield,
Assessment input data— Meharez-Oued-Namous Uplift Conventional Gas AU Stephanie B. Gaswirth, and
Conventional Gas AU
Conventional AUs
Minimum Median Maximum Calculated mean Minimum Median Maximum Calculated mean Heidi M. Leathers-Miller
Number of gas fields 1 10 30 10.6 1 15 60 16.6
Size of gas fields (BCFG) 30 60 500 74.0 30 60 2,000 102.0
AU probability 1.0 1.0 For More Information
Oued Mya Basin Mesozoic Reservoirs
Assessment input data— Conventional Oil AU
Mouydir Basin Conventional Gas AU Assessment results
Conventional AUs
Minimum Median Maximum Calculated mean Minimum Median Maximum Calculated mean
are also available at the
Number of oil fields 1 10 30 10.6 USGS Energy Resources
Number of gas fields 1 5 20 5.5 Program website at
Size of oil fields (MMBO) 5 7 50 8.3 https://energy.usgs.gov.
Size of gas fields (BCFG) 30 60 200 65.0
AU probability 1.0 0.5
Hassi Messoud-Amguid High Conventional Oil
Assessment input data— Benoud-Melrhir Trough Conventional Oil AU
and Gas AU
Conventional AUs
Minimum Median Maximum Calculated mean Minimum Median Maximum Calculated mean
Number of oil fields 1 10 30 10.6 1 5 20 5.5
Number of gas fields 1 5 15 5.3
Size of oil fields (MMBO) 5 8 600 16.9 5 10 200 14.8
Size of gas fields (BCFG) 30 40 150 43.7
AU probability 1.0 1.0

Table 2.  Results for 10 conventional assessment units in the Grand Erg/Ahnet Province of Algeria.
[MMBO, million barrels of oil; BCFG, billion cubic feet of gas; NGL, natural gas liquids; MMBNGL, million barrels of natural gas liquids. Results shown are fully risked
estimates. F95 represents a 95-percent chance of at least the amount tabulated; other fractiles are defined similarly. Fractiles are additive under the assumption of perfect
positive correlation. Shading indicates not applicable]
AU Accu- Total undiscovered resources
Total petroleum system
prob- mulation Oil (MMBO) Gas (BCFG) NGL (MMBNGL)
and assessment units (AUs)
ability type F95 F50 F5 Mean F95 F50 F5 Mean F95 F50 F5 Mean
Paleozoic Composite Total Petroleum System
Timimoun Basin Conventional Gas AU 1.0 Gas 939 2,123 4,557 2,351 3 7 17 8
Azzene-Djoua-Azzel Matti High Conventional Gas AU 1.0 Gas 375 673 1,213 717 2 4 8 4
Oil 15 27 45 28 44 80 139 84 0 0 1 0
Sbaa Basin Conventional Oil and Gas AU 1.0
Gas 92 149 221 154 2 3 5 3
Ahnet Basin Conventional Gas AU 1.0 Gas 285 553 1,071 599 1 2 4 2
Meharez-Oued-Namous Uplift Conventional Gas AU 1.0 Gas 380 735 1,376 787 7 14 29 16
Oued Mya Basin Paleozoic Reservoirs Conventional Gas AU 1.0 Gas 576 1,483 3,513 1,690 2 5 13 6
Oued Mya Basin Mesozoic Reservoirs Conventional Oil AU 1.0 Oil 44 83 152 88 39 81 162 88 1 2 3 2
Mouydir Basin Conventional Gas AU 0.5 Gas 0 0 570 179 0 0 2 1
Oil 57 146 424 180 38 101 303 126 1 2 6 3
Hassi Messoud-Amguid High Conventional Oil and Gas AU 1.0
Gas 121 218 391 232 0 1 2 1
Benoud-Melrhir Trough Conventional Oil AU 1.0 Oil 27 70 180 82 7 21 56 25 0 0 0 0
Oil
Allal-Idjerane High Conventional Oil and Gas AU Not quantitatively assessed
Gas
Total undiscovered conventional resources 143 326 801 378 2,896 6,217 13,572 7,032 19 40 90 46

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ISSN 2327-6916 (print) ISSN 2327-6932 (online) https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20193031