TITLE:
Preliminary Palynostratigraphic Data on the Middle Albian-Lower Cenomanian of the Tarfaya Basin, Southwest Morocco
AUTHORS:
Khaoula Chafai, Touria Hssaida, Wafaa Maatouf, Mohamed Z. Yousfi, Sara Chakir, Soukaina Jaydawi, Hanane Khaffou
KEYWORDS:
Morocco, Tarfaya-Laayoune-Boujdour Basin, Albian-Cenomanian Transition, Dinoflagellate Cysts, Palynostratigraphy
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Geology,
Vol.14 No.4,
April
22,
2024
ABSTRACT: The Tarfaya-Laayoune-Boujdour basin is of great interest to oil exploration; on this aspect, there has been exploration by the Moroccan National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mining, which has shown indices of oil and/or gas recorded in most wells drilled in the Moroccan Atlantic margin. FD-1 well, object of this study, is one of these wells located in the offshore Tarfaya-Laayoune-Boujdour basin. A palynological examination of the processed samples revealed the existence of organic palynomorphs, well conserved and rich in dinoflagellate cysts. The latter are composed of worldwide marker taxa of high stratigraphic resolutions. Thus, the middle upper Albian (3408 - 3408.5 m) is determined by the presence of Cribroperidinium tensiftense, Tehamadinium coummia, Spiniferella cornuta, Chichaouadinium vestitum, Dinopterygium alatum and Litosphaeridium arundum. The upper Albian (3406.5 - 3408 m) is characterized by the FOs of marker taxa: Cyclonephelium chabaca, Cribroperidinium auctificum and Chichaouadinium vestitum. Lastly, the upper Albian-lower Cenomanian transition is defined between 3404 m and 3406.50 m, as suggested by the FOs of Chichaouadinium boydii, Dinopterygium tuberculatum, Sepispinula ancorifera, Litosphaeridium conispinum, Prolixosphaeridium conulum and Xenascus ceratioides.