Assessment of badra oilfield, eastern Iraq utilizing remote sensing and geophysical data

Abstract

Iraq represents the most diagnostic countries in hydrocarbon in the Middle East. A thick sedimentary succession, robust structures, high individual well productivity, and extensive oil reserves are some of the main characteristics of Iraqi oil fields. Iraq lies within the collided zone between the Arabian Plate that collides with the Persian and Anatolian plates which began after the termination of the Neo-Tethys Ocean in the Miocene. Owing to the trend of Persian and Anatolian plates, Iraq has two systems of faulting; these are the longitudinal faults (Najd system faults) and transversal faults. One of the longitudinal faults is the Makhul-Hemrin fault which extends until the study area. The Badra oilfield was studied by remote sensing imageries and subsurface geophysical maps that relate to seismotectonic of the Mesopotamian Plain of Iraq, and the surface data were correlated in harmony with the subsurface data to better assess the tectonic setting and the development of oilfields.