Regional petroleum geology
| Article # 23_2026 | submitted on 06/15/2026 displayed on website on 09/18/2026 |
| 27 p. | Goleij F., Khafizov S.F. |
| Formation conditions of unconventional carbonate petroleum reservoirs based on the study of the hydrogeochemical evolution of cold and hot spring waters in carbonate-evaporite systems in the Abgarm and Garab areas of northeast Iran | |
| This study analyzes the formation conditions of promising petroleum reservoir rocks–travertines and calcareous tuffs–by studying the processes controlling the hydrogeochemical evolution of spring waters. This study examines two areas of the Kopet Dagh sedimentary basin (Abgarm and Garab), where these conditions can be studied beneath surface outcrops, with an emphasis on water-rock interactions. In Abgarm, the physicochemical properties of the water change with increasing distance from the spring, leading to increased mineralization, conductivity, and dissolved solids. Water in the Garab springs is characterized by higher mineralization and a more stable composition. Abgarm tuffs have been shown to have a porous structure formed by the activity of plants, algae, and microbial mats. Garab travertines are characterized by a predominantly dense, layered, and stratified structure formed under hot spring conditions. Thus, the studied areas demonstrate two types of continental carbonate strata, differing in their structural and potential reservoir properties. The limestone tuff in Abgarm, formed by biological action and the formation of porous and interconnected structures, exhibits the best reservoir properties. The reservoir properties of the travertine in Garab are primarily determined by its density and layered structure. The obtained results support the idea that Abgarm and Garab are surface analogs of continental carbonate reservoirs and indicate that the formation and structure features of these strata can be used to predict the distribution of spatial porosity and permeability in similar petroleum basins. Keywords: continental carbonate strata, calcareous tufa, travertine, petroleum reservoir rocks, hot spring, mineralization, Abgarm, Garab, Kopet Dagh sedimentary basin, northeastern Iran. |
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| article citation | Goleij F., Khafizov S.F. Formation conditions of unconventional carbonate petroleum reservoirs based on the study of the hydrogeochemical evolution of cold and hot spring waters in carbonate-evaporite systems in the Abgarm and Garab areas of northeast Iran. Neftegazovaya Geologiya. Teoriya I Praktika, 2026, vol. 21, no. 3, available at: https://www.ngtp.ru/rub/2026/23_2026.html EDN: WDSWUX |
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Mohammadi A., Kazemi G.A. Influence of geological formations on groundwater quality in the Shoghan Plain aquifer (North Khorasan). Earth Sciences, 2011, no. 90, pp. 55-62 (In Persian).
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Piper A.M. A graphical interpretation of water analysis. Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 1944, vol. 25, issue 6, pp. 914-928. DOI: 10.1029/TR025i006p00914
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Shuster E.T., White W.B. Seasonal fluctuations in the chemistry of limestone springs, a possible means for characterizing carbonate aquifer. Journal of Hydrogeology, 1971, vol. 14, pp. 93-128. DOI: 10.1016/0022-1694(71)90001-1
Soete J., Kleipool L.M., Claes H., Claes S., Hamaekers H., Kele S., Özkul M., Foubert A., Reijmer J.J.G., Swennen R. Acoustic properties in travertines and their relation to porosity and pore types. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2015, vol. 59, pp. 320-335. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2014.09.004
Szramek K., McIntosh J.C., Williams E.L., Kanduc T., Ogrinc N., Walter L.M. Relative weathering intensity of calcite versus dolomite in carbonate‐bearing temperate zone watersheds: Carbonate geochemistry and fluxes from catchments within the St. Lawrence and Danube River basins. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 2007, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 1-26. DOI: 10.1029/2006GC001337
Taherpour Khalil Abad M., Conrad M.A., Aryaei A.A., Ashouri A.R. Barremian-Aptian Dasycladalean algae, new and revisited, from the Tirgan Formation in the Kopet Dagh, NE Iran. Notebooks on Geology, 2010, no. 5, pp. 1-13. DOI: 10.4267/2042/33368
Wright P., Tosca N. A geochemical model for the formation of the pre-salt reservoirs, Santos Basin, Brazil: implications for understanding reservoir distribution. AAPG Search and Discovery, 2016, June 19-22, Article 51304.
Zeraatkar K., Rahimi B. Survey of Sangbast-Shandiz fault zone growth and geomorphological results. Journal of Geography and Regional Development, 2013, vol. 10, is. 2, no. 19. DOI: 10.22067/geography. v0i0.23246
Aghanabati S. A. Geology of Iran. Publications of the Geological and Mineral Exploration Organization of the country, 2010, Third, 583 p. (In Persian).
Alexandrowicz W.P., Szymanek M., Rybska E. Molluscan assemblages from Holocene calcareous tufa and their significance for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. A study in the Pieniny Mountains (Carpathians, Southern Poland). Carpathian Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2016, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 37-54.
An outlier of Yellowstone's thermal areas: the travertine of Mammoth Hot Springs. U.S. Geological Survey, 2021, July 11, available at: https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/outlier-yellowstones-thermal-areas-travertine-mammoth-hot-springs
Arnórsson S. Deposition of calcium carbonate minerals from geothermal waters - theoretical considerations. Geothermics, 1989, vol. 18, is. 1-2, pp. 33-39. DOI: 10.1016/0375-6505(89)90007-2
Berberian M., King G.C.P. Toward a paleogeography and tectonic evolution of Iran. Canadian Journal Earth Sciences, 1981, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 210-265. DOI: 10.1139/e81-019
Capezzuoli E., Gandin A., Pedley M. Decoding tufa and travertine (freshwater carbonates) in the sedimentary record: The state of the art. Sedimentology, 2014, vol. 61, issiue 1, pp. 1-21. DOI: 10.1111/sed.12075
Chitsazan M., Vardanjani Karimi H., Karimi H., Mohammadi Z. Study of the extent of karst development in the desert regions of eastern Iran using stable isotopes. First National Conference on the Application of Stable Isotopes, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, 2013, pp. 1-10. (In Persian).
Claes H., Marques Erthal M., Soete J., Özkul M., Swennen R. Shrub and pore type classification: Petrography of travertine shrubs from the Ballık-Belevi area (Denizli, SW Turkey. Quaternary International, 2017, vol. 437, pp. 147-163. DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2016.11.002
Claes H., Soete J., Van Noten K., El Desouky H., Marques Erthal M., Vanhaecke F., Özkul M., Swennen R. Sedimentology, three-dimensional geobody reconstruction and carbon dioxide origin of Pleistocene travertine deposits in the Ballık area (south-west Turkey). Sedimentology, 2015, vol. 62, no. 5, pp. 1408-1445. DOI: 10.1111/sed.12188
Datta P.S., Tyagi S.K. Major ion chemistry of groundwater in Delhi area: Chemical weathering processes and groundwater regime. Journal of the Geological Society of India, 1996, vol. 47, P. 179-188. DOI: 10.17491/jgsi/1996/470205
Eftekharnejad J. Classification of different parts of Iran based on structural characteristics in relation to sedimentary basins. Journal of the Petroleum Association, 1980, no. 82, pp. 19-28 (In Persian).
Ford T.D., Pedley H.M. A review of tufa and travertine deposits of the world. Earth Science Review, 1996, vol. 4, pp. 117-175. DOI: 10.1016/S0012-8252(96)00030-X
Garcia F., Pla-Pueyo S., Nieto L.M. Sedimentalogy of geomorphologically controlled Quaternary tufas in a valley in southern Spain. Facies, 2014, vol. 60, pp. 53-72. DOI: 10.1007/s10347-013-0361-5
Garrels R.M., Mackenzie F.T. Evolution of sedimentary rocks. 1st ed. New York: Norton, 1971, XVI, 397 p.
Goudarzi Zadeh A., Khan Nasra Esfahani A., Kangazian A. Lithostratigraphic correspondence of travertines of Mount Takhte Sorkh in Ardestan and north of the village of Vertun, northeast of Isfahan. Second Conference on Earth Sciences, Ashtian, Islamic Azad University, Ashtian Branch, 2011, pp. 147-154 (In Persian).
Hounslow A.W. Water quality data: analysis and interpretation. Florida: CRC Press LLC, 1995, 416 p.
Jalali M. Stalinization of groundwater in arid and semi-arid zones: an example Tajarak, western Iran. Environment Geology, 2007, vol. 52, pp. 1133-1149. DOI: 10.1007/s00254-006-0551-3
Karimpour M.H., Stern C.R., Farmer G.L. Zircon U-Pb geochronology, Sr–Nd isotope analyses, and petrogenetic study of the Dehnow diorite and Kuhsangi granodiorite (Paleo-Tethys), NE Iran. Journal of Asian Earth Science, 2010, vol. 37, pp. 384-393. DOI: 10.1016/j.jseaes.2009.11.001
Kele S., Özkul M., Gökgöz A., Fórizs I., Baykara M.O., Alçiçek M.C., Németh T. Stable isotope geochemical study of Pamukkale travertines: new evidence of low temperature non-equilibrium calcite-water fractionation. Sedimentary Geology, 2011, vol. 238, pp. 191-212. DOI: 10.1016/j.sedgeo.2011.04.015
Leybourne M.I., Betcher R.N., Mcritchie W.D., Kaszycki C.A., Boyle D.R. Geochemistry and stable isotopic composition of tufa waters and precipitates from the Interlake Region, Manitoba, Canada: Constraints on groundwater origin, calcitization, and tufa formation. Chemical Geology, 2009, vol. 260, pp. 221-233. DOI: 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2008.12.024
Mansori Daneshvar M.R., Pourali M. Hydrogeochemical and geomorphological investigation of travertine deposition in the Garab Spring region, NE Iran. Sustainability of integrated water resources management, 2015, vol. 1, pp. 253-262. DOI: 10.1007/s40899-015-0021-8
Mohammadi A., Kazemi G.A. Influence of geological formations on groundwater quality in the Shoghan Plain aquifer (North Khorasan). Earth Sciences, 2011, no. 90, pp. 55-62 (In Persian).
Mor M., Roshanak R., Keshavarzi B. Morphological and petrographic study of travertine deposits around of Qarveh, Bijar, and Takab. 16th Conference of the Geological Society of Iran, Shiraz, Geological Society of Iran, Shiraz University, 2012, pp. 1-8 (In Persian).
Nakhaei M. Introduction to Groundwater. Arad Publishing, 2nd edition, 2012, 183 p. (In Persian).
Narayanan Nair V. Hydrochemical modeling. Proceedings of the International NGRI Symposium, Hyderabad, 1989, vol. 7, pp. 903-906.
Piper A.M. A graphical interpretation of water analysis. Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 1944, vol. 25, issue 6, pp. 914-928. DOI: 10.1029/TR025i006p00914
Rahmani Javanmard S., Tooti F., Omidian P., Ranjbaran M. Mineralogy and genesis of ridge-rift type travertines and Abe-esk veins based on petrographic studies and carbon and oxygen isotopic analyses. Iranian Geological Quarterly, 2012, no. 11, pp. 51-61.
Ritter S.M., Isenbeck-Schröter M., Schröder-Ritzrau A., Scholz C., Frank N. Geochemical insights into an active calcareous tufa depositing system in Southern Germany. Procedia Earth and Planetary Science, 2017, vol. 17, pp. 328-331. DOI: 10.1016/j.proeps.2016.12.083
Ronchi P., Cruciani F. Continental carbonates as a hydrocarbon reservoir, an analog case study from the travertine of Saturnia, Italy. AAPG Bulletin, 2015, vol. 99, no. 4, pp. 711-734. DOI: 10.1306/10021414026
Shuster E.T., White W.B. Seasonal fluctuations in the chemistry of limestone springs, a possible means for characterizing carbonate aquifer. Journal of Hydrogeology, 1971, vol. 14, pp. 93-128. DOI: 10.1016/0022-1694(71)90001-1
Soete J., Kleipool L.M., Claes H., Claes S., Hamaekers H., Kele S., Özkul M., Foubert A., Reijmer J.J.G., Swennen R. Acoustic properties in travertines and their relation to porosity and pore types. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2015, vol. 59, pp. 320-335. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2014.09.004
Szramek K., McIntosh J.C., Williams E.L., Kanduc T., Ogrinc N., Walter L.M. Relative weathering intensity of calcite versus dolomite in carbonate‐bearing temperate zone watersheds: Carbonate geochemistry and fluxes from catchments within the St. Lawrence and Danube River basins. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 2007, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 1-26. DOI: 10.1029/2006GC001337
Taherpour Khalil Abad M., Conrad M.A., Aryaei A.A., Ashouri A.R. Barremian-Aptian Dasycladalean algae, new and revisited, from the Tirgan Formation in the Kopet Dagh, NE Iran. Notebooks on Geology, 2010, no. 5, pp. 1-13. DOI: 10.4267/2042/33368
Wright P., Tosca N. A geochemical model for the formation of the pre-salt reservoirs, Santos Basin, Brazil: implications for understanding reservoir distribution. AAPG Search and Discovery, 2016, June 19-22, Article 51304.
Zeraatkar K., Rahimi B. Survey of Sangbast-Shandiz fault zone growth and geomorphological results. Journal of Geography and Regional Development, 2013, vol. 10, is. 2, no. 19. DOI: 10.22067/geography. v0i0.23246