North Africa Region
Exploration success in Libya is driven by a world-class Silurian source rock with reservoirs developed in underlying glaciogenic strata. Understanding these two aspects of the geology underpinned CASP research in the basins of southern Libya. As biostratigraphic data are sparse, CASP investigated heavy minerals as a means of testing the lithostratigraphic framework for the region. We also collected structural observations to provide a better framework for understanding the development of these basins from formation to exploration.
Map of Region
Regional Expertise
CASP’s research focused on the Palaeozoic successions in southern Libya exposed at the margins of the Kufra and Murzuq basins. Geologists conducted seven field campaigns in southern Libya between 2006 and 2009, collecting samples and geological observations. This included a shallow drilling programme that collected unweathered material for biostratigraphic work from a borehole 74 m deep in the Kufra Basin. Research in Libya was conducted in partnership with the Maghreb Petroleum Research Group (MPRG) at University College, London, the Earth Science Society of Libya (ESSL) and the Libyan Petroleum Institute (LPI).
Most Recent Reports
- Summary of the Murzuq Basin Project Phase II with GIS database CASP.MBP.II.19
- Petrographical, geochemical, geochronological and thermochronological data from Precambrian basement and Phanerozoic igneous rocks in southern Libya CASP.MBP.II.18
- Heavy mineral data and zircon U-Pb ages from Neoproterozoic-Mesozoic sandstones of the southeastern and northern margins of the Murzuq Basin CASP.MBP.II.17
- Petrographic study of outcrop samples from the eastern and northern margins of the Murzuq Basin CASP.MBP.II.16
- Remote sensing analysis of the impact of the Libyan Miocene-to-Holocene Jabal Al Haruj volcanic field on drainage patterns CASP.FBP2012-14.5