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    Niger Delta

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    02. Niger Delta

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    Niger Delta

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    of 38
    Niger Delta Harry Doust Sheil International Petroleum Mij. The Hague, Netherlands Ebi Omatsola Sheil Petroleum Development Co. of Nigeria Ltd. Lagos, Nigeria INTRODUCTION Regional Setting ‘The Niger detais situated on the Gulf of Guinea on the ‘west coast of central Africa (Figure 1). During the Ter- tiary it built out into the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Niger-Benue river system, an area of catchment that encompasses more than a million square kilometers of predominantly savannah-covered lowlands. The deta is one of the world’s largest, with the subacrial portion cov- ering about 75,000 km’ and extending more than 300 km from apex to mouth (Figure 1). The regressive wedge of clastic sediments which it comprises is thought to reach a maximum thickness of about 12km. ‘Accumulation of marine sediments in the basin proba- bly commenced in Albian time, after the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean between the African and South ‘American continents. True delta development, however, started only in the late Paleocene/Eocene, when sedi- ments began to build out beyond troughs between base- ment horst blocks at the northern flank of the present delta area. Since then, the delta plain has prograded southward onto oceanic crust, gradually assuming a convex-to-the-sea morphology. Throughout the geological history of the delta, its structure and stratigraphy have been controlled by the interplay between rates of sediment supply and subsi- dence. Important influences on sedimentation rate have ‘been eustatic sea-level changes and climatic variations in the hinterland, Subsidence has been controlled largely by initial basement morphology and differential sediment loading on unstable shale. The delta sequence is exten- sively affected by synsedimentary and postsedimentary normal faults, the most important of which can be traced over considerable distances along strike. The resultant fault tends lie more or less parallel to the paleogeo sraphic position of the delta front at each stage of its development, and are intimately related to the sedimen- tation pattern. ‘The subaerial part of the delta is covered by tropical rain forest, which has been inhabited by trading states since at least the 6th century. Major cultures that have flourished within its forests include those of the Nembe, 21 Okrika, Itsekiri, Elem Kalabari, and Bonny. During the 19th century the delta forests became extensively culti- vated for palm-oil production, and for many years were the world’s major source of this commodity. Today the delta, particularly the part north of Port Harcourt, includes some of the most densely populated land in Africa, and almost the entire area has been used by man at some time. ‘The Niger delta forms one of the world’s major hydro- carbon provinces, with proven ultimate recoverable reserves of approximately 26 billion bbl of oil and an underevaluated, but probably vast gas resource base. ‘The exploration of this province has taken place almost exclusively during the past 30 years. Formation of Basin The hinterland of the Niger delta consists primarily of ancient rocks of the African Shield. During much of its Phanerozoic history, Nigeria lay inthe central part ofthe Gondwana portion of the Pangean supercontinent and remained a positive area subject to denudation. The basement complex is exposed in broad massifs of gentle topography, covering about half of the country. It com- prises mainly granites and gneisses, but west of about Jong. 7°E, includes extensive schist belts. Basement rocks have been subjected to at least two Precambrian meta~ morphic events: the first at about 2000 m.y.b.p. (+250 my.) and the second, the Pan African orogeny, at about (2150my.. Paleozoic and older Mesozoic sediments do not occur in Nigeria and are absent from most of west Africa. They are present, however, in the Volta Valley, in the coastal and offshore parts of Ghana and Guinea (Bissau) to the ‘west, and below portions of the continental margin. ‘The onset of movements that led to the separation of | Africa from South America in the late Mesozoic was pre- ceded by the intrusion of ring complexes (known as youn- ‘ger granites) in the central basement massif of Nigeria, and farther north in Niger. These plutonic rocks may be related to the upward-doming of the area prior to therift- ing phase that followed. Exposed plutonic rocks appear to follow trends in the basement complex, rather than trends of the subsequent rift faulting. 202 Doust and Omatsola Nisva nNwoR Nisva avo Ea ~~ 010408 nisva nagamwara xaianoo FEZ] ananasva Ee nyrsenvo -3ud BL ozoavve soinvoron [5] 21020830 sauna “yAMYLLMBL, aNa937 Breakup of the Central Africa-South America part of | Gondwana took place in the Mesozoic along a series of rift zones of different orientations that met in a triple junction in the area of the present Gulf of Guinea, in the position now occupied by the Niger delta. Two of the arms, which followed the southwestern and southeastern coasts of Nigeria and Cameroon, developed into col- lapsed continental margins of the South Atlantic, whereas the third, failed arm developed into the Benue ‘Trough (Figure 1). During the rift-ill phase the first sedi- ments of the Cretaceous to Tertiary cycle accumulated. ‘The oldest of these have been dated Albian. Thick succes- sions of marine and marginal marine clastics and carbon- ates were deposited in a series of transgressive and regressive phases. ‘The rft-fll phase ended with a basin inversion in the Santonian, possibly related to a change in the pole of rotation of plate movement, or to the restriction of ‘movement of the African plate due to the first Alpine tec- tonic phases. Renewed subsidence occurred as the conti- nents completely separated, and the sea transgressed at least as far inland as the Benue Trough. The youngest Cretaceous sediments deposited during this early drift phase comprise clastics mainly of a regressive deltaic facies and form a proto-Niger delta sequence called the “Anambra delta.” Deltaic Framework and Morphology The Niger delta has built out over the collapsed conti- rental margin, and its core is located above the collapsed continental margin at the site of the triple junction Formed during the middle Cretaceous. The main se ment supply has been provided by an extensive drainage system, which in its lower reaches follows two failed rift arms, the Benue and Bida basins. Sediment input gener- ally has been continuous since the Late Cretaceous, but the regressive record has been interrupted by episodic transgressions, some of considerable extent. The bulk of the sediment was from the north and east during most of the Tertiary, even though there s little evi dence for substantial Tertiary uplift in much of the catch- ment area of the Niger-Benue river systems. The inland drainage system of the Niger was captured by the Lower Niger in the Quaternary, prior to which the Upper Nis drainage fed the continental interior basins of Mali. The Benue and Cross rivers, though shorter than the Niger, have been draining areas of greater relief throughout the Tertiary, and have supplied a substantial amount of vol- 8 axey 0} 14SNOM axe safeqs uLIENT 2Mp sea.2qm “USO suLTEM-OFARY PU “[6)5E0 ‘aod yeise09 s0Mo jo Sqsvenyd 5] 3ouanbos apesed ou, “ous Sq peXoydare smmyefousMoU jusuUOsLAND feuoNodeC——R OunFL 23 Niger Delta “yp4my wy § 40 29p30 am Jo 51 pus ss¥K O1-$ 950] Kem yoqodap “sppqodap satsaaons jo umdojanap ayes oF sresFeyp premoqoS—6 20054 san aN —-— saiwis any sonvs orwavd [—] saris aynun [77] ones wiNSNINOD Sees ceares ee KLECOE EEE LL LE Sib Mii tii , nn oy Baano3s Shore onandas A \ anv 3oNa0ISens dang ANgWIGaS “E> ANN say SQVvS “WINANULNOD Nor Ns | [2x02 www | ee . 214 Doust and Omatsola Each depobelt may be defined in terms of the age of its paralic sequence and the age of the alluvial sands that cap the paralic sequence: Ageot Age of Depobelts paralic sequence alluvial sands Northern Delta Late Eocene- Early Miocene Early Miocene Greater Ughelli Oligocene- Early Miocene Early Miocene Central Swamp 1 Early to Middle Middle Miocene Miocene Central Swamp I Middle Miocene Middle Miocene Coastal Swamp 1 Middleto Late Late Miocene and Il Miocene Offshore Late Miocene _Latest Miocene ‘The pollen zone ranges corresponding to these ages are shown in Figure 10. A cross-section through the three oldest depobelts (Figures 11, 28) illustrates the amount of ‘growth across the faults relative to pollen zone horizons. Escalator Regression The southward progradation of the Niger delta was accomplished by a stepwise buildout of fluvio-marine offlap sequences controlled by subsidence along synsedi- ‘mentary faults, and punctuated by rapid shifts from one depobelt to the next. These sudden shifts, recognized by the rapid seaward advance of alluvial sands over the thick paralic sequence, form the escalator regressive style (Knox and Omatsola, 1989). The main characteristic of this regression—the rapid advance of alluvial sands—is, due to the cessation of subsidence in a depobelt and the continuation of sediment supply. Regressive “pulses” are so rapid in many depobelts that tis impossible to ree- ognize any significant age difference at the base of the alluvial sand section between the northern and southern parts of each depobelt (Figure 9). The base of alluvial sands in adjacent depobelts becomes younger as one moves southward across the delta, however, and thus an escalator-like geometry for the base of this horizon becomes apparent (Figure 12) The reason for the abrupt seaward shift of active paralic deposition from one depobelt to the next is not fully understood. The marine shale ridges or walls (Fig- ure 9) that lie in front of counter-regional faults at the distal limits of depobelts may provide a clue. Their pres ence suggests that further accommodation to updip ‘expansion of the sequence along growth faults may not have been possible, because mobile shale had been com- pletely evacuated from beneath the depobelt and the sub- sidence potential was exhausted. The shale walls subsequently came to define the posi- tion of the growth faults that bound the succeeding depo- belt. The youngest shale ridges are in the distal-belt areas of the present upper slope (Figure 3). NigerDelta 215 Structural and Stratigraphic Evolution of the Delta During its Tertiary evolution there have been substan- tial changes in the morphology and internal geometry of the delta (Figures 11, 13, and 28 [Figure 28 inserted at back of book]). These changes reflect increasing sedi- ment supply, variations in the sediment distribution pat- tern, and changes in slope stability through time. During the early stages of delta growth (Paleocene to early Eocene) the coastline was concave to the sea and strongly influenced by basement morphology. Isopachs of deltaic (paralic) sequences of this period show that sediments accumulated along a broad front, probably reflecting amalgamation of multiple sources (Figure 13). ‘The ancestral Cross River deposited paralic sediments between the Abakaliki high and the Oban massif, while the Benue River gradually filled in the southward exten- sion of the Benue Trough (Figure 1). By mid- to late Eocene the regression was well established, and the con- cavity of the coastline disappeared. During the Oligo- ene, separate deltaic depocenters became established within the evolving depobelts, as shown by the isopach patterns in Figure 13. Shifting depocenters associated with the Niger River produced several narrow belts of thick sediments along extensive trends west of the present Niger. Subsidence kept pace with sedimentation within these narrow zones to produce thick aggradational del- taic sequences. However, to the east sediment supply exceeded subsidence rate and produced a progradational series of basinward depocenters that are more lobate (less strike-continuous) in shape and are progressively youn- ‘ger basinward. Oligocene growth-fault styles differ from west to east in relation to the depositional patterns just described. In the western area, faults bounding elongate depocenters are straight in map view and have a continu- ‘ous strike over relatively long distances. To the east, ‘growth faults associated with lobate depocenters are arcuate and less continuous along strike. During the Miocene a considerable change in delta architecture took place. In the early to middle Miocene separate eastern and western depocenters were still evi- dent, but thereafter they began to merge. In late Miocene time the delta began to prograde along a broad, convex- to-the-sea front, close to the present coastline (Figure 13). The Miocene development of the delta was charac- terized by increased rates of sedimentation and subsi- dence, and thicker sequences than in the older part of the delta (Figure 12). Accelerated loading of the unstable clay caused it to be mobilized into wallsand swells, and as a result, structures of the late Miocene delta are mote ‘complex than those in the older portions. In basinward 280 < soo mua > 190 « 250MM ‘Figure 27—Distribution of lage fields in the Niger delta. In the more northerly depobelts anticlinal fields are fairly evenly

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