Thematic set:

Tectonics and petroleum systems of East Africa Petroleum Geoscience

Published Online First https://doi.org/10.1144/petgeo2016-155

History of the development of Permian–Cretaceous rifts in East

Africa: a series of interpreted maps through time
Duncan Macgregor
MacGeology Ltd, 26 Gingells Farm Road, Charvil, Berkshire RG10 9DJ, UK
duncan@macgeology.co.uk

Abstract: East Africa represents the most rifted portion of crust on the planet, having been subjected to numerous phases of
extension from Permian to Recent times. The first rifting phase commences in the Permian as the ‘Karoo’ set of narrow half-
graben, many formed by lateral shear. Peak rifting appears to be of Middle Permian age for rifts south of Tanzania. In Kenya,
Ethiopia and Somalia, this rift population merges into a set of rifts with peak rifting of earliest Triassic age.
A further phase of rifting is seen in the Toarcian–Aalenian. Many of these overlie Permo-Triassic rifts but others are
displaced towards what will become the continental margin. Three unrelated populations of Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous rifts
are observed, including those in Somalia, a series of pull-apart basins on the Davie Ridge and a poorly documented set in
southern Mozambique. The Anza Rift, with peak rifting in the Late Cretaceous associated with the building of rift shoulders
kilometres in height, is proposed here to be an isolated plume-derived rift.
Evaluation of the petroleum potential associated with these rifts relies on an accurate assessment of each in terms of their age
and affinity to well-documented systems.
Supplementary material: A table of East Africa Permian–Mesozoic rift basins and references is available at
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3902653
Received 1 December 2016; revised 18 September 2017; accepted 27 September 2017

This review paper has two objectives. The main objective is to
integrate the voluminous academic literature on Permian–
Cretaceous rift outcrop sections in East Africa with new subsurface
knowledge from recent oil exploration. This integration is expressed
as a series of maps showing the progressive development of the rift
systems through time. These maps accompany those compiled
through a similar methodology for the Cenozoic East African Rift
System by Macgregor (2015). A second objective of the paper is to
predict the extent and timing of rifting in poorly controlled offshore
regions. Where the early Mesozoic section lies below thick
overburdens, it is thought to source large volumes of gas to the
younger section (Sayers 2017). Essentially, this paper assimilates
our current state of knowledge on Carboniferous–Cretaceous rift
activity in East Africa, over the region shown in Figures 1 and 2,
using this knowledge as a basis for prediction in areas where data is
sparse.
Methodology
The interpretations shown for fault patterns and timing are based on
literature and miscellaneous oil industry abstracts and presentations.
A full list of source data for each basin is provided in the
Supplementary material accompanying this paper. No seismic data
were available for this paper to conduct any original interpretation
or audit any third-party interpretation. In terms of the level of
confidence in the interpretations shown, the basins can be split into
three categories (Fig. 1), namely:
• Data Category A: outcropping rift sections
The first category is that of basins that crop out and are
generally well documented in peer-reviewed academic
papers. Many Permian–Mesozoic rift sections between
Ethiopia and Mozambique and on Madagascar have been
brought to surface by Cenozoic uplifts, enabling a
stratigraphic analysis based on these sections – for
example, in the Ruhuhu Basin (Kreuser 1995) and in the
Mombasa Basin (Schluter 1997). Useful correlations
between these sections are provided by Kamen-Kaye
(1978), Wopfner (1993), Hankel (1994), Kreuser (1995)
and Catuneanu et al. (2005), which contribute to the
chronostratigraphic analysis presented as Figures 3 and 4.
• Data Category B: subsurface rifts with moderate–good
control
This category of rift includes those buried below younger
cover, generally located in coastal regions. Interpretation of
these basins is dependent on published exploration well data,
including published papers, but also on government-
released digital data, conference posters and abstracts. In
general, there is sufficient control provided in these sources
on subsurface structure and stratigraphy to date fault
movements in such basins. Examples include the Ogaden
Basin of Ethiopia, the Anza Basin of Kenya and most
onshore basins along the East African shoreline (see Fig. 1,
and the listing and references in the Supplementary
material).
• Data Category C: subsurface rifts with poor or no control
The third category, where interpretations of fault location
and timing are subject to the greatest uncertainty, represent
offshore rifts below thick post-rift cover. In such regions,
there are very few or no published wells that penetrate to the
Jurassic rifts which may be interpreted to underlie younger
cover. The interpretations in this paper are often dependent
on the identification of deep grabens and half-grabens on a
number of sparse published seismic lines, with an
assumption taken that the relevant author’s stratigraphic
picks are correct. Data availability over offshore Madagascar
is particularly poor, limited to a few conference presenta-
tions by seismic companies. As interpreted in Figures 3 and

© 2017 The Author(s). Published by The Geological Society of London for GSL and EAGE. All rights reserved. For permissions: http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/
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 D. Macgregor
4, the stratigraphy in these offshore areas can only be
inferred from seismic character and extrapolation from
onshore. A common uncertainty is whether an offshore rift is
entirely Early Jurassic in age or is a stacked Jurassic and
Permo-Triassic rift (see Gilardi et al. 2014 for a case study
on the Kerimbas Graben of the Rovuma Basin).
Extrapolation of faults beyond seismic control is usually
based on tectonic elements maps provided in the sources
referenced in the Supplementary material (lacking in some
regions, including northern Tanzania). Such extrapolation
may also consider present-day bathymetry, as many offshore
Mesozoic rifts appear to have been reactivated in the
Neogene (e.g. the Kerimbas and Lacerda graben: Franke
et al. 2015) and are now seabed depressions.
The main product of this paper is a series of tectonic maps
illustrating the progressive development of Permian–Mesozoic rifts
through time (Figs 5 – 10), as summarized in Figure 2. The maps
show rift faults thought to have been active during specific intervals,
and also includes an illustration of relative palaeotopography
(unquantified) and active volcanism. The earlier time slices reflect
fault movements over a specified interval of peak rifting, while the
later time slices are allowed to span longer periods of time to capture
a range of seemingly unrelated events in different regions. The
Fig. 1. Area of interest, major lineaments
and the location of basins discussed in
this paper shown on present-day
geography, classified by the Data
Categories summarized in the text of this
paper. Lines of chronostratigraphic
sections (Figs 3 and 4) are also shown.
interpreted intensity of fault movements is shown in two categories:
major and minor. The former is taken to apply to typical synrift
conditions (i.e. active block faulting causing significant displace-
ments and topography creation), often reflected as a thick series of
deep lacustrine sediments filling the accommodation space created;
and the latter category refers to periods of smaller displacements on
faults and the accumulation of thinner series of sediments, generally
100 m or less in basins where there is often a close balance between
fluvial sedimentation and subsidence. Such periods of ‘minor’ fault
movement usually precede or post-date the main rift phase.
The interpretation of palaeotopography is based on an extrapo-
lation of current topography backwards in time. A broad
interpretation of pre-Cenozoic topography has been based on the
work of Moore et al. (2009) in the south of the region, and the
apatite fission-track analysis (AFTA) of Foster & Gleadow (1996)
and Noble et al. (1997) in Kenya and Tanzania. This work indicates
cooling indicative of major uplift and erosion of the Tanzanian
Craton and Anza Rift shoulders in the Late Cretaceous–Palaeogene.
On the Anza Rift shoulder, this can be related to vitrinite reflectance
profiles that suggest 3 – 4 km of erosion (see later discussions).
Circumstantial data used to infer high topography include the
observation of major periods of coarse clastic influx to the margin:
for example, in the Late Cretaceous Kismaayo Delta of southern
Somalia (Soma Oil & Gas 2015; Davidson et al. 2017) and in the
Zambezi (Walford et al. 2005). For the older time slices, the
 Permian–Cretaceous rifting in East Africa
topography shown is schematic, based on an assumption that
Permo-Triassic rift shoulders will have been developed at the time
of rifting and will have been eroded over tens of millions of years.
Permo-Triassic rifts
Permo-Triassic rifts (Figs 5 and 6) correspond to the population of
South and East African rifts termed the ‘Karoo’ rifts. This term will
be used here to describe rifts active during these eras and not for
those active in the Early Jurassic, described in some papers as ‘Late
Karoo’. With the exceptions of the proposed extensions offshore
and some interpreted below Kalahari cover, these are the best-
documented rifts considered in this paper and there is relatively high
confidence in the maps presented here. In southern onshore areas,
most rifts are in Data Category A and are well summarized in papers
by Castaing (1991), Wopfner (1993), Hankel (1994), Kreuser
(1995), Johnson et al. (1996) , Delvaux (2001) and Catuneanu et al.
(2005). A useful Karoo correlation chart is also provided in the
supplementary material of Davison & Steel (2017). The main
uncertainties on the interpretations shown are the northern limit of
basins containing sections older than Late Permian, the relative
importance of Mid–Late Permian v. Early Triassic rifting over
different regions and the location of Permo-Triassic rifts below
offshore areas.
Fig. 2. Rift lineaments analysed in this
paper. These are assigned to a number of
broad age groupings, as per the legend. A
schematic fit between Africa and
Madagascar is applied in this and the
following figures by restoring to the
continental–ocean boundaries along the
Davie Fracture Zone, and to those off
Somalia and the Majunga Basin
interpreted in other papers in this thematic
set (Davidson et al. 2017; Davison &
Steel 2017). This does not take account of
pre-break-up extension so gives a
relatively ‘wide’ fit.
As summarized in Figure 3, within the southern part of the
region, basin development and sedimentation appears to commence
in the Gzhelian with the deposition of a distinctive tillite facies,
during a period interpreted here as ‘minor’ rifting or sagging prior to
the main rift phase. This is followed by a sand- and coal-filled
succession in the Asselian and Sakmarian, also suggestive of a
minor rift or sag, before main rift conditions are initiated in the Late
Artinskian–Kungurian, terminating coal deposition in most basins.
The creation of significant accommodation space is clear by the
Middle Permian, with deep lacustrine facies developed in the
Ruhuhu, Luangwa and other basins (Banks et al. 1995; Kreuser
1995; Catuneanu et al. 2005). A marine influx is evident at this time
in Madagascar (Wescott & Diggens 1998) (Fig. 3). An additional
pulse of rifting is evident in the Late Permian, as indicated by a
further phase of lacustrine deposition in Ruhuhu above a major
unconformity, and the widening of rifts between the ‘Sakoa’ and
‘Sakamena’ groups of Madagascar (Besairie & Collignon 1971;
Wescott & Diggens 1997, 1998). Yet another rift phase may be
evident in the Early Triassic, but this seems to be followed by the
deposition of thick fluvial sands in all southern basins, which is
taken to suggest that the deeper parts of rift topography were largely
infilled by this time.
This series of events, typified by the outcrop section in the
Ruhuhu Basin (e.g. Kreuser 1995), seems to be applicable to most
 D. Macgregor
Fig. 3. Chronostratigraphic analysis of SE African Permian–Mesozoic rifts (see Fig. 1 for the line of section). Based on data and analyses within Kamen-Kaye (1978), Castaing (1991), Hankel (1994), Kreuser (1995), Banks
et al. (1995), Radelli (1975), Wescott & Diggens (1997, 11998), Delvaux (2001), Catuneanu et al. (2005), Geiger & Schweigert (2005), Gilardi et al. (2014) and Gray & Sansom (2016). Sections interpreted to be present on
seismic, but without stratigraphic control, are shown in white fill.
 Permian–Cretaceous rifting in East Africa
Fig. 4. Chronostratigraphic analysis of NE African Permian–Mesozoic rifts. Based on data and analyses within Kamen-Kaye (1978), Worku & Astin (1992), Mbede & Dualeh (1997), Schluter (1997), Clark (1998), Hunegnaw
et al. (1998) and Webster & Ensign (2007). Sections interpreted to be present on seismic, but without stratigraphic control, are shown in white fill.
 D. Macgregor
‘Karoo’ basins as far north as southern Kenya and to all ‘Karoo’ rifts
in Madagascar. Many of these are concentrated as narrow half-
graben along the Southern Trans-African Shear System (‘STASS’)
of Visser & Praekelt (1998) (Fig. 5), with wrench-fault tectonics
particularly well developed in Zambia (Orpen et al. 1989). This
system of long-lived faults has been suggested by these authors to
originate from transtension driven by the oblique subduction of the
palaeo-Pacific plate and the subsequent collision of associated
continental fragments with Gondwanaland in the Permian, leading
to the clockwise rotation of Africa.
The Late Carboniferous glacial tillite facies, the presence of
which is taken as a marker for the oldest rifts, is described in outcrop
in basins as far north as the Mombasa Basin of Kenya (Schluter
1997). Within Madagascar, a full rift section is known down to the
tillites in the Sakamena Rift of the Morondava Basin (Wescott &
Diggens 1997) and is interpreted on seismic by Clark (1998) in the
Ankara Graben of the Majunga Basin, although Early Permian strata
have not been seen in outcrop in that region. Similarly, seismic
sections over the Selous Basin in Tanzania Petroleum Development
Corporation (2003) suggest that rift sediments may range deeper
than the oldest outcropping section of Late Permian age.
Differences in stratigraphy are noted for basins north of
Mombasa, of which the Ogaden Basin forms the best-documented
example (Fig. 4). Numerous wells in this basin penetrate only a thin
Fig. 5. Rifts interpreted to be active in
Middle Permian times (centred on
Roadian, 270 Ma, thought to be the peak
of regional rifting). The main activity is
seen to be along the ‘STASS’ trend from
Zambia to offshore Somalia (Visser &
Praekelt 1998), with another narrow
paralleling trend in onshore Madagascar.
Basins in the north of this map, both in
Africa and Madagascar, carry the greatest
uncertainty on the interpretation, together
with the Rovuma area of Mozambique.
Major and minor rifting categories are
defined in the text. Darker shades on all
maps indicate relatively higher but
unquantified topography (see the text).
Rough fit of Africa and Madagascar is as
explained in Figure 2.
section (tens of metres) of Late Permian ‘Calub’ Formation
sandstone before encountering Basement, with no penetration of
Carboniferous tillites having been reported (Worku & Astin 1992).
There are reports (P. Purcell pers. comm.) from seismic interpret-
ation of an undrilled ‘pre-Calub’ rift sequence, speculated here to
range down into the Middle Permian. It does seem clear, however,
that the main rift event in the Ogaden Basin is of Early Triassic
(Induan) age, during which a thick deep lacustrine shale (Bokh
Shale) was deposited, time equivalents of which are seen in the Maji
ya Chumvi Formation of the Mombasa Basin and Middle Sakamena
Formation of the Morondava Basin, but not in the mainland ‘Karoo’
basins from Tanzania southwards. A similar Late Permian–Early
Triassic stratigraphy to the Ogaden Basin is observed in the Elgol
wells on the flank of the younger Anza Rift (Morley et al. 1999),
and in the Mandera Lugh and Mudugh Basins of Somalia (Barnes
1976: Exxon 1995, Mbede & Dualeh 1997).
It can therefore be concluded that rifting of Early–Middle
Permian age is concentrated into narrow basins along the ‘STASS’
trend (Fig. 5), whereas the most significant phase of rifting in NE
Africa is of Early Triassic age (Fig. 6). A zone of transition between
these two models is represented by the section of the Mombasa
Basin (Fig. 4), which shows evidence of being active in both
episodes. The drivers of Early Triassic rifting are not understood at
present, although Visser & Praekelt (1998) suggest a continuation
 Permian–Cretaceous rifting in East Africa
of the shear systems of the Permian. Such a model is, however,
questioned by the observation in this paper that the rifts developed at
this time were wider and more connected than those in the Permian
(e.g. the Sakamena Trough: Wescott & Diggens 1997, 1998).
If present in the offshore basins, the Permo-Triassic rift sections
are deeply buried, therefore lying in Data Category 3. It seems likely
that the Permian rift trend will continue along the offshore extension
of the ‘STASS’ trend, and ‘Karoo’ rifts have been interpreted on
seismic offshore Somalia (Soma Oil & Gas 2015; Davidson et al.
2017). However, in the southern offshore (south of Dar es Salaam),
there is substantial uncertainty on the extent and thickness of rifts of
this age. In SE Tanzania, several wells penetrate through Jurassic to
Basement, and all but Lukuledi 1 (Fig. 3) encounter no Permo-
Triassic section. In cross-sections over the coastal part of the
Morondava Basin basinwards of the narrow Sakamena Rift, Radelli
(1975) also shows Jurassic immediately over Basement. A number
of seismic interpreters have speculated that thin Permo-Triassic
sections are present below more significant Jurassic rift sections in
the Kerimbas Graben of the Rovuma Basin (Gilardi et al. 2014), the
Ibo High area of the southern Rovuma Basin (Edwards &
Lainchbury 1999) and the Lacerda Rift (Sapri et al. 2013), although
all such cases lack good seismic definition or well ties.
As discussed in Reeves (2017), an important aside in the
delineation of these Permo-Triassic rifts is their spatial correlation
Fig. 6. Rifts interpreted to be active in
Early Triassic times (centred on Induan,
250 Ma, thought to be the peak of
regional rifting). This period is marked in
many of the basins by the deposition of a
widespread lacustrine shale (possible
marine influences in Madagascar).
between the African mainland and Madagascar, as this can be taken
to control the pre-break-up fit of the two plates concerned. Reeves
(2017) favours a model whereby the Sakamena Trough is
essentially a continuation of the Selous and Rufuji basins of
Tanzania, which forces Madagascar northwards into a tight fit
against Kenya and Somalia. Such a reconstruction is dependent on a
wide-ranging analysis, a reworking of which is beyond the scope of
this paper. A wider fit between Somalia and Madagascar has been
used here (Figs 4 and 5), primarily to prevent overlap between
African and Madagascar lineaments, based on the present-day
positions of the continental–ocean transitions mapped by Davidson
et al. (2017) and Davison & Steel (2017), and reports of large-scale
inversions and interpretations of stretched continental crust 200 km
from the Lamu coastline (Biancone et al. 2015). This does not take
any account of pre-break-up extension and is thus an extreme case of
a ‘wide fit’ (i.e. the actual fit would have to be tighter than this). This
does, however, indicate that alternative correlations of Karoo rifts
are possible: the ‘STASS’ Selous–Rufuji System could continue
below offshore Tanzania, Kenya and Somalia as the Ruvu Basin, the
Tembo Trough and some of the offshore Somalia Karoo rifts
illustrated by Davidson et al. (2017), and/or as the Ankara Trough of
the Majunga Basin. The Sakamena Trough would have then to be a
separate rift trend, possibly connecting to speculative rifts in the
offshore Rovuma region (Edwards & Lainchbury 1999). Further
 D. Macgregor
offshore deep seismic imaging and backstripping are required to
resolve this issue.
Jurassic rifts
Following a phase of post-rift conditions and basin infilling by red
beds in the Mid–Late Triassic, the next major stage of rifting taken
by most interpreters is of Early–early Middle Jurassic
(Pliensbachian–Aalenian) age. Such rifts are interpreted along the
current East African continental margin and clearly precede its
development (Figs 3 and 7). Most basins fall into Data Categories 2
and 3. The main uncertainty in the interpretations presented in
Figure 7 is the location of rifts of this age offshore, an aspect that is
of critical importance to petroleum prospectivity as these rifts
contain the inferred source rocks to the gas reserves of the region
(Pereira-Rego et al. 2013; Sayers 2017).
The Early Jurassic rift of the Mandawa Basin of Tanzania has the
best data control (Data Category 2). The tectonostratigraphy of this
basin is illustrated in Figure 3, which adopts the commonest view
for the age of the synrift section as Pliensbachian–Aalenian (e.g.
Gray & Sansom 2016; Kent et al. 1971; Thomas et al. 2007; Veeken
& Titov 1996), although it should be noted that an opposing
interpretation, with the dates ranging down into the Late Triassic for
the basal Mbuo Formation, has been published by Hudson (2011)
Fig. 7. Rifts interpreted to be active in
Early Jurassic times (centred on Toarcian,
180 Ma, thought to be the peak of
regional rifting). Offshore rifts are taken
from various tectonic elements maps from
industry and conference figures (see the
text), or sometimes inferred by the
association of Jurassic with Neogene rifts
(see Franke et al. 2015) and current
bathymetry. No data zone in northern
Tanzania offshore.
and Hudson & Nicholas (2014). Rifts of Early Jurassic age are also
described from the Majunga (Banks et al. 2008) and Morondava
basins (Radelli 1975) of Madagascar, and from the Ruvu and Rufiji
basins of northern Tanzania (Tanzania Petroleum Development
Corporation 2003). Toarcian salt is present in the rift section of the
Mandawa Basin and is interpreted on seismic in the offshore part of
the Majunga Basin (Davison & Steel 2017), where it is presumably
of similar age (Fig. 4). Seismic interpretation indicates the presence
of equivalent rifts below the Zambezi Delta (Anderson et al. 2013),
the Kerimbas Graben (Gilardi et al. 2014; Franke et al. 2015),
offshore southern Tanzania (Cope 2000; Higgins & Sofield 2011;
Gray & Sansom 2016), onshore Somalia (Barnes 1976) and
offshore Somalia (Soma Oil & Gas 2015). Contemporaneous fault
movements of Early Jurassic age in the Ogaden and Mandera Lugh
basins seem to be minor (based on the interpretation of seismic lines
and cross-sections in Hunegnaw et al. 1998), and faults here are
assigned to the ‘minor rifting’ category in Figure 7.
While Early Jurassic rifts do sometimes exploit Permo-Triassic
rifts along the former ‘STASS’ trend (e.g. the northern part of
Selous Basin, Mombasa Basin: Fig. 4), the tendency elsewhere is
for the Jurassic rifts to be displaced towards the future East African
margin. In the Morondava Basin, for instance, Radelli (1975) shows
that Jurassic rifts are displaced westwards from the failed Permo-
Triassic Sakamena Graben. Break-up is commonly related in
 Permian–Cretaceous rifting in East Africa
Tanzania and Madagascar to a sharp transgression in the Bajocian
and/or further deepening of depositional environments in the
Callovian (e.g. Fig. 3) (Geiger & Schweigert 2005; Gray & Sansom
2016), although, as suggested by Reeves (2017), the first oceanic
crust may have been formed earlier on other parts of the margin. Pre-
Callovian Middle Jurassic inversion is reported on the Seagap
Fracture Zone by Gray & Sansom (2016), which would fit
conveniently with this level being the end of the rifting cycle and
the onset of oblique drift in Tanzania prior to the later formation of
the Davie Fracture Zone (Reeves et al. 2016).
Three likely unrelated populations of Late Jurassic rifts occur in
three regions: along the Davie Ridge, in Yemen–Somaliland and in
southern Mozambique/the Natal Basin (Fig. 8). The population
along the Davie Ridge is typified by a narrow inverted pull-apart
basin in the offshore Angoche area of Mozambique (Mahanjane
2014), which continues as a half-graben further north in the Lacerda
Rift (Sapri et al. 2013; Franke et al. 2015). Seismic correlations
from Zambezi offshore wells seem to indicate that the Angoche Rift
terminates and inverts close to base Cretaceous. These narrow deep
rifts have the character of pull-apart basins and are attributed to
changes in plate rotation before or during the creation of the Davie
Ridge transform (Mahanjane 2014; Reeves 2017). Similar features,
inverted in the Late Cretaceous, are seen offshore in the Lamu Basin
in Kenya (e.g. Pancontinental Oil & Gas 2009; Davison & Steel
Fig. 8. Rifts and inversions interpreted to
be active during any period within the
Late Jurassic (163 – 145 Ma), a composite
map covering three separate rift
populations along the Davie Ridge, in
Yemen–Somaliland, and in southern
Mozambique/Natal Basin. The latter
population continues into earliest
Cretaceous. It is likely that different
mechanisms apply for the three rift
populations, including pull-apart for the
Davie Ridge trend, regional extension
( passive rifting) for the Yemen–
Somaliland group and a plume prior to
continental break-up (of Limpopia/the
Mozambique Ridge) for the Mozambique
population (see the text). Uncertainty in
the location of these rifts in onshore
Mozambique is high, where rifting
continues through into the Early
Cretaceous.
2017), although ties to the sediment fill here suggest an Early
Cretaceous age, They are also seen along the Davie Ridge offshore
Morondava Basin (Tari & Rock 2016). These basins may bear some
similarities to the Aptian pull-apart basins of the ‘transform’ West
African margin, although do not seem to be as frequently
developed.
It has long been proposed that Late Jurassic rifts originally
extended from Yemen to present-day Somaliland and Puntland (e.g.
Redfern & Jones 1995). However, this region is also affected by
Oligocene rifting related to the opening of the Gulf of Aden
(Macgregor 2015; Purcell 2017), and the lack of seismic ties
between basins has made the differentiation between Cenozoic and
Late Jurassic rifts difficult. This was illustrated by a well drilled in
2011 on the Dharoor Rift that encountered a thick Oligocene section
but thin Jurassic (Africa Oil 2013). With the exception of some
outcropping rift sections on the rift shoulder of the Gulf of Aden,
substantial uncertainty affects the interpretation of rifts shown in
Figure 8 in this region.
The rifts of southern Mozambique, of Late Jurassic–Early
Cretaceous age (Coster et al. 1989), are illustrated by the maps
and seismic sections in De Buyl & Flores (1984). Differing
interpretations of the extensions of these rifts onshore, based on
gravity data, are shown by Salman & Abdula (1995) and Coster
et al. (1989). Mahanjane (2012) and Anderson et al. (2013) also
 D. Macgregor
interpreted that rifting migrates over the Beira High in the Middle
Jurassic, these rifts then immediately preceding break-up. Rifts of
this age are also seen in many basins off the SE coast of South
Africa, such as the Natal Basin. It is speculated that the
Mozambique rifts could precede the drift of the ‘Limpopia’
microcontinent (the Mozambique Ridge), believed to be of
continental affinity by Reeves et al. (2016, 2017).
Cretaceous rifts
Two simplified maps are produced for the Cretaceous (Figs 9 and
10) covering wide-ranging time intervals for the Early and Late
Cretaceous, respectively; the latter reflecting activity peaking in the
Campanian–Maastrichtian. The most significant Cretaceous rift in
east Africa is the Anza Rift of Kenya, which is well documented by
Morley et al. (1999). This is often described as an Early Cretaceous
rift (e.g. Davison & Steel 2017), thus invoking a triple junction in
the Lamu area. Morley et al. (1999) illustrated this as a rift that
evolved in the Neocomian in the NW part of the basin (Fig. 9),
although they interpreted that the main phase of rifting over the
greater part of the basin did not occur until the Late Cretaceous–
Palaeogene (Fig. 10). Morley et al.’s (1999) models are, by and
large, followed in these maps, although the area of Early Cretaceous
rifting is expanded to account for reports from Africa Oil press
Fig. 9. Rifts and inversions interpreted to
be active at any period within the Early
Cretaceous (145 – 100 Ma), a composite
map covering separate rift populations in
the Rukwa–Malawi trend of the East
African Rift System (thought to be around
Albian age and exploiting Permian rifts),
over parts of the Anza Rift ( peaking
around Barremian times) and an offshore
pull-apart off the Lamu Basin of Kenya.
Rifting of this age along NW–SE trends
can be categorized as passive rifting
related to regional extension across Africa.
releases and investors presentations indicating that a section of this
age was penetrated in recent wells further SW than previously
known. The available scout data on these wells suggest, however,
that the Early Cretaceous is much thinner than the Late Cretaceous,
and thus the Early Cretaceous rifting is shown as ‘minor’ in
Figure 9. Active rifting continues well into the Tertiary in the SE
part of the basin, while significant inversion is observed in the Early
Miocene. Many authors (e.g. Bosworth & Morley 1994) have tried
to link events in the Anza Basin to the extension phases in South
Sudan, invoking a transform across the younger East African Rift
System. A comparison with the extension phases in South Sudan
documented by McHargue et al. (1992), however, indicates a poor
correlation with Anza Basin events and stratigraphy. In particular,
the thickest sections mapped on seismic in the Anza Basin are of
Late Cretaceous age, which correlates with a combined interval of
two post-rift sections and a thin synrift section in the Muglad Basin
of South Sudan. The Early Cretaceous comprises the most
significant rifting phase in Sudan (Guiraud et al. 2005; Fairhead
et al. 2013), which, as discussed above, seems to be less extensive
and significant in Anza. In addition, no significant inversion is seen
in Sudan.
A combination of geochemical maturity and AFTA data (Foster
& Gleadow 1996) on the flanks of the Anza Basin indicate uplift
and erosion of the order of 3 km during the Late Cretaceous and
 Permian–Cretaceous rifting in East Africa
Palaeogene. Early Triassic shales on the rift shoulder have vitrinite
reflectances in excess of 2% Ro (Morley et al. 1999). Much of the
material eroded from these rift shoulders was likely to have been
transported to the Kismaayo area of offshore Somalia, where a very
thick Late Cretaceous section is present, including gravitational
collapse features (Soma Oil & Gas 2015). The existence of such high
rift shoulders suggests that the processes controlling the formation of
the Anza Rift were, perhaps, similar to those of the younger East
African Rift, which are now ascribed (Adams et al. 2012) to the
effects of a mantle circulation cell and plume. Thus, the Anza Rift
could well be an isolated active rift that is not associated with the
wrench-controlled Central African Rift System of Genik (1993).
The small Gatome and Lotikipi basins of NW Kenya (Wescott
et al. 1999) are developed partially below Oligocene volcanics.
Thin Cretaceous red beds outcrop in the Lapur Range nearby and
could form the basal section to these basins, although the bulk of the
section present appears to be Palaeogene (Purcell 2017). Thin
Cretaceous sandy sections, perhaps of Albian age, are seen along the
Rukwa–Malawi trend (Macgregor 2015), developed between
thicker Permian and Cenozoic sections. The area of deposition of
these Cretaceous sandy sections follows the well-developed NW–
SE trend expressed for nearly all rifts of this age in Africa. There is
also evidence for Cretaceous extensional faulting in the Lamu Basin
(e.g. on the Garissa High) and in adjoining areas of Somalia
Fig. 10. Rifts and inversions interpreted to
be active at any period within the Late
Cretaceous, peaking around Campanian
times (c. 75 Ma) and often extending into
the Palaeogene. The interpretation for the
main feature active at this time, the Anza
Rift, follows that of Morley et al. (1999).
Evidence of high rift shoulders suggests
an active rift similar to the present-day
East African Rift System (see the text).
South Sudanese rifts are illustrated for a
short synrift spell in the Campanian.
(Kamen-Kaye & Barnes 1979; Mbede 1987). A previously
discussed rift on the Kenyan part of the Davie Fracture Zone is
thought to be of Early Cretaceous age (Davison & Steel 2017). In
the offshore, the Cretaceous is commonly a period of inversion of
earlier rifting developed along or close to the Davie Fracture Zone.
Inversion and pop-up structures are seen in the Morondava Basin
(Tari & Rock 2016), offshore Tanzania (Franca 2012), the Lamu
Basin, offshore Kenya (Davison & Steel 2017) (Fig. 9), and the
Mandera Lugh Basin of onshore Somalia. Most, but not all, are
thought to be of Late Cretaceous age. Minor compression along
arches in Tanzania, described by Wood (2016), together with
reversal of movement along fracture zones (Sayers 2017), is
possibly related to regional northwest-directed compression caused
by Indian Ocean spreading.
Implications for petroleum prospectivity
To date, there has been relatively little exploration success within
Permian or Mesozoic rift successions in East Africa, with the main
hydrocarbon occurrences being gas within Permian and basal Jurassic
reservoirs in the Ogaden Basin of Ethiopia, the Triassic tar sands of
Madagascar and small Cretaceous-reservoired gas pools in the Anza
Basin. However, many of the rifts are un- or under-explored. Workers
on the offshore, where large discoveries have been made in
 D. Macgregor
Cretaceous and Tertiary deep-marine clastics, believe these to be
largely charged from the Jurassic synrift and early post-rift , with
Sayers (2017) quoting a biomarker correlation between offshore
condensates and liquids from Early Jurassic source rocks. A
possible contribution from underlying Permian coals has been
suggested by Pereira-Rego et al. (2013).
Onshore, the main implication of this assimilation of regional
data and inferences therefrom will be to assist in the identification of
the most valid analogue basins, in terms of age, tectonics,
depositional and climatic setting, to be applied in a frontier basin
evaluation. These are not necessarily the geographically closest
basins. When looked at in terms of source rock organofacies and
palaeoclimatic settings, as well as maturity level, it would seem that
the chances for oil generally increase from the older to the younger
basins. This trend extends into the younger EARS basins.
Offshore, at a regional level, a critical issue is the distribution of
the Jurassic rifts thought to contain the main source rocks (Sayers
2017). These lie very deep in the succession and their prediction
relies on an understanding of contemporary tectonics, as well as
deep seismic. An interpretation of the distribution of these rifts is
illustrated here as Figure 7, although a confidence overlay still needs
to be applied on whether these are truly Jurassic rifts and on whether
they, indeed, contain source rocks. Exploration for oil should focus
on those Jurassic rifts that are not later reactivated in younger rift
episodes and do not have thick resulting overburdens (e.g. those in
offshore Somalia: Davidson et al. 2017).
Basin dynamics
East Africa would appear to have undergone almost continuous
extension since Permian times and is, consequently, the most rifted
region on the planet. There is, however, some interplay with
compression, perhaps best expressed on the Kenyan, Tanzanian and
west Madagascar margins. The frequency of rifting can, perhaps, be
related to the complicated basement fabric with numerous lines of
weakness, the underlying mantle circulation cell of Adams et al.
(2012) and Africa’s position in the centre of Gondwanaland relative
to departing continents. However, there seems to be no common
mechanism controlling rifting across different time periods. The
Permian rifts seem to be largely related to a pull-apart model along
the ‘STASS’ and parallel trends that are related to plate forces along
the Gondwana margin. The mechanism controlling the wider
Triassic rifts is uncertain. As interpreted by Visser & Praekelt
(1998), mantle forces seem to become more predominant in the
Mesozoic, and Early Jurassic rifts seem to be related to crustal
stretching prior to continental break-up. The three populations of
Late Jurassic rifts probably have differing mechanisms, with pull-
apart again being the mechanism along the Davie Fracture Zone. The
Cretaceous Anza Rift is interpreted here as a mantle-plume-derived
active rift, perhaps showing greatest affinities to the Cenozoic EARS.
Conclusions
This paper has differentiated the numerous Permian–Mesozoic rifts
that cross East Africa into a number of broad temporal classes
(Fig. 2) and, by assembling a tectonic framework for each time
interval considered, helps predict the tectonics and sedimentary fill
of many undrilled rifts, particularly offshore. The so-called ‘Karoo’
phase has been split into two populations of primarily Middle
Permian or Early Triassic age, for which different mechanisms may
apply. Jurassic rifts have also been differentiated in greater detail,
largely on the basis of recent revelations in conference papers, and a
number of previously undocumented Jurassic rifts are identified on
the maps. Late Jurassic rifts are split into three different regional
classes, which seem unrelated. The prime contribution of this
analysis to our interpretation of the Cretaceous rifts is the proposal
that the Anza Rift is not related to those in Sudan, with different
mechanisms applying in the two regions.
This paper provides a regional tectonic model for identifying the
likely sedimentary fill and thermal history of undrilled rifts, and for
identifying analogues, which, when combined with local data,
should help rank the remaining petroleum opportunities across the
region.
Acknowledgements Gion Kuper and Roger Bignall are thanked for their
constructive reviews of this paper.
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