Dolomitization in Campanian Oil Shale Rocks from South-Western Jordan

Hani M. Alnawafleh¹, Khalid E. Tarawneh², Hani N. Khoury³, Nafeth A. Abdelhadi⁴, Osama Y. Shakkoury⁵, Reyad A. Dwairi⁶, Mazen N. Amaireh⁶

¹Faculty of Engineering, Al-Hussein Bin Talal University, Ma’an, Jordan.
²Faculty of Engineering, Isra University, Amman, Jordan.
³Department of Geology, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
⁴Faculty of Engineering Technology, Al Balqa Applied University, Salt, Jordan.
⁵Natural Resources Authority, Amman, Jordan.
⁶Faculty of Engineering, Tafila Technical University, Tafila, Jordan.

DOI: 10.4236/ojg.2015.510061                

Abstract

This work represents the first detailed study of an oil shale (OS) section from the Upper Campanian Amman Silicified Limestone (ASL) Formation in south-western part of Jordan. More than five meters of oil shale have been recorded. Using the petrography and geochemistry, this study aims to focus on such non-conventional types of oil shale rocks in Jordan and to shed some light on their composition and formational environment. Unlike oil shale from Maastrichtian to early Tertiary, this type of oil shale is highly dolomitized. The dolomite is diagenetic in origin. This oil shale type contains considerable amount of OM and remarkably enriched in some trace elements and shows quite low sulfur content. Results suggest that the formation of dolomite appears to be limited by the rate of organic matter oxidation.

Keywords

Jordan, Oil Shale, Dolomitization, Campanian

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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