TITLE:
Dolomitization in Campanian Oil Shale Rocks from South-Western Jordan
AUTHORS:
Hani M. Alnawafleh, Khalid E. Tarawneh, Hani N. Khoury, Nafeth A. Abdelhadi, Osama Y. Shakkoury, Reyad A. Dwairi, Mazen N. Amaireh
KEYWORDS:
Jordan, Oil Shale, Dolomitization, Campanian
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Geology,
Vol.5 No.10,
October
26,
2015
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.