부산대학교 도서관

Located on the Cretaceous high zone of the M'zab area, the structure of Hassi er R'mel is a part of a zone which has been stable tectonically since the Cambrian. The oldest Mesozoic deposits lying unconformably on the Paleozoic, consist of Triassic sandstones. Above the reservoirs are the salt-bearing Triassic (1,300 ft thick), Jurassic (3,000-3,300 ft), and Cretaceous. The structure at the top of the Triassic reservoir is anticlinal; its areal extent is about 1,000 sq miles. An oil-water contact is at 5,016 ft (below sea level). Oil shows and minor production have been found in the Ordovician quartzites and Triassic sandstones. It is possible that there is a very narrow oil ring but so far this is unproved. Though the structure is old, evidence has been found that the gas was trapped definitely during the Early Cretaceous. Hassi er R'mel has produced 380 Bcf of condensate gas since 1958. The reserves are now estimated at 70 trillion cu ft.