Deposition, diagenesis and reservoir quality of an Oligocene reefal-margin limestone succession: Asmari Formation, United Arab Emirates

An outcropping stratigraphic section of the Asmari Formation near the city of Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates is examined using a measured section, thin sections, and both geochemical and petrophysical analyses. This formation is the only known strata of Oligocene age outcropping in southeast Arabia and should not be confused with strata of overlapping age and the same name in southwest Iran. The 230-m measured section is divided into four intervals of distinctive depositional facies, representing progradation of a reefal margin and its surrounding environments. Siliciclastic content and dolomitization tend to increase with distance from the coarse-grained platform margin. A key finding is how the strata have undergone extensive diagenesis, although buried to