Akata Formation is part of the Tertiary Niger Delta (Akata-Agbada)

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

system located in the

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...

Province, of

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

at the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea (French language, French: ''Golfe de Guinée''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Golfo de Guinea''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Golfo da Guiné'') is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez i ...

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. The upper Akata Formation is cited to be a primary source rock, providing Type II/III

kerogen Kerogen is solid, insoluble organic matter in sedimentary rocks. It consists of a variety of organic materials, including dead plants, algae, and other microorganisms, that have been compressed and heated by geological processes. All the kero ...

, and a potential target in deep water offshore and possibly beneath currently producing intervals onshore. The clays are typically over-pressured due to the absence of enough porous sediments during compaction and are about 9,000 feet vertical depth below mean sea level.The Niger Delta Petroleum System: Niger Delta Province, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea, Africa by Michele L. W. Tuttle, Ronald R. Charpentier, and Michael E. Brownfield The Agbada Formation has intervals that contain organic-carbon contents sufficient to be considered good source rocks. The intervals, however, rarely reach thickness sufficient to produce a world-classoil province and are immature in various parts of the delta. The Akata shale is present in large volumes beneath the Agbada Formation and is at least volumetrically sufficient to generate enough oil for a world class oil province such as the Niger Delta. Based on organic-matter content and type.

References

Bibliography

External links

usgs.gov coverage
Geologic formations of Nigeria Eocene Series of Africa Neogene System of Africa Shale formations Source rock formations {{Nigeria-geo-stub