File 1450/1919 ‘Mesopotamia & Kurdistan: Geological Reports on’ [‎12r] (28/522)

(6) Folding.
The folding of the district is all in a N.W.-S.E. direction. In some cases the beds have suffered
severe folding, overfolding and contortion, but no sign of overthrust has been met.
The Cretaceous Limestone has suffered a considerable amount of contortion in most places.
This is probably due to the fact that it only occurs as anticlines in the centre of the uplift. The
Eocene Shales are contorted at their junction with the Cretaceous, but elsewhere there is no notice
able contortion. The Eocene Limestones are highly folded but not such contorted. In the
Sagirmah Pass the beds are vertical on the north-east side, then dip at 45 degrees on each side of
the anticline. In general the south-west limbs of the anticlines are not more highly folded than the
north-east limbs—rather the reverse. Only in the Aji Dagh anticline is the south-west limb steeper
than the north-east one.
(c) Faulting.
The north-east flank of the Tashlujah Dagh is faulted with downthrow to the south, which has
caused the Upper Eocene Limestone be brought against beds of the Eocene Shale series, with the
result that the Nummulitic Limestone does not crop out. The throw of the fault must be at
least 1,000 feet.
Small strike faults occur in the Asmir Dagh and bring Cretaceous Limestone against higher
horizons of the Eocene Shale series, and cause small lenticles of the former to appear as outliers in
the Cretaceous outcrop.
A fault of very considerable magnitude occurs at Chamchamal. The conglomerates of the
Bakhtiari Series occupy the high land to the west of the place and within a distance of about 1 mile
Upper Fars beds appear again, dipping in the opposite direction. This can only be explained by a
strike fault with a downthrow to the south of several thousand feet. This is possibly connected with
the Aji Dagh uplift.
The foot-hill country to the west is also affected by several strike faults with downthrow to the
south, such as Kifri, Tuz, Khurmatu, Tauq and probably Kirkuk.
(6) INDICATIONS OF OIL.
In three different places solid asphalt or Manjak has been found and in two places seepages of
oil. They are located as follows: In the ^Chawarta :District, about 12 miles north of Sulaima-
niyah ;—
(1) About 1 mile west of the village of Darala in the sandstone part of the Eocene Shale
series, the beds are shot with veins of asphalt. In places it has evidently been semi
liquid recently and probably during the summer months it oozes from the rock. It is
contained in a Nummulitic sandy limestone in association with shale and pebbly
sandstone ; the rock has a distinct smell of oil. We got the impression that this was
actually an oil bearing bed.
(2) Near the village of Barbacrao about § miles west of Darala in the lower part of the shale
series, there are a number of veins of solid asphalt of varying thickness from a fraction
of an inch to 18 inches or more. It is impossible to determine the actual quantity
there as the debris from the shale slopes has covered the deposit, but there must be a
considerable quantity. The material is very light, jet black, and has a beautiful
conchoidal fracture. A chemical examination will be undertaken to determine its
nature and value.
In the Sagirmah Dagh.
(3) About one mile north of the Sagirmah Pass also in the Eocene Shale series, but in the
upper part, veins ot Manjak occur. We were unable to examine this as the snow was
too deep at the time, but we have seen samples and have been given the exact
location.
(4) Seepages of Oil—In the Sagirmah Dagh about 8 miles south of the village of Qarah Dagh,
the Eocene shales crop out on the top of an anticline. On their outcrop there is a
seepage of light oil on a small pool of water. The oil is light brown in colour and has
the smell of leffned Kerosene. Very little oil seeps up, but it is used bv the villagers
foi lamps. A little inflammable gas bubbles up in the pool, but no trace of sulphur
gas was detected. A sample of this oil will be examined later.
(5) At the south-east extremity of the Aji Dagh, where the Eocene Limestone plunges under
the Lower Fars beds, there is a small seepage of heavy black oil. It probably comes
from a band of cellular limestone at the base of the Lower Fars. Much sulphur is
associated with the oil.
(7) PROSPECTS OF OBTAINING OIL IN COMMERCIAL QUANTITIES.
An entirely new set of conditions to those of Mesopotamia and Southern Persia prevail in the
Sulaimaniyah district. The Lower Fars formation, which appears to be the source of the oil in the
former places, is entirely absent east of the Sagirmah Dagh.
The important question is whether the Eocene Shale series is an oil-bearing formation and
whether there are localities in the area examined, in which the geological structure is favourable for
the accumulation of oil in large quantities.
I he presence of veins of Manjak and the oil seepage indicate that there must be horizons in
the formation which contain oil. It is unlikely that the oil has come up from the Cretaceous
Limestone, as there is no record of seepages of oil in that formation. Neither is it probable that
fie oil has descended from the Mocene limestone above, as w^e have no record of oil in that forma
tion. We, therefore, consider that the Eocene Shale series is oil-bearing in parts.

File 1450/1919 ‘Mesopotamia & Kurdistan: Geological Reports on’ [‎12r] (28/522)

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File 1450/1919 ‘Mesopotamia & Kurdistan: Geological Reports on’ [‎12r] (28/522)

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