NMR ANALYSIS OF AMBER IN THE ZUBAIR FORMATION,KHAFJI OILFIELD (SAUDI ARABIA – KUWAIT): COAL AS AN OIL SOURCE ROCK?

Amber samples obtained from coal deposits in the Zubair Formation at a depth of 1,800 m from the offshore Khafji oilfield (Saudi Arabia - Kuwait Partitioned Neutral Zone) were subjected to NMR analysis. The resulting spectra identified the samples as originating from trees belonging to the genus Agathis. The NMR spectra were virtually identical to those obtained from Lower Cretaceous amber from Lebanon, Israel and Jordan, suggesting that a large forest of Agathis levantensis extended across the Arabian Plateau from the Levant to the Gulf. In this case, the forest would have extended a distance of approximately 1500 km, which would make it the largest amber-producing forest known. It is suggested that the oil in the Khafji and adjoining Safaniya oilfields could have been derived from coal produced, at least in part, by Agathis levantensis.