Mohammed is an MS. candidate at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology supervised by Professor Frans van Buchem in the Energy Resources and Petroleum Engineering program.

MS Thesis abstract:

Arab-Hith Anhydrite Facies Classification Scheme: Implications for Depositional Environments and Sequence Stratigraphy

The evaluation of seals in hydrocarbon trapping and carbon sequestration is often underestimated, leading to inadequate assessments and frequent industry failures. The economic losses from uncertain hydrocarbon seal assessments are significant, but the environmental risks associated with CCS are even more critical. This underscores the need for a thorough characterization of seals. The Late Jurassic Arab and Hith anhydrites serve as exemplary caprocks, effectively sealing some of the world’s most productive petroleum systems. However, the absence of a robust classification system for anhydrites has impeded our understanding of the depositional setting and sequence stratigraphy of Arab-Hith anhydrites, leading to imprecise modeling and assessment of these seals.

This thesis addresses this gap by developing and applying a new anhydrite classification scheme to conduct a sedimentological and stratigraphic analysis on a 72-meter core section (from a 390-meter full core) acquired by KAUST from southeast Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.