Foraminiferal analysis of AE-1 well, Agbada formation Onshore, Western Niger Delta Basin: Implication for biozonation and age dating

Abstract

Foraminiferal and sedimentological analysis was carried out using ditch cutting samples from intervals 2700 ft. - 10,185 ft. in AE-1 well. The samples were composited at 60 ft. into ninety four (94) ditch cutting samples. The standard micropaleontological sample procedures to recover the foraminiferal biofacies assemblages was utilized, followed by analysis and interpretation of the obtained results. The sedimentological analysis reveals five lithofacies - sandstone, sandy shale, shaly sand, mudstone and sandy clay which constitute part of the Agbada Formation of the Niger Delta. The foraminiferal fauna recovered from the samples studied comprised of twenty four species grouped into nineteen genera from niniteen families and nineteen subfamilies. A few number of miscellaneous microfossils such as Ostracoda, Holothuroidea and Echinoderm remains were recovered. The total count of foraminiferal defined from this well is four hundred and nineteen (419). The planktic foraminiferal count was two hundred and forty two (242) (57.8 % of the total count) while the benthics foraminiferal count was one hundred and seventy seven (177) (42.2 % of the total count). Among the benthic forms, the calcareous consists of one hundred and forty nine forms (149) (33.4 % of the total benthic count) while the agglutinating benthic forms were thirty seven (37) (8.8 % of the total benthic count). One (1) planktic (Chiloguembelinacubensis) and three (3) benthic (Eponidesberthelotianus, Hanzawaiastratonii and Nonionellaauris) informal foraminiferal zones were established in the well. The age of the AE-1 well sediments has been interpreted to belong to Early Oligocene - Early Miocene in comparism with foraminiferal markers species whose stratigraphic ranges are well established in the Niger Delta and globally. This inferred the presence of the Rupelian - Burdigalian sediments in the Niger Delta.

Keywords: Foraminiferal, Biozone, Age, Rupelian, Burdigalian.