Marine and Petroleum Geology, Vol. 14, No. 6, pp.

617 629, 1997

PII: S0264--8172(96)00049-9

~(ii:1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Printed in Great Britain
0264-8172/97 $17.00+ 0.00

ELSEVIER

Introduction to the revised Mesozoic stratigraphy

and nomenclature for Yemen
Ziad R. B e y d o u n *
American University of Beirut, P.O. Box 11-0236/3208, Beirut, Lebanon

Received 19 February 1996; accepted in revised form 25 September 1996

Until the early 1980s the Mesozoic stratigraphy of Yemen was based on measured surface sections
exposed mainly in the faulted and dissected shoulders of the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea Rifts or
on the high Yemen Plateau. On the basis of correlations between areas, the broad facies belts,
palaeogeographies and tectonic frameworks for the Mesozoic epochs were established. The
arealy extensive Tertiary limestone tableland and Tertiary volcanics, however, masked more local
underlying pre-Cenozoic major structural features.
Extensive oil exploration drilling backed by regional and/or detailed geophysical surveys
(increasingly based on seismic surveys) from the late 1970s, have gradually unraveled a complex
Mesozoic tectonic history which had given rise to the formation of a number of NW-SE and E-W
trending rift basins and depressions; these were initiated mainly in the Late Jurassic and Early
Cretaceous, principally by rejuvenation of ancient basement-controlled fractures during further
Gondwanan break-up which led to the separation of India (with eastern Gondwana) from AfroArabia. These basins exhibit considerably thicker and rapidly varying stratigraphic sequences
which reflect successive phases of rifting, subsidence and depositional settings in time, with the
type and provenance of basin-fill helping to detail the developing palaeogeography for each
stage. The precise relationships of these varied intra- and inter-basin facies are not yet properly
understood.
The discovery of commercial oil and gas in several of these Mesozoic rift basins accelerated
competitive exploration activity by a host of operating companies leading to the proliferation of
informal locally-applicable in-house subsurface lithostratigraphic nomenclature schemes. These,
in the extreme cases, either ignore published surface nomenclature, or else utilize existing surfacedefined formation names which then become over-loaded with undifferentiated coeval but depositionally and environmentally different units without due regard to internationally accepted rules.
This confusion is further compounded by detailed local academic research from within and
outside Yemen, with little or no access to subsurface data, and by service companies utilizing
limited client-supplied data which is then extrapolated on a province-wide or a regional basis;
proliferation takes place through data exchange between operators or through circulation of nonexclusive reports, or by means of localized publications.
A Stratigraphic Commission was appointed to address this problem and to carry out nomenclature clean-up and simplification. After intensive review of all utilised nomenclature and with full
cooperation from the operating companies, its principal findings are summarised in graphic form
(in Figure 4 and Figure 5) which include, for example: retention but revision; correction and
expansion of the formalised nomenclature in Beydoun and Greenwood (1968) which will apply
to all of Yemen; one new formation, previously unrecognised until recent subsurface and outcrop
studies (the Saar Formation) has been added; formalisation of several new members in the
Madbi Formation (previously informally assigned formation rank); a new member to the Qishn
formation, the Sa'af Member (previously informally called the Furt formation); correction to and
reassignment of the Nayfa Formation type section to the Ma'abir Member of the Madbi Formation,
the type Nayfa provisionally, now being at Mintaq salt dome. Full descriptions of these and of all
the revised Mesozoic nomenclature together with that for the Palaeozoic and Cenozoic will be
published later in International Lexicon of Stratigraphy format. 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Keywords: Yemen; Mesozoic;stratigraphy;nomenclature

Introduction

the principal objectives in the recent and current spates

of activity in hydrocarbon exploration, with resultant
(and not unexpected) proliferation in informal new lithostratigraphic names and varied modifications to existing
formalised ones. Cross-country correlations and
interpretation of drilling and geophysical results were
becoming increasingly difficult as a result, which led
eventually to the creation of a Government appointed

This paper is a preliminary report on the work of the

Yemen Stratigraphic Commission dealing with Mesozoic
lithostratigraphic nomenclature for the whole country.
The Jurassic and Cretaceous systems in Yemen have been
*Honourary Chairman, Yemen Stratigraphic Commission

617

618

Mesozoic stratigraphy and nomenclature for Yemen: Z R. Beydoun

Commission to address the problem before it got out of

hand. The Commission's mandate was to review, clarify
and clean up stratigraphic nomenclature in use in the
Republic of Yemen after consultation with all concerned
parties, especially the operating oil companies, and to
apply drastic surgery where needed in order to rationalise
and simplify the lithostratigraphic nomenclature scheme
for the country as a whole through redefinition, redescription, revision and similar procedures. The principal
objective of this is to provide a common lithostratigraphic
language for the use of all concerned with the sedimentary
geology of Yemen, with resultant benefits to the promotion of more efficient hydrocarbon exploration and
other aspects of applied geology and research.
As a background to this work, a historical summary
of geological activity in Yemen since its earliest days in
the 19th Century is presented, concentrating on the period since the end of World War II and on the principal
publications that have appeared since then that are relevant to the better understanding of the country's stratigraphy, structural evolution and petroleum geology.
The first systematic geological observations in the
region were made at a variety of selected locations along
the southern Arabian coast between Muscat and Aden
by Carter (1852). The first geological studies of the hinterland of Yemen did not begin, however, until the early
part of the 20th Century. They included those by Newton
and Crick (1908), Lloyd (1910), Tipper (1910), Vradenberg ( 1910), Botez (1962), Roman ( 1923, 1924, 1926),
Lamare (1923, 1925, 1930), Little (1925), Rathjens and
yon Wissmann (1929, 1934), von Wissmann (1932) and
von Wissmann et al. (1942). Lamare (1930, 1936) published the first lithostratigraphic accounts of the sedimentary successions of former North Yemen with specific
reference to the western part (the high plateau) augmented by palaeontological determinations by Basse
(1930) and Basse et al. (1954) and palaeobotanical determinations by Carpentier and Lamare (1932).
More regional and arealy extensive and relatively
detailed investigations have taken place since World War
II, covering most aspects of geological studies. Geukens
(1955, 1960, 1966) travelled much of (former North)
Yemen for the United Nations Development Programmes and augmented the lithostratigraphic data
obtained by Lamare and his colleagues. Beydoun and his
colleagues supplemented the initial basic lithostratigraphic data on the then Aden Protectorate (later
former South Yemen) obtained by lraq Petroleum Company geologists (Wetzel and Morton, 1948-1950, unpublished) and established the first formal lithostratigraphic
nomenclature for the southern Yemen region (Beydoun,
1960, 1964, 1966; Beydoun and Greenwood, 1968). This
led to the first reconnaissance and more detailed geological maps for the Eastern Aden Protectorate (part of
former South Yemen) being published (Beydoun, 1963,
1964). Greenwood and Bleackley (1967) carried out field
investigations and photogeological mapping in the western part of the then Aden Protectorate (part of former
South Yemen), subdividing the Basement rocks and in
general, utilising the Phanerozoic lithostratigraphic units
established by Beydoun and his colleagues (Beydoun,
1964, 1966). This work has been published as two geological map sheets on 1:250,000 scale (Greenwood, 1967)
and as descriptive text (Greenwood and Bleackley, 1967;
Beydoun and Greenwood, 1968). Additional observations but of a more local nature on the lithology of the

stratigraphic succession together with palaeontological/palynological age dating in connection generally

with economic objectives, were provided by Fricke
(1953), Lipparini (1954) and Schott (1960) for the former
North Yemen which helped to further refine unit limits
for the still semi-formal nomenclature utilised there,
The first systematic geological investigation of the Socotra archipelago was by Kossmat (1907) in which the
chronostratigraphy of the outcropping sedimentary succession was broadly established. This was followed much
later by more detailed geological mapping and stratigraphic and structural investigations by Beydoun (1953)
and by Bichan (1967) (concentrating principally on the
Basement rocks) which were reported on by Beydoun
and Bichan (1970) and compared and correlated with the
adjacent areas of southern Arabia and northern Somalia
by Beydoun (1970, 1982). Very recently, Bott et al. (1994)
and Richardson et al. (1995) published considerable new
information on the Socotran archipelago from the results
of onshore geological and offshore geophysical studies.
Since the 1980s, staff members of the Department of
Geology of Sana'a University have carried out more
detailed local stratigraphical and sedimentological studies on the Mesozoic sedimentary succession of former
North Yemen. (A selected list includes: Abou Khadrah,
1982; Abou Khadrah et al., 1983; E1-Anbaawy, 1984; ElAnbaawy and A1-Thour, 1989; El-Nakhal, 1984, 1985,
1987, 1988, 1990; AI-Subbary et al., 1993; Simmons and
AI-Thour, 1994). A synthesis on the evolution of the
southeastern Red Sea rift margin involving British and
Yemeni researchers and observations on Miocene salt
deformation along the Red Sea coast of Yemen, were
recently published (Davison et al., 1994, 1996). E1Nakhal's work was the first serious and systematic
attempt at formalising lithostratigraphic nomenclature
for the former North Yemen. Additionally, a number of
publications principally addressing the nature and chronology of Tertiary magmatism in Yemen and its relationship to structural evolution and sedimentary response
have appeared in recent years. A selected list includes:
Civetta et al. (1978), Chiesa et al. (1983, 1989), Capaldi
et al. (1987), Menzies et al. (1990, 1992), Huchon et al.
(1991), Tard et al. (1991 ) and Mattash and Balogh (1994).
Detailed surface geological mapping by various international and governmental assistance agencies, both
prior to and after unification of the formerly two separate
parts of Yemen (in 1990), included 1:250,000 and
1:100,000 scale sheets as well as smaller scale maps for
specific areas. Most of these, however, with some exceptions (e.g. Kruck and Thiele, 1983; Schuppel and Wienholz, 1990), used already existing informal, semi-formal
and formal nomenclature in describing the various lithostratigraphic units utilised in the mapping or in the assessment of the structure and structural processes (Jungwirth
and As-Saruri, 1990). A number addressed Cretaceous/
Tertiary lithostratigraphic problems (Weigelt and Wienholz, 1990; Schuppel and Wienholz, 1990; As-Saruri and
Langbein, 1995).
Hydrocarbon-related papers of direct and indirect relevance to the topic being addressed have been appearing
since the late 1980s. These comprise regional studies that
include Yemen, or papers specifically dealing with portions or sectors within the country. Amongst them are
Beydoun (1989), Huurdeman et al. (1989), Haitham and
Nani (1990), Paul (1990), Doornenbal et al. (1991),
Hughes and Beydoun (1992), CrossleT et al. (1992),

Mesozoic stratigraphy and nomenclature for Yemen: Z. R. Beydoun

Barnard et al. (1992), Mitchell et al. (1992), Bott et al.
(1992), Beydoun and Sikander (1992), Schlumberger
(1992) and Beydoun et al. (1993, 1996), Toland et al.
(1994), Redfern and Jones (1995), Ellis et al. (1996).
For purposes of the present discussion on the Mesozoic
stratigraphy of Yemen, especially relating to stratigraphic
nomenclature for the whole country, the principal relevant sources from the above historical survey list are
those dealing with a semi-formal nomenclature. For
example, those proposed by Lamare (1930, 1936) with
amplifications by Geukens (1960, 1966) and by Karrenberg (In Basse et al., 1954), and E1-Nakhal's attempt
at formalising this nomenclature for the former Yemen
Arab Republic or North Yemen (E1-Nakhal, 1987, 1988,
1990), and the formal nomenclature published by
Beydoun (1964, 1966) and Beydoun and Greenwood
(1968) for the former People's Democratic Republic of
Yemen or South Yemen. Additionally, see Redfern and
Jones (1995), Richardson et al. (1995) and Ellis et al.
(1996) who use a mixture of informal and somewhat
arbitrarily revised formal and informal nomenclature
schemes utilised by some oil and service companies (Figures 1 and 2, Hunt Oil, SPT and others); Toland et al.
(1994) who utilise a sequence stratigraphic approach to
correlate with lithostratigraphic ones; Simmons and A1Thour (1994) who have used biozonation to subdivide
Lamare's Amran 'Series' in the Sana'a region and correlate outwards.
As is evident from the above quite extensive but by no
means exhaustive list (which virtually excludes Precambrian studies), considerable amounts of data are now
available to form a country-wide framework for more
localised and detailed investigations.

Stratigraphic principles and procedures

Stratigraphy provides methods of analysis and interpretation which are central to many fields of geological investigations. Lithostratigraphy (the description, definition
and naming of rock units) is fundamental to all other
branches of stratigraphy as it permits the correct recognition of the spatial relationships of rock units both
vertically (in time) and laterally (in space) and thus, promotes more accurate biostratigraphical and chronostratigraphical correlations and conclusions (Whittaker
et al., 1991).
A stratigraphic unit is a naturally occurring body of
sedimentary rock that is distinguished from the adjoining
bodies of rock on the basis of some stated properties,
principally lithological. Stratigraphic classification,
therefore, provides the understanding of the geometry
and sequence of rock bodies (units). Formalisation in
nomenclature is particularly appropriate for units requiring stability, especially where these extend well beyond
the area where they were first recognised. In consequence,
formalisation should only be carried out according to
established and internationally recognised rules in order
to safeguard these objectives. Change for the sake of
change, either in creating new formal names because of
inadequacies in existing ones, or abandoning well-established existing names because they do not fully meet
modern criteria, is to be avoided because it leads to instability and confusion; apparent inadequacies not catered
for are correctable by redefinition or revision (NACSN,
1983).

619

Four principal categories of stratigraphic units are

internationally recognised: lithostratigraphic, biostratigraphic, chronostratigraphic and geochronologic.
The main concern of this paper is with the lithostratigraphic unit and with the application of the principal rules and procedures that should be followed in
lithostratigraphic usage in Yemen, in the light of what
has been stated in the proceeding two paragraphs. The
reader is referred to the North American Stratigraphic
Code (NACSN, 1983) and more specifically to Articles
1, 3 5, 7 20, 22, 24-25, 28 and 30 for details.

Discussion
The stratigraphic nomenclature schemes utilised for the
sedimentary column of Yemen up until the middle of
the 1980s were based entirely on formal to semi-formal
lithostratigraphic units described from measured surface
sections exposed mainly in the dissected and faulted
shoulders of the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea rifts and in
the high plateau of the western part of Yemen for the
Mesozoic and older successions (Fiyures 1 and 2). For
the Palaeogene units, the dissected plateau tableland
covering the eastern part of the country provided the type
localities, whereas embayments along the Gulf of Aden
and Red Sea coastal areas furnish the type localities for
the Neogene sedimentary successions. As indicated earlier, formalisation of nomenclature according to internationally recognised rules took place in the 1960s for
the area formerly known as the Aden Protectorate; from
1967 until union with the Yemen Arab Republic in 1990,
this was known as the People's Democratic Republic of
Yemen, extending from Bah al Mandab at the entrance
to the Red Sea in the west to Ras Darbat All on the
border with the Dhofar Province of Oman (Figure 3) in
the east (Beydoun, 1964, 1966; Beydoun and Greenwood,
1968). That work incorporated and partly modified the
semi-formally described but well established names for
former North Yemen by Lamare (1930) and Geukens
(1960, 1966) covering the Jurassic System (Kohlan and
Amran ~Series' modified to Kohlan Formation and
Amran Group) and the Cretaceous System (Taoulah
'Series' modified to Tawilah Group). A number of
attempts were subsequently made in the 1980s to formalise the Lamare and Geukens nomenclature used in
former North Yemen by renaming/redefining/revising/
abandoning various units in accordance with international rules, (E1-Nakhal, 1987, 1988, 1990),
Subsurface hydrocarbon exploration initially commenced with drilling in the early 1960s in the Red Sea
coastal area of former North Yemen and somewhat later
(middle 1960s) in the northern interior part of former
South Yemen along and north of the Hadhramawt Arch
(Figure 3), The exploration effort developed sporadically
during the 1970s but was increasingly backed by both
regional and detailed geophysical surveys by an increasing number of seismic parties. Yet more intensive exploration activity from the 1980s, and especially during the
early 1990s after unification, has gradually unravelled a
complex Mesozoic tectonic history and basin evolution,
the distribution and outlines of which had hitherto been
masked under the overlying tabular Tertiary blanket of
sediments and/or extrusive flood basalts. This tectonic
evolution was principally linked to the Late Jurassic
Early Cretaceous breakup of Gondwana and was

Mesozoic stratigraphy and nomenclature for Yemen: Z. R. Beydoun

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Mesozoic stratigraphy and nomenclature for Yemen: Z. R. Beydoun

initiated along ancient lines of crustal weakness related
to a basement grain developed during the final stages of
cratonization of the Arabian Shield. Rejuvenation of
these NW-SE and E-W oriented fracture systems during
Mesozoic breakup of Gondwana was mainly in the form
of polyphase extensional tectonics. Individual basin
inception has been time-staggered with the NW SE fracture system rejuvenation along the ancient Najd fault
trend commencing in'? Kimmeridgian times in the AdDhali' basin and the Sab'atayn basin (Marib-ShabwaHajar sectors) (Schlumberger, 1992; Beydoun et al., 1996;
Ellis et al., 1996) and propagating into the Balhaf basin
in Cretaceous times (Beydoun et al., 1993, 1996) (Figure 3).
By contrast, the Say'un-Al Masila basin appears to have
evolved principally during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous with the Jiza-Qamar basin subsiding rapidly as a
depression principally during the Cretaceous but continuing well into the Tertiary in its eastern sector (Bott et
al., 1992; Beydoun et al., 1993, 1996; Redfern and Jones,
1995; Ellis et al., 1996; see also Jungwirth and As-Saruri,
1990). Episodic subsidence movements punctuated by
sporadic and Iocalised short pulses of inversion and erosion appear to have affected some basins or sectors of
basins but there is as yet insufficient regional control to
enable more specific preciseness, particularly as Tertiary
movements have overprinted their signature on the earlier
picture.
This history of Mesozoic extension, subsidence and
partial inversion in basin development has given rise to
considerable variations in the details of sedimentation at
the local level but, nevertheless, it does not obscure overall broad patterns of sedimentation. These were, however,
only very generally understood prior to subsurface exploration and even then, were incompletely grasped as
exploration proceeded because of confidentiality considerations, with individual operating companies arriving
at conclusions which were principally based on results
within the limits of their concession area blocks and on
any traded data. This, understandably, led to the development of company-centred informal stratigraphic
nomenclature schemes whose principal objective was to
facilitate operations within the individual company's concession and not ultimate communication in journals. It
was inevitable that such convenience approaches should
result in the proliferation of expendiently-designed informal nomenclature schemes; these, regretably, have been
extended beyond their intended in-house usages to neighbouring and distant concession areas through data exchange. Unfortunately (although again understandable in
competitive hurry), in developing these various in-house
schemes, only cursory lip service could be paid to comparisons with the established surface nomenclature,
which was initially erected and described in order to
facilitate correlation. It was either regarded as inappropriate to the local requirements of the subsurface and
substituted by locally applicable schemes (e.g. Figure 1,
Hunt Oil column), or else, hurriedly amended as desired
for reasons of expediency without the proper consideration of accepted international guidelines and procedures. As more successful new hydrocarbon discoveries
were made by some operators, increased activity by hopeful new-comers resulted in further adaptations and modifications to informal in-house oriented usage. A close
look at Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the point being made,
namely that one can hardly make a straight time line
correlation between the same formations even in con-

623

tiguous blocks of small areal extent. [t must be stressed

that these figures are intended to illustrate differences and
are not intended to act as sources of information, their
packed details being illustrations of the differences to
nomenclature approach by different companies.
The situation has also been partly aggravated in two
other ways. Firstly through increased research by academics from universities within and outside the country
(having little or no access to the new subsurface data
acquired since the late 1980s) who have carried out more
detailed investigations of surface exposures in relatively
small areas mainly on the high plateau, or arealy disconnected investigations of varying detail over wider
areas. Some of these researchers also proposed alterations
to nomenclature without due regard to formal procedures
while others proposed alterations or formalisations which
could not take into full account the stratigraphy of the
whole country becoming known from the subsurface
data. Secondly, by some of the service companies and
contracted groups working for operating oil companies
and/or governmental agencies on specific projects such
as biostratigraphic studies, geochemical source rock
analysis, mineral investigations, integration of geological
mapping, or hydrocarbon exploration promotion.
The inescapable results of all this have been further
mixing and proliferation of informal with modified and
unmodified formal nomenclature with creeping alterations to the latter without either due justification or even
acknowledgment of the presence of a formal nomenclature scheme that should first be addressed. More critically, the question of nomenclature has gradually taken
on the aspect of essentially being a subsurface problem
where instrumental-based characteristics (wire line logs
and/or seismic reflectors) are increasingly replacing lithological descriptions and lithostratigraphic correlations.
(e.g. Figures 1 and 2, SPT column, based entirely on
subsurface data).
This confused history in the Yemen will be no surprise
to those familiar with many other world locations where
the subsurface data obtained by rapid competitive hydrocarbon exploration, although incompletely digested, has
overpowered existing geological syntheses built solely on
surface data. However, thankfully in the case of Yemen,
this near-chaotic situation has wisely been confronted
and addressed by the Yemen Ministry of Oil and Mineral
Resources with the creation by Ministerial Decree No.
4 for 1995 establishing an official Yemen Stratigraphic
Commission comprising specialists from the relevant
official bodies in the country concerned with earth sciences and geology whose mandate has already been outlined earlier.

Conclusions
With the full cooperation of the major operating companies now working in the country, both in the provision
of basic data and in feed-back on the suggested changes
as these progressed, the Commission's work has moved
apace, with its first priority being the rationalisation of
Mesozoic stratigraphic nomenclature, the subject of this
paper.
During their deliberations and in arriving at their decissions, the members of the Stratigraphic Commission were
always fully aware that lithostratigraphic schemes and
terms evolve with time in the sense of usage of their

624

Mesozoic stratigraphy and nomenclature for Yemen: Z. R. Beydoun

components as new information (especially subsurface

data) is acquired and becomes incorporated; moreover,
that these terms are often applied as befits an immediate
purpose and may later need modification and that flexibility within a recognised framework is the proper
approach. With all this in mind and as a first step in
presentation, a revised but simplified country-wide lithostratigraphic nomenclature scheme for the Mesozoic formations of Yemen linked to the onset of Mesozoic basin
inception and the distribution of basins and inter-basin
platforms and highs (Figure 3), is graphically presented
(Figures 4 and 5).
Figure 3 is based on a considerable amount of in-house
subsurface well control and geophysical data undertaken
by several members of the Commission, which were analysed and incorporated into a country-wide outline map
omitting details. Earlier published work was amalgamated where analysis indicated reliability. It was first
necessary to understand basin and inter-basin platform
and uplift distribution and timing before proceeding in
reasonable confidence with stratigraphic correlation.
Figures 4 and 5 summarise the principal results of the
Commission's lengthy reviews, considerations and
deliberations on the basis of Figure 3 and in the light of
the operating oil companies' comments and feed back;
the highlights of these, are briefly discussed below. Figure
4 is presented by basin because all Jurassic deposits on
the intervening highs (except for the high plateau in the
west) are absent. By contrast, Figure 5 is presented by
longitude as Cretaceous deposits cover the entire country,
the transgression advancing from east to west; this format
better shows facies developments and the reasons behind
nomenclature changes. Only the earlier formalised group
rank units are shown, the correlations being based on the
basic formation units and their subdivisions.
1. The Commission emphasises that the nomenclature
scheme (based on surface sections) formalised in
Beydoun and Greenwood (1968) which also incorporated revision and formalisation to the lithostratigraphic nomenclature of Lamare (1930, 1936)
and Geukens (1960, 1966) is the official lithostratigraphic nomenclature for the whole of Yemen.
2. This nomenclature scheme, however, is in need of
correction, revision, expansion and updating in the
light of considerable volumes of new subsurface data
and scattered but detailed new surface data made
available to the Commission by the operating oil
companies, the Ministry of Oil and Mineral
Resources in Yemen and some of the university
researchers.
3. In the processes of correction, revision, expansion
and updating, one new formation, only recently
recognised as a separate unit, and several members
have been added with scope for other additions on
the member level and for changes in rank for other
units as the need arises.
4. The greater diachronous nature of some of these
earlier formalised units has become evident from the
new detailed surface and biostratigraphic work; two
iithostratigraphic units for certain were either miscorrelated or misrecognised between some limited
outcrop areas leading to misties or to some misconceptions. These are in the process of correction
and/or revision for the forthcoming expanded edition
of the Lexicon of Stratigraphy for Yemen and are
only briefly mentioned below.

5. The term Amran Group (instead of Amran Series of

Lamare, 1930) for the Sana'a region has been
adopted in preference to Surdud Group (E1-Nakhal,
1990), because it can (although not easily) be broken
up into formations correlatable with the respective
formations of the Amran Group of the southern
coastal area and the Saba'tayn basin (E1-Nakhal,
1990). This problem, however, remains debatable
and will be discussed in more detail in the forthcoming Lexicon. The age range is from latest Bathonian to Tithonian including the 'Transition Beds'.
6. It is recognised that the type section of the Shuqra
formation does not reflect either the full succession
or the age range of this unit and that on the high
plateau and in the southern exposures, the onset of
carbonate sedimentation is varyingly diachronous,
ranging from as early as latest Bathonian to as late
as Callovian, whereas in the interior basins the carbonate transgression in some subsurface well penetrations is even later (i.e. later units than the
Shuqra). Moreover, the Shuqra carbonate sequence
in the eastern coastal part of the Balhaf-Wadi Hajar
area, is laterally interbedded with shale intervals, the
various components of which are deserving of member rank if future work confirms their extent. In the
meantime, the term Shuqra Formation is retained
with scope for further subdivision into members as
shown in Figure 4.
7. All the informal Jurassic units in the Marib-Al Jawf
sector of the Saba'tayn basin that had been named
and assigned formational rank by Hunt Oil (Figure 1)
have been reduced to member rank within the
Madbi and Saba'tayn Formations (Figure 4).
Although proper name substitution for many of these
in lieu of the present Arabic alphabet letters, would
have been desirable, (e.g. Alif=A, Sean=S,
Meem=M, L a m = L , etc.), their long established
usage precluded this in view of the confusion it would
have created.
8. It is now evident from the recent surface work carried
out in the coastal areas of the Sab'atayn/Balhaf and
Masila basins, that what had been described as the
Nayfa Formation type section at Ma'abir near Nayfa
in Beydoun and Greenwood (1968) should, in fact,
be that for the porcellanite unit of the older Madbi
Formation; it was decided to call this sequence the
Ma'abir Member of the Madbi Formation and reassign to it the 'Nayfa type section'. It now became
necessary to either chose another name for the Nayfa
which is totally impractical in view of its long established and wide usage, or chose another type section;
the second alternative is the lesser of the evils and the
Mintaq section is being considered for this purpose
after field checks by Commission members.
9. In consequence, the Madbi Formation has now to
be expanded from its rather limited and thinner succession description and restricted age range given
in Beydoun and Greenwood (1968) at Jabal Madbi
(233m and Upper Oxfordian to Upper Kimmeridgian) which really only represents the 'Lower
Madbi Shales', to include the Madbi Porcellanite
(now Ma'abir Member) and most of the upper part
of the Nayfa Formation 'referance' section at Jabal
Madbi now also known informally as the 'Upper
Madbi Shale'; this takes in the conglomeratic/
turbiditic intervals including sands equivalent to

Mesozoic stratigraphy and nomenclature for Yemen: Z R. Beydoun 625

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Mesozoic stratigraphy and nomenclature for Yemen: Z. R. Beydoun

the Lam and Raydan Members of the Marib sector of
the Sab'atayn basin (Figure 4); the age range expands
correspondingly to Late Kimmeridgian or to possibly early Tithonian locally.
10. The Nayfa Formation directly overlies the Madbi
where the Sab'atayn Formation evaporites were not
deposited; where the Sab'atayn is present it generally
unconformably overlies the Madbi and is apparently
conformably followed by the Nayfa limestones. The
Nayfa is in turn overlain by the Sarr formation first
recognised in the AI Qarn well in Wadi Hadhramawt
in 1990. To date, no reliable information has been
available as to how the transliterated name should
sound (Sarr or Saar) and after what locality it was
named, but the second spelling is now in wider use
because of extensive surface field work in the Wadi
Masila coastal area carried into the Hajar/Balhaf
basins to the west. This work has revealed good
exposures previously unrecognised as representing a
separate unit above the Nayfa and prograding diachronously into Nayfa depositional basins (Figure 5).
A type section is to be assigned to this new Formation
in the lower Wadi Masila basin with a formal description from sections measured by J. D. Smewing for
the Canadian Occidental Company, which were provided to the Commission for this purpose.
11. Unconformably overlying the Saar is the Qishn Formation which has turned out to be more complex
than was initially thought from the early field work.
Since it forms an important oil exploration target in
the Sa'yun-Masila and Jiza' basins (Figure 3), subsurface data have helped greatly in unravelling some
of these complexities. For one thing, the Al-Furt well
in the western extremity of the Jiza' basin encountered an unusual succession of shales, marls and
minor limestone interbeds over 750 m thick; this succession was informally referred to as 'Pre-Qishn B'
and subsequently thought to be equivalent to the
Madbi (Beydoun et al., 1993) but is now confirmed
as of Hauterivian-Barremian age. The sucession was
assigned formation status by SPT (1994) with the AIFurt well as the type section, As these beds have not
been encountered elsewhere in the Jiza' basin or the
adjacent Say'un basin in a comparable facies, the
Commission prefers to assign them member rank
within the Qishn Formation and the name Sa'af
Member (with reference to the nearest distinct geographic feature to the well) is proposed until such
time as areal extent justifies separation into formation rank. This sequence is overlain by the now
well known Qishn succession divisible into a number
of lithologically distinct but informal members still
to be named. The lower Wadi Masila area may provide a possible type section (M. D. Simmons and J.
D. Smewing, personal communication, 1996).
The Mesozoic nomenclature scheme is now in the process
of review and fleshing out prior to finalised documentation in a more comprehensively detailed format.
The final results are planned to be published in 1997
together with Palaeozoic and Tertiary nomenclature in a
revised and expanded new edition of the International
Lexicon of Stratigraphy for Yemen which will also incorporate the latest relevant data from ongoing surface and
subsurface investigations.

627

Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges with gratitude the constructive
comments of his colleagues on the Yemen Stratigraphic
Commission, in particular Dr Rashid S. Baraba, Dr Mustara L. As-Saruri, Dr lsmail N. A1-Ganad, Dr Abdul
Sattar O. Nani and Professor Hamed A. EI-Nakhal. Dr
M. W. Hughes Clarke reviewed the manuscript and made
many helpful comments and constructive suggestions
which have greatly improved the paper. Dr D. J. Sheridan
and Dr C. D. Walley are also thanked for their comments
and Dr M. D. Simmons, Dr J, D. Smewing and Dr M.
E. Tringham are gratefully acknowledged for their in
depth feed-back remarks concerning the stratigraphic
figure charts; Dr Simmons is also thanked for his constructive comments and suggestions which have given the
paper more balance. Mr Maroun ljreiss and Mrs Huda
Abdul Sater of the Department of Geology American
University of Beirut are thanked for respectively drawing
the figures and typing the manuscript.

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