Research paperImpact of inversion tectonics on hydrocarbon entrapment in the Baggara Basin, western Sudan

•The Baggara Basin is characterized by two boundary faults and a depocenter at the central part.•The Baggara Basin is affected by inversion tectonics during Eocene time and attributed to the strike slip movement of the two boundary faults.•Inversion tectonics created anticline structure, but this structure postdated the hydrocarbon migration.

The Baggara Basin of Sudan is an ENE-WSW trending basin located within the West and Central Africa Rift System (WCARS) and NW of the Muglad Basin. The trend of the Baggara Basin is similar to other basins in eastern Chad, where oil has been discovered. Since there are no published studies for the Baggara Basin, the present paper represents an addition to the geology of eastern extension of the WCARS in Sudan. The 2D seismic data interpretation sheds light on the development and evolution of key regional and local structures of the basin. The Baggara Basin is characterized by graben geometry with two boundary faults, characterized by dextral strike slip movement, and a depocenter at the central part. The interpretation reveals the presence of two types of structures within the Baggara Basin; inversion tectonics restricted to the larger basin-bounding faults in the western part and en-echelon faults in the central part. The timing of inversion tectonics is during the Eocene and it is related to a brief major compressional event due to the collision of the African and Eurasian plates. Although the inversion created a four-way dip closed anticline structure, this anticline postdated the initial migration from the source rock. Accordingly, the anticline structural is unsuccessful for hydrocarbon entrapment.