Abstract:

The Gabon coastal basin is the passive margin basin whose sedimentary cover includes the Cretaceous, the Paleogene and the Neogene. The sedimentary strata are divided into three parts: presalt strata, salt strata and postsalt strata. According to the exploration status, postsalt petroleum system is mainly located in the north of subbasin and presalt petroleum system in the south of subbasin. The paper compares the two subbasins in the fields of the geology background, petroleum geology parameter, size and the exploration potential. The research result is that the key for the south subbasin exploration is trap identification and the key for the north subbasin exploration is sand prediction. 

Key words: Gabon coastal basin, presalt strata, postsalt strata;trap identification, sand prediction