Faraghan Formation is one of the Paleozoic clastic formations in the Zagros. Hydrocarbon potential of this formation as a reservoir has been proposed since the ninties. In the outcrops (in the north of Bandar Abbas city), this formation illustrates deposition in a shallow marine environment which becomesfiner grained southward with an increase in shaley layers. In formations with abundant shaley layers, hydrocarbon potential increases with burial depth. This fact is usually taken into account in investigating hydrocarbon potential (determining oil and gas windows and dry gas zone).
Considering computer based models in oil and gas wells, the maximum burial depth (MBD) of the Faraghan Formation is about 4400 meters. These simulated models only apply well data which are gained after drilling. These models are either not applicable to outcrops or produce erroneous results. In this project, diagenetic features and stable isotope studies of carbonate cements as a new method is used to find out maximum burial depth (MBD) of exposed Faraghan Formation. The resulted MBD via applying this method based on the diagenetic minerals (kaolinite, illite, chlorite, saddle dolomite) is between 4000-5000 meters and 4600 meters based on oxygen stable isotopes study. The latter depth correlates withMBDmodeled in the nearest well (about 20 kilometers away) in region.Moreover, this method can be applied to seek the accuracy of computer based MBD reconstructions.