Heterogeneities of Late Cretaceous tropical carbonate platforms of the Middle East are yet to be fully understood. The analysis of carbonate microfacies with materials obtained from exploration wells can contribute to filling the noted gap. The present study focuses on the Coniacian–Santonian deposits near the Kazerun fault in the central part of the southern Zagros. The material from two exploration wells drilled east of this fault was used to establish carbonate microfacies and shale lithofacies and propose a depositional model. Six carbonate microfacies signify the existence of a homoclinal ramp, and inner-ramp environments were especially common. The stratigraphical distribution of the established microfacies made it possible to document a long-term transgression–regression cycle, which looks dissimilar to the global sea-level changes. Another control of this cycle might have been tectonic activity, particularly the activity of the Kazerun fault. The comparison of the lines of evidence from two wells east of this fault and two other wells west of this fault indicates striking differences.
Moradi-Doreh et al. (Wed,) studied this question.