Biostratigraphy of the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene Anah and Bajwan Formations at Selected Sections of Northern Iraq

The Late Oligocene-Early Miocene including Anah and Bajwan formations have been studied in selected areas of Sulamaniyah (Aj-Dagh and Basara sections) and Kirkuk governorate within Bai Hassan Oilfield (BH-3 and BH-4), which is located within the Western Zagros Fold Thrust Belt, Northern, and Northeastern Iraq. The palaeontological investigations mainly depended on benthonic foraminifera of the studied sections of Aj-Dagh and Basara, as well as the studied wells of Bai Hassan OilField (BH-3, and BH-4) of Anah and Bajwan formations, twenty-four species belonging to fourteen genera recognized of benthonic foraminifera, with five index fossils determining the age of the formations as Late Oligocene-Early Miocene, which have been recognized through this study, especially benthonic foraminiferal, indicating four zones as Praerhapydionina delicata range zone, Austrotrillina howchini-Peneroplis evolutus zone, Concurrent range, and Miogypsinoides complanate-Lepidocyclina (Nephrolepidina) sp. Concurrent zone.