CONTRIBUTION TO THE GRAVIMETRIC AND MAGNETOMETRIC STUDY FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF ZONES WITH OIL POTENTIAL IN THE CENTRAL BASIN: CASE OF BLOCKS 1 AND 24 IN THE DRC

In the search for hydrocarbons, geologists, geochemists and geophysicists work together on the scale of a sedimentary basin. They seek to identify a petroleum system in order to maximise the chances of finding an accumulation of hydrocarbons in a specific part of the subsoil. The exploration campaign in the Cuvette Centrale began in the 1950s with geological, geophysical, geochemical and drilling campaigns carried out by several foreign organisations, including the Belgian firm Remina. These campaigns provided key information about the petroleum systems. These include the presence of hydrocarbon showings and geological structures that may favour the formation, migration and trapping of hydrocarbons. The main aim of this work is to highlight the geological structures of major petroleum interest, while identifying the geological structures found in our study area, particularly in Blocks 1 and 24 in the central basin of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and their petroleum interest, based on the processing and interpretation of magnetic and gravity data. To better study our sedimentary basin, we used the method of regional-residual separation and variation of the Magnetic Field, we had to highlight the faults in different directions North-West towards the South-East, the collapse trenches localised in the North-East, the zones of uplift of Socle which today constitute the top of Inongo. As never done before, this study develops a structural reference model by integrating the analysis of Bouguer and magnetic anomalies. It aims to locate zones of source rock maturation, identify possible hydrocarbon migration paths and pinpoint geological structures conducive to hydrocarbon accumulation. The results, presented in map form, are a strategic tool for petroleum exploration and the analysis of regional tectonic dynamics. In particular, it provides an unprecedented and detailed geophysical record for Blocks 1 and 24 of the Cuvette Centrale, enabling a targeted and efficient assessment of petroleum potential.