Rub' al Khali Basin
The Rub' al Khali Basin () or / Basin, Arabic for "Empty Quarter Basin", is a major endorheic sedimentary basin of approximately in southern Saudi Arabia, northeastern Yemen, southeastern Oman and southeasternmost United Arab Emirates. The foreland on Mesozoic rift basin is geographically defined by the Rub' al Khali and covers the regions of Najran and Riyadh and the Eastern Province. The basin is geologically bound by the Central Arabian Arch in the north, the Oman Thrust in the east, the Northern Hadramaut Arch in the south and the Arabian Shield in the west. Politically, the southwestern boundary is formed by the border with Yemen and the border with Oman forms the southeastern boundary.

The stratigraphy of the basin ranges from Proterozoic to recent and comprises various cycles of clastic and carbonate sediments separated by regional unconformities. The stratigraphic column contains various levels of source rock formations, and reservoirs and seals are common in the late Paleozoic and Mesozoic succession. Traps are formed by the compression of the Oman Thrust in the east.

Compared to the petroleum producing areas to the north of the basin, the Rub' al Khali Basin is relatively underexplored and has two producing oil fields (Shaybah and Ramlah) and a gas field; Kidan. The Total Petroleum System assessment made by the USGS in 2019 analyzed the potential of the basin, with the Silurian Qusaiba and Cretaceous Thamama/Wasia systems as most prolific.
Q13955
Arabic
Concept
Q194502
endorheic
Concept
Q785020
sedimentary basin
Concept
Q851
Saudi Arabia
LOC
Q805
Yemen
LOC
Q842
Oman
LOC
Q878
United Arab Emirates
LOC
Q1978695
foreland
Concept
Q83222
Mesozoic
TIME
Q473935
rift basin
Concept
Q229269
Rub' al Khali
LOC
Q15728204
regions
LOC
Q464718
Najran
LOC
Q1249255
Riyadh
LOC
Q953508
Eastern Province
LOC
None
Central Arabian Arch
UNK
None
Oman Thrust
UNK
None
Northern Hadramaut Arch
UNK
Q1030132
Arabian Shield
UNK
Q805
Yemen
LOC
Q842
Oman
LOC
Q1988844
source rock
Concept
Q27519
Shaybah
LOC
None
Ramlah
UNK
None
Kidan
UNK
Q193755
USGS
ORG
None
Qusaiba
UNK
None
Thamama
UNK
None
Wasia
UNK
Q96402978
Rub' al Khali Basin
UNK
Q96402978
Rub' al Khali Basin
UNK
2019-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2019
DATE
country
country
country
shares border with
shares border with
diplomatic relation
shares border with