Cenozoic • Paleogene–Neogene GSP memoir

Panjgur Formation

Middle Miocene (Serravallian; ~13.8-11.6 Ma)

Cited in 7 sources Last reviewed Jul 30, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Cenozoic · Paleogene–Neogene · Middle MioceneMiddle Miocene (Serravallian; ~13.8-11.6 Ma)
Named by: HSC (1961)
Type locality: Makran Flysch Province, Balochistan Basin26.9706°N, 64.0887°E
Thickness: 1000-2000 m
Lithology: Predominantly sandstone with marine shale; clastic turbidites deposited as stacked deep-sea fan sequences.
Synonyms: Not recorded

The thick Oligocene–Miocene turbidite sandstones that build the ridges of the Makran wedge — the region's main potential gas/oil reservoir.

Major turbidite sequence in Makran. Part of world's largest accretionary wedge complex.

Fossils

Foraminifera Trace fossils

Contacts

In the Makran Coast column

SandstoneShale / mudFossils recordedContact not recorded

Band colour = period; texture = dominant rock type. Lines between bands mark the contact type; dotted = no contact recorded in the sources (not a claim of conformity). True scale makes height ∝ recorded thickness; hatched = thickness not recorded. Ages approximate, for ordering.

This unit (highlighted) within its province column; faded ends continue above and below. Line style marks the contact type.

Distribution & setting

Makran Coast

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: deep marine, submarine fan
Coordinates: 26.9706°N, 64.0887°E

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Correlation

Not recorded. Compare this unit against other basins on the correlation panel →

Economic significance

Reservoir Seal

The principal potential RESERVOIR unit of the Makran; its stacked turbidite sandstones have porosities up to ~18% and form exploration targets, with Hoshab/Parkini shales as source and seal.

Remarks

A very thick Oligocene–Early Miocene turbidite succession of the Khojak–Panjgur submarine-fan complex, the ridge-forming backbone of the Makran accretionary wedge — one of the largest accretionary prisms on Earth, fed by Himalayan-derived (Katawaz delta) detritus.

Research notes (4)

Field-by-field findings drawn from the cited literature. Every statement is traced to a registered source — follow a citation for the full reference.

Age & correlation (1)

Current record lists Eocene–Oligocene; modern provenance and biostratigraphic work (Kassi et al.; Cromie et al. 2022) dates the Panjgur Formation as Oligocene–Early Miocene.

Cromie, C., Scarselli, N., Craig, J., Khan, M.R. & Hussain, A. (2022)

Economic significance (2)

Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Panjgur Formation is a Miocene slope/shale unit of the Makran (Panjgur) accretionary prism, cited as both a hydrocarbon source rock and a reservoir ('Talar and Panjgur sandstones'); 'Panjgur' is also a major Makran thrust. Consistent with the curated Middle Miocene age.

Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997)
The Lower Miocene Panjgur Formation is the principal reservoir target of the Makran: stacked turbidite/submarine-fan sandstones (estimated 450 m to 2-3 km thick) with favourable reservoir characteristics, sealed by overlying Parkini mudstones; the primary offshore exploration target (Cromie et al. 2022).

Cromie, C., Scarselli, N., Craig, J., Khan, M.R. & Hussain, A. (2022)

Geological significance (1)

Khan et al. (2024): the Panjgur Formation's deep-sea submarine-fan turbidites form part of the offshore Makran accretionary prism — the world's largest — built by convergence of the Arabian plate beneath Eurasia (Early Cretaceous onset, with Middle Miocene renewed subduction); tectonic shortening and imbricate thrust faulting, with a continuous sediment influx, produced a ~7.5-km-thick sedimentary succession.

Khan, U., Khan, M., Shiguo, W. & Gao, J. (2024)

Sources (6)

Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
Cromie, P. et al. (2022). Tectonostratigraphic Evolution and Hydrocarbon Prospectivity South of Gwadar Bay, Makran Accretionary Wedge, Offshore SW Pakistan. (petroleum-system study).
OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.
Indian Plate Lexicon (indplex.geolex.org), Geological Society of India and international compilation.
Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.
Khan, U., Khan, M., Shiguo, W. & Gao, J. (2024). Geodynamics and structural evolution of Makran accretionary prism, Arabian-Eurasian convergent plate boundary. EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, abstract EGU24-17684.

Reviewer confidence: high

Every fact on this page is source-cited. This entry is part of the peer-archived Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset (doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991, CC‑BY‑4.0).

Lexicon status: Appears in a single-author Geological Survey of Pakistan memoir (Malkani & Mahmood 2017), not cross-confirmed against the Shah lexicon. The Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan is largely inactive, so documented provenance — not formal ratification — is the available signal.

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Cite this unit

APA

Qudsi, L. (2026). Panjgur Formation. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_panjgurformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Panjgur Formation} --- Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset},
  year      = {2026},
  publisher = {Zenodo},
  doi       = {10.5281/zenodo.21363991},
  url       = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991}
}

Archived dataset: doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991 (CC‑BY‑4.0) · Direct link to this entry: https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/panjgur-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: HSC (1961).

Below · older

Hoshab Formation

Paleogene-Neogene

Above · younger

Parkini Formation

Neogene