Intrasalt carbonates of the Ediacaran–Cambrian Ara Group constitute a significant reservoir element of the intrasalt “stringer” play in Oman, in which dolomitic carbonates are encased in salt at depths of 3 to 7 km (1.9 to 4.3 mi). These reservoir carbonates have significant microbial influences. Although Ara Group reservoirs are mostly latest Precambrian, the models developed here may be applicable to younger microbially dominated carbonate reservoirs in basins of higher salinity when higher organisms are excluded, in lacustrine settings where calcified invertebrates are not a significant source of carbonate, or after periods of mass extinction before faunal recovery. A broad range of carbonate facies provides the context in which to understand the origin of the microbialite-dominated reservoirs developed across both ramp and rimmed shelf profiles.

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