During joint Soviet-Syrian work to compile a tectonic map of Syria on
a scale of 1:500,000, a number of previously unknown structural featur
es of the Paleozoic complex of the sedimentary cover were found that p
ermit two important conclusions. First, it was found that the main str
uctural rearrangement within the Syrian part of the Arabian plate occu
rred at the Paleozoic-Mesozoic boundary, since at precisely this time
a sharp change in tectonic movements occurred, which caused a change i
n the overall distribution of sediments. Second, it was found that on
the site of the modern basement uplift of Rutba, there was an extensiv
e and deep (> 6 km) compensated sedimentary basin in the Paleozoic, wh
ich opened to the southeast toward the east Arabian pericratonic troug
h. This fact greatly enhances the prospects in the southeastern region
s of Syria (in particular, the Syrian desert) in the search for Paleoz
oic oil and gas deposits.