ABSTRACT
The history of geological and petroleum exploration in parts of North Africa has been treated by Gentil (1902), Demoulin (1931), Desio (1967, 1968), Meckelein (1975), Said (1990b), EGPC (1992, 1994, 1996), Klitzsch (1994), Legrand (2002), Bettahar (2007), and Missenard et al. (2008), in addition to brief reviews of the history of specific geological points in the numerous publications on the geology of North Africa. The history of geological research in Egypt and Libya is treated in detail by (Tawadros, in preparation). The five North African countries treated here share many aspects in their geological make up, yet the pace and timing of the development of the geological ideas vary widely.
