The < 900-m-thick Paleogene carbonates of the Maltese Islands and offshore wells comprise 16 facies grouped into 7 carbonate facies associations (TA, TB, TC, TD1, TD2, TE1 and TE2). Previous works misclassified facies as belonging to a carbonate ramp, which derailed hydrocarbon exploration. This study confirms that the 200-km-wide, flat-topped, Malta isolated carbonate platform consists of coarse-grained, platform margin sediments surrounding the muddy, shallow marine interior that was tectonically segmented by half graben during foreland extension. Dating by correlation to benthic foraminiferal zones reveals two > 15 Ma-long depositional hiatuses that bound the Eocene carbonates. Cyclic sediments are capped by Eocene gypsum beds and Oligocene palaeosols and were controlled by third-order sea level cycles. About 700 m of inner platform sediments accumulated from the Eocene (TA and TB) to the early Chattian (TC) until an abrupt and ubiquitous change to platform margin facies dominated by coralline red algae and subordinate corals (TD1). The succeeding transgressive rhodalgal biostrome (TD2) aggraded > 40 m and prograded into underfilled half graben, later capped by mobile dunes of large benthic foraminifera (TE1). Deeper water oligophotic to aphotic biota (TE2) draped over the platform by the late Chattian. Increased foreland subsidence and the spread of coarse-grained platform margin sediments signals the beginning of the drowning succession reflecting environmental stress, the decline of coral reef builders, reduced sedimentation rate and increased dispersal rates, culminating in hardgrounds along the drowning surface that terminated carbonate platform sedimentation by the end of the Chattian.

马耳他群岛和近海油井的 < 900 米厚的古近系碳酸盐岩由 16 个相组成，分为 7 个碳酸盐相组合（TA、TB、TC、TD1、TD2、TE1 和 TE2）。以前的工作错误地将相分类为属于碳酸盐斜坡，从而使碳氢化合物勘探脱轨。这项研究证实，200 公里宽、平顶、孤立的马耳他碳酸盐台地由粗粒台缘沉积物组成，周围是泥泞的浅海内部，在前陆延伸过程中被半地堑构造分割。通过与底栖有孔虫带相关的测年揭示了两个 > 15 Ma 长的沉积裂隙，它们与始新世碳酸盐岩相结合。循环沉积物被始新世石膏床和渐新世古土壤所覆盖，并受三级海平面旋回的控制。从始新世（TA和TB）到早期Chattian（TC）积累了约700 m的内部平台沉积物，直到以珊瑚红藻和附属珊瑚（TD1）为主的平台边缘相突然而普遍地发生变化。随后的海侵 rhodalgal biostrome (TD2) 加厚 > 40 m 并前进到未充填的半地堑，后来被大型底栖有孔虫 (TE1) 的移动沙丘覆盖。较深的水寡光到无光生物群 (TE2) 由已故的 Chattian 覆盖在平台上。增加的前陆沉降和粗粒台地边缘沉积物的扩散标志着溺水序列的开始，反映了环境压力、珊瑚礁建造者的减少、沉积速率降低和扩散速率增加，