Print this pageHydrocarbon Habitat in the Gulf of Suez Rift Basin
ALSHARHAN, A. S., and M. G. SALAH
The Gulf of Suez oil basin contains an excess of 70 oil and gas fields and/or discoveries with reserves ranging from 1,350 to less than 1 MMbl. The lithostratigraphic units in this basin are grouped into two main megasequences, the prerift (pre-Oligocene) and the synrift (Oligocene to Recent) units. These lithostratigraphic units vary in facies, thickness and areal distribution along the basin.
The Gulf of Suez rift, representing the north-northwest extension of the Red Sea rift, lies in an extensional setting and is considered as a failed rift. Surface, gravity, magnetic, seismic and well data of more than 600 wells indicate that the basin consists of elongated troughs that contain several high trends. Both troughs and highs have the same Gulf of Suez trend (NW-SE) and are dissected by some cross elements which trend NE-SW and ENE-WSW.
Several pre-rift and syn-rift rich source units occur in the Gulf of Suez and are mature enough in the deep troughs to generate hydrocarbons. The geochemical parameters of more than 45 oil samples in the basin cleared the presence of two main oil groups. Most oil fields in the region have multiple producing reservoirs that range in age from Pre-Cambrian to Upper Miocene. The presence of thick Miocene evaporite sequence and the shales and dense carbonates of both pre-rift and syn-rift sequences form potential seals in the concerned area. Trap types include structural, stratigraphic and combination traps. The Gulf of Suez remains high in hydrocarbon potential with many untested plays especially in the northern and most southern parts.