--> Abstract: The Messinian Salinity Crisis in the Nile Delta: Chasing Shallow Marine Reservoirs in a Deep-water Basin, by Piet Lambregts, Willem Ottes, and Ahmed El Barkooky; #90072 (2007)

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The Messinian Salinity Crisis in the Nile Delta: Chasing Shallow Marine Reservoirs in a Deep-water Basin

Piet Lambregts1, Willem Ottes2, and Ahmed El Barkooky3
1Shell Egypt NV, Cairo, Egypt
2SPDC, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
3Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

The Messinian / Upper Miocene sequence in the Nile Delta consists of three evaporitic mega cycles starting in the Middle Tortonian and ending in the Late Messinian. A major incised valley (the Abu Madi canyon) with fluvial and shallow-marine deposits in an overall evaporitic environment characterizes the play. Three unconformities that are easily recognized in the canyon translate into their correlative conformities basinward, associated with thick halites. Reservoir is proven for each cycle: the Tortonian Qawasim Fm and the Messinian Lower and Upper Abu Madi Fms. The Kafr El Sheikh Fm, deposited during the major transgression in Early Pliocene, represents the ultimate top seal. This play is well established, including the Abu Madi field with 3Tcf, the third largest field in the Nile Delta. The play, however, is almost creamed in the inboard Nile Delta.
Outside the canyon, basinward, marine-to-evaporitic conditions prevailed. Laterally extensive reservoirs of likely shallow marine origin are present, separated by halite sequences, and have been proven by only 2 wells. One of them was a gas discovery in the Upper Abu Madi Fm. Both wells also found excellent reservoirs in the Lower Abu Madi Fm. This canyon front area is exclusively present in Shell Egypt's deepwater NEMed concession. Shell will drill two further play testers in the upcoming 2007 drilling campaign. One will test the Tortonian Qawasim Fm., which has not been penetrated so far in this area. Furthermore, core will be taken to uniquely determine the depositional environment. These tests will undoubtedly result in a step change of the understanding of the Messinian Salinity Crisis, and increase the exploration potential of the deep water Nile Delta.

 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90072 © 2007 AAPG and AAPG European Region Conference, Athens, Greece