Egypt Beni Suef Basin Petroleum Systems from Oil Geochemistry and Basin Modeling

Abstract

The Beni Suef Basin lies approximately 150 km south of Cairo in north central Egypt, and is bisected by the present day Nile Valley. The oldest stratigraphy recorded is lower Kharita Formation shallow marine and deltaic sediments deposited on Pre‐Cambrian granitic basement, followed by the major Cretaceous reservoir and seal sequences and Eocene Apollonia carbonates. This basin was elevated and underwent significant erosion as a result of pre‐rift thermal uplift from the Miocene opening of Red Sea. Late Cenozoic sediments are limited to the ancestral Nile Valley and along its margins. Geochemical interpretation of Beni Suef Basin oils suggests they have originated from source rocks of two different organofacies: a terrestrial facies (organofacies D/E) and a marine facies (organofacies B). Source rock geochemistry data confirmed the presence of organofacies D/E source within the Aptian/Early Albian Lower Kharita section and organofacies B source within the Turonian Abu Roash F section. Differences for these two groups of oils are clear among many oil geochemical parameters such as Pr/Ph, S%, and sterane indices. Also notable is that terrestrial oils from the older source form accumulations in deeper reservoirs such as Upper to Lower Bahariya and Kharita sands, while marine oil group from the younger source are found mostly in shallower reservoirs: Cenomanian Abu Roash A, E and G. This work aims to understand the petroleum systems of the Beni Suef basin through the integration of geochemical data and basin modeling.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90349 © 2019 AAPG Hedberg Conference, The Evolution of Petroleum Systems Analysis: Changing of the Guard from Late Mature Experts to Peak Generating Staff, Houston, Texas, March 4-6, 2019