PetroGeo-GIS: a GIS project for the Petroleum Geology of Isolated Carbonate Platforms of the Mediterranean Region

Abstract

The recent world class discovery of Zohr in the eastern Mediterranean has raised the interest on isolated carbonate platforms which have long been known to host important hydrocarbon reserves. However, the complexity of the Mediterranean geology and the high variability of the petroleum systems associated with Mediterranean Isolated Carbonate Platforms (MICPs) represent a challenge for the exploration of this target in the region. In order to address this issue, this work presents a proprietary, strongly petroleum-geology oriented GIS project on the geology, geophysics and hydrocarbon features related to the MICPs. The study area is basically represented by the Mediterranean region, with its orogenic belts, forelands and passive margins, but also some surrounding areas, such as the Balkans, the Black Sea and the Middle East. The data source used to build the GIS project is represented by papers, publicly available reports and original data, and includes outcrops and subsurface, offshore and onshore data. These are organized into layers and categorized and searchable attributes which provide information on several key features associated with MICPs, including distribution, geology, stratigraphy and sequence stratigraphy, sedimentology and GDEs, diagenesis and elements of the several petroleum systems associated with these structures. The architecture of the GIS project is thought to promote the integration of information that are commonly analyzed separately and to allow the analysis of information from a local to a regional scale. Moreover, the multi-layered structure of the PetroGeo-Gis allows layer addictions and integrations with other spatial or geological databases. The PetroGeo-GIS represents an analytic and systematic approach that enhances the value of local data for the exploration and contributes to develop and re-evaluate ICP plays in underexplored and in already explored areas.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90341 ©2019 AAPG Geoscience Technology Workshop, Exploration and Development of Siliciclastic and Carbonate Reservoirs in the Eastern Mediterranean, Tel Aviv, Israel, February 26-27, 2019