East Zeit Field, Pre- and Syn-Rift Multi-Oil-Bearing Reservoirs as a Structural and Stratigraphic Model in the Southern Gulf of Suez Rift, Egypt

Osman, Heidar Saad, East Zeit Petroleum Company, Cairo, Egypt

The Gulf of Suez is a failed extensional rift basin. Rifting initiated during Early Miocene time. Three major fault trends are observed in the Gulf of Suez; rift parallel (NW-SE), north oblique and rift orthogonal cross elements. The Gulf of Suez rift is divided into three dip provinces separated by transfer zones. Each of this dip province has its own characteris­tics, which makes the hydrocarbon trapping mechanisms are different from one province to another.

The southern Gulf of Suez is dominated by SW dipping and characterized from the central and northern parts by more severe extension, faults are more frequent, smaller structural block size, thicker sand accumulations during the Miocene syn-rift sequences, thinner pre-rift sequences and well developed Miocene salt diapers. As a result, the southern part is more favorable for Miocene and Pre- Miocene traps. East Zeit is one of several fields located in the offshore Southern Gulf Of Suez, along the prolific structural “B” trend.

The structural style of the East Zeit field is dominated by tilted fault blocks bounded by NW–SE oriented normal faults and dissected by oblique and orthogonal faults. Reservoirs range in age from Cretaceous to Miocene. The Miocene reservoirs are oil-bearing in both the upthrown and downthrown blocks of the main fault bounding the field.

East Zeit field was discovered by AMOCO in 1976. Subsequently, Esso acquired, explored and developed the field during the period 1981–1996. The field was placed on production on December 1985. Currently, the field is operating by DEVON/ZEITCO joint venture company. The field Cumulative production as of December, 2005 is 95 MMB, of which 50 % is produced from Pre-Miocene Nubia Fm and the remaining 50 % from the Miocene reservoirs. .