Regional Geology and Petroleum Systems of the Main Reservoirs and Source Rocks of North Africa and the Middle East

Molecular and isotopic evidence for the origin of light oils and associated gases in the onshore northeast Nile Delta

“…The Messinian Qawasim reservoir at El-Tamad Field, onshore Nile Delta, was charged from Jurassic source rocks (Leila and Moscariello 2017). The bottom of the petroleum system has not been identified, despite extensive drilling, and hydrocarbon generation from pre-Oligocene possible source rocks is not fully understood because of limited available data (Shaaban et al, 2006;Vandré et al, 2007;Dolson et al, 2014;Lučić and Bosworth, 2019;Dolson, 2020). Chung et al (1988) developed the isotopic kinetically controlled "natural gas plot" based on the inverse carbon number of individual alkanes (C1−C4) versus carbon isotope values of each alkane (i.e., 1/1 vs. δ 13 C-C1, 1/2 vs. δ 13 C-C2, 1/3 vs. δ 13 C-C3, and 1/4 vs. δ 13 C-C4).…”

“…The Nile Delta is a significant gas and light-oil province, with recoverable hydrocarbon resources assessed at ~1.8 billion barrels of crude oil, ~6 billion barrels of condensate, and ~223 trillion cubic feet of natural gas (USGS, 2010). Most of the examined Nile Delta shale samples reveal fair to good organic enrichment (0.5-2% TOC; Lučić and Bosworth, 2019). The Pliocene Kafr El Sheikh Formation is immature across the Nile Delta (Abdel Aal et al, 2001;Vandré et al, 2007).…”

“…The Pliocene Kafr El Sheikh Formation is immature across the Nile Delta (Abdel Aal et al, 2001;Vandré et al, 2007). Oligocene-Miocene potential source intervals recovered from the Nile Delta and eastern Mediterranean were reported to be rich in Type-III and Type-II/III organic matter (Kamel et al, 1998;Sharaf, 2003;El Nady, 2007;El Diasty et al, 2022) and are commonly believed to be the principal source of the discovered hydrocarbons (Sharaf, 2003;Lučić and Bosworth, 2019). However, Upper Cretaceous-Eocene and Upper Jurassic-Middle Cretaceous intervals rich in Type-II and Type-II/III kerogen, respectively, cannot be completely excluded (Feinstein et al, 2002;Sharaf, 2003;Villinski, 2013;Al-Balushi et al, 2016).…”

“…However, Upper Cretaceous-Eocene and Upper Jurassic-Middle Cretaceous intervals rich in Type-II and Type-II/III kerogen, respectively, cannot be completely excluded (Feinstein et al, 2002;Sharaf, 2003;Villinski, 2013;Al-Balushi et al, 2016). It is unclear whether the older Cretaceous-Jurassic source intervals contribute to hydrocarbon generation in the area (Lučić and Bosworth, 2019). A few Jurassic and Cretaceous samples from the onshore Nile Delta have been reported to have elevated TOC values (Shaaban et al, 2006;Ghassal et al, 2016).…”

Control of Hercynian Orogeny on basin evolution on the southern margin of the Tethyan region: A review and new insights

“…As to the control on the post-Hercynian basins of the Mid-/Late Carboniferous-Early Permian event in North Africa and the Middle East, it has been less discussed. Only a few researchers related the evolution of post-Hercynian basins to this older tectonic event, for example, Wood (2015) reconsidered the post-Hercynian basin genesis and proposed that the deformation and sedimentation in northeastern Africa and north-western Arabia are driven by a common, continuous stress that has existed at least since the Hercynian Orogeny, instead of being controlled by regional rifting; Mouthereau et al Bosworth, 2019;Macgregor et al, 1998;Marlow, Kendall & Yose, 2014). Most of the discovered hydrocarbons are distributed in the Sirte, Oued Mya and Ghadames basins of North Africa and the Central Arabian sub-basin of the Middle East (Figure 1).…”