Contribution to Petroleum Exploration of Recent Seismic Survey in Northern Part of Red Sea, Egypt

Michel Chanliau, Jerome Mondin

As part of a long-term agreement with the Egyptian Petroleum Corporation, a seismic survey was done along the Egyptian northern Red Sea during the summer of 1988. A total of 850 km of seismic lines were acquired, tying seven deep wells on this western margin of the Red Sea rift basin, where most of the essential elements of the southern Gulf of Suez geology can be found. Drastic improvement in both acquisition and processing techniques since previous seismic work in the same area during the late 1970s reveals small-scale block faulting and several related untested prospects. Seismic mapping of pre-salt structures confirms locally the presence of pre-Miocene sedimentary units that had not been encountered by the limited drilling in the area. The Miocene section, constitute of thick evaporites with interbedded shales or sandstones and often compounded by diapirism, should prove to be productive with further exploration as burial depths and the geothermal gradient place these potential source rocks within the oil window. Interpreted profiles and sketch maps illustrate the tectonic modeling of this area.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91022©1989 AAPG Annual Convention, April 23-26, 1989, San Antonio, Texas.