The Application of Shallow
Structural
Mapping to Understand the Deep Structure in the October Field Area,
Northern Suez Rift, Egypt
By
Mohamed Maged1
(1) Gupco, Cairo, Egypt
Many Gulf of Suez oil fields produce from pre-rift, Paleozoic through
Cretaceous aged reservoirs located in the footwalls of tilted fault blocks
bounded by NNW-SSE striking (rift-parallel) normal faults. However, in some
cases, faults oriented in directions oblique to the axis of the rift serve as
bounding faults for oil accumulations. Correct understanding of these structural
elements is key to success in finding new fields. However, seismic imaging
across much of the Gulf of Suez is difficult because of mid Miocene, syn-rift
evaporate-rich intervals, which generate multiples that mask the primary energy.
Many methods have been developed to enhance seismic data quality, and to
improve the confidence of using seismic data for structural
interpretation. We
demonstrate the use of some simple mapping techniques in the shallow syn-rift
section, above the effects of multiples where the seismic images is more
reliable, to better understand structure at deeper pre-rift reservoir levels.
The techniques used include the generation of late syn-rift structure and
isopach
maps
, 3D displays, and integration with onshore geology and edge
detection
maps
.
The application of these techniques allows us to identify linkages between
late rift and early rift structures and how these linkages vary with respect to
salt thickness. It allows us to identify subtle structures, and can be used as a
tool for quick regional interpretation and to constrain the structural
geometry
of oil fields.