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Geology of Egypt

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Egypt's geological history is summarized in Dolson et al, 2002.  An excellent book with more detail is from Said, 1990.

The petroleum systems of Egypt are set up by 11 major tectono-stratigraphic events summarized below.

FIG_2_INDEX_MAP_HIGHRES.jpg (2108610 bytes) The major basins in Egypt are shown at left with locations of exploratory tests. The map is current to January, 2000.  Egypt is 30% larger than Texas and has only 1500-1600 exploratory tests. Many of these would be classified as step-out, deeper pool or field extensions by AAPG standards, so the number of true wildcats is much less.
FIG_2_NOMEN_CHT_12_99.jpg (2765691 bytes) The nomenclature chart at right summarizes the major petroleum systems and the tectono-stratigraphic history discussed below.

The 11 tectono-stratigraphic events:

  1. Paleozoic Craton
    1. Potentially important source rock events
    2. Egypt remained largely a high, with flanking source rocks developed in Libya, Israel and Syria. A good link to examine this is available from the Givot Olam Oil Exploration web site. 
    3. Paleo-geographic reconstructions are available from the IGCP 369 PeriTethyan Rift Basins web site.
  2. Late Triassic through Early Cretaceous Rifting
    1. NE/SW oriented rift basins in North Egypt along the Tethyan margin
    2. North oriented non-marine rift basins in Southern Egypt
    3. Important source rock events—Jurassic Khataba strata
  3. Cretaceous “passive margin”
    1. Northward translation of AEB Formation clastics (Lower-Middle Cretaceous) into the Mediterranean.
    2. Alamein dolomite southward transgression.
    3. Bahariya Formation (Upper Cretaceous) northward translation of reservoirs.
  4. Syrian Arc Transpression
    1. Inversion of Jurassic rift margin
    2. An excellent summary and key link is available from Sebastian Luning at Bremen University.
  5. Late Cretaceous, Paleocene through Eocene transgression and Syrian Arc flooding
    1. Anoxic source rock event in Sudr, Brown Limestone and Eocene Thebes critical to petroleum system in the Gulf of Suez
    2. Additional anoxic source rocks in Upper Cretaceous transgressive limestones, shales and sandstones of the Abu Roash Formation and equivalent Nezzazat Group created important in the Western Desert and GOS exploration targets.
    3. Unknown impact on deep sourcing in the Nile Delta
    4. Egypt characterized by exposed structural highs and flanking marine and lagoonal basins which are intermittently exposed by relative sea level falls.
  6. Upper Eocene to Oligocene rifting (Rift initiation): Opening of the Gulf of Suez Rift (38-24 MA)
    1. Northward tilt of Eygpt towards the Mediterranean
    2. Significant basin-ward translation of sediment into the Nile Delta
    3. Rift initiation half-graben non-marine or lacustrine sedimentation in the Gulf of Suez and Red Sea
    4. The most current research regarding Gulf of Suez rifting is available from work at the University of Edinburg by John R. Underhill: and at Manchester University by Rob Gawthorpe.
  7. Rift climax phase (17.5 MA)
    1. Deep water sedimentation in core of Gulf of Suez
    2. Extensive uplift and erosion on flanks and high blocks of Gulf of Suez
    3. Narrow link in Aquitanian to Mediterranean
    4. Continued northward translation of reservoirs into the Mediterranan
  8. Rift closing phase (17.5-8.0 MA)
    1. Gulf of Suez isolated from the Mediterranean by NE/SW reactivated Syrian Arc high north of the Darag Basin
    2. Salt seals develop in the Gulf of Suez
    3. Continued basin-ward translation of reservoirs into the Nile Delta.
  9. Messinian salinity crisis (8.0-5.0 MA)—
    1. Excellent bibliography and summary: 
    2. Closing of straights of Gibraltar
    3. Tectonic tilt northward in North Africa. Reactivation of deeper structures.
    4. Eventual basin-centered Messinian salt deposits (6.5MA)
    5. Grand-canyon scale incisions around the Mediterranean coastline with hundreds of kilometers of basin-ward translation of reservoirs into the offshore Nile Delta. Development of at last 5 regional drainage networks in the offshore Nile Delta.
  10. Pliocene Sea Level rise (5.0 MA)
    1. Transgression southward through canyons as far as Aswan
    2. Development of condensed section seals in the Kafr El Sheik Formation
  11. Plio-Pleistocene progradation
    1. Up to 19 forced regressions push modern Nile Delta into the Mediterranean
    2. The major “amplitude driven” hydrocarbon play in Egypt in the late 1990’s

Resource Assessments:

             Dolson et al., (2001) speculate that most of Egypt’s reserve growth in the future will come from gas and associated liquids in the offshore Mediterranean/Nile Delta area.  The charts below provide kreaming curves, production summaries and yet-to-find speculation complete through January, 2001. Since that time, an additional 6 TCF of gas has been discovered in the offshore Nile Delta/Mediterranean deep water gas trends and continued smaller scale success as occurred in the Western Desert and Gulf of Suez basins.

            USGS worldwide oil and gas resource estimates given for the Western Desert and Gulf of Suez are close to those presented independently by Dolson et al, (2002).  Red Sea data is covered by Lindquist (1998).  In addition, an overview of the petroleum industry, potential markets and other research is available from the United States Energy Information Administration.  A second web site contains additional data, as does an assessment from the U.S. Department of Energy.