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TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHIC FRAMEWORK AND HYDROCARBON POTENTIAL OF THE RED SEA
Author(s) -
Mitchell D.J.W.,
Allen R.B.,
Salama W.,
Abouzakm A.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of petroleum geology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.725
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1747-5457
pISSN - 0141-6421
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-5457.1992.tb00962.x
Subject(s) - geology , graben , evaporite , structural basin , outcrop , rift , clastic rock , diapir , paleontology , facies , fault (geology) , salt tectonics , geochemistry , geomorphology
Drainage and sedimenatation patterns, present‐day and historically, relate to major north trending fracture and fault systems, which from topographic breaks in the Precambrain rift shoulders. Extensive Micocene depocentres are developed on the Sudanese and Ethiopian margins. Basin structure follows a NNW‐SSE down‐to‐the‐basin trend with deep planar crustal faults active at dthe basin margin. Clastic loading in coastal setting resulted in salt withdrawal and gravity sliding on listric faulting, soling‐out into a base ‐salt decolloement. Teh evaporite and postevaporite sequences form a number of linear tectonostraitigraphic zones within the basin, which evaporite sequences form a number of linear tectonostratigraphic zones within the basin, which form play fairways whre the post‐salt section is mature. The axial zone appears to have been a positive feature in the southern Red Sea during the middle‐upper Micocene, separating two salt depocentres. Different structural and facies patterns on either side of the axil zone indicate basin asymmetry in this region. Attractive pre‐rift source and reservoir rocks are present at outcrop in the Egyptian and southern Red Sea margins, but may have been stripped from the crests of rotated faultblocks, and be overmature for oil whre preseveed in half ‐graben lows.While the post‐salt in the northern Red Sea is immature increaing geothermal gradient and depth of burial result in maturation of the Zeit and basal Wardan Formations tot eh south, where extensive hydreocarbon seepages have been reported. Locally good, maure oil‐prone sources rocks have been encountered in the pre‐salt Mieene sequence offshore, but no equivalent to the “Globigerinal” of the gulf of Suez and Barqan areas has been encountered to‐date. The post‐salt Zeit offers the offers the possibility of cyclical deposition of oil‐prone source, reservoir and seal parasequences in juxtaposition; gas‐prone source rocks are developed in the Tokar Delta of Sudan. Rotated pre‐evaporite fault blocks are the main play targets in the northern red Sea. To the south, halokinetic stucturing of the post‐salt Miocene results in a number of attractive play types.