BULLETIN OF CANADIAN PETROLEUM GEOLOGY

VOL 44, NO.4 (DECEMBER 1996), P 615-631

Geologicsetting and hydrocarbon potential of north Sinai, Egypt

A.S. ALSHARHAN M.G. SALAH

Faculty ofScience Desertand Marine EnvironmentResearchCenter
UAEUniversity p.o. Box 17777
P.O.Box 17551 Al-Ain, UnitedArab Emirates
Al-Ain, UnitedArab Emirates

ABSTRACT

The Sinai Peninsula is bounded by the Suez Canal and Gulf of Suez rift to the west, the transfonn Dead Sea-Aqaba
rift to the east and the Mediterranean passive margin to the north. The stratigraphic section in North Sinai ranges in age
from Precambrian to Recent and varies in thickness between 2000 m of mostly continental facies in the south to almost
8000 m of marine facies in the north. Four main tectonic trends reflect the influence of regional tectonic movements on
the study area: 1) ENE-WSW-trending nonnal faults at the Triassic, Jurassic and Early Cretaceous levels; 2) NE-SW-
trending anticlines at the Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary levels; 3) NNW-SSE-trending nonnal faults at the
Oligocene and Early Miocene levels; and 4) NNW-SSE-trending transfonn faults during the Late Miocene. Several oil
and gas fields have been discovered in North Sinai since 1955. The Oligo-Miocene shales, the Early Cretaceous car-
bonates and the Jurassic fine clastics are rich source rocks yielding oil and gas in deep source kitchens. The sandstones
of the Miocene, Oligocene, Cretaceous and Jurassic ages,the Jurassic carbonates and the Cretaceous carbonates fonn
the reservoirs in north Sinai. The intrafonnational Mesozoic and Cenozoic shales and dense carbonates and the middle
4 Miocene anhydrite fonn the seals. Structural, stratigraphic and combination traps are encountered in the study area.
The north Sinai district has a good oil exploration potential. Only a few plays have been tested.

REsuME
La peninsuledu Sinal estlimitee par Ie canalde Suezet Ie fosseouestdu golfe de Suez,Ie fossetransfonnantde la
mer Morte-Aqabaa l'est et la margepassivede la Mediterraneeau nord. La sectionstratigraphiquedansIe Sinal dunord
s'echelonnede Precambriena Holoceneet varie en epaisseurde 2000 m de facies surtoutcontinentauxdansIe
slid a presde 8000m de faciesmarins aunord. Quatretendancestectoniquesprincipalesrefletentl'influence desmou-vements
tectoniquesregionauxdansla regionetudiee: 1. les directionsENE-OSOdesfailles nonnalesaux niveauxdu
Triassique,Jurassiqueet du Cretaceprecoce;2. les directionsNE-SO anticlinalesaux niveauxdu Cretacetardif et du
Tertiaireprecoce;3. la directionNNO-SSEdesfailles nonnalesaux niveauxde l'Oligocene et du Mioceneprecoce;et4.
la directionNNO-SSEdesfailles transfonnantespendantIe Miocenetardif. Plusieurschampspetrolirereset de gaz
naturelont etedecouvertsdansIe Sinal du nord depuis1955.Les schistesdu Oligo-Miocene,les carbonatesdu Cretace
precoceet les clastiquesa grainsfins du Jurassiquesontde richesroches-mereproduisantdu petrole et du gaz dansIe
cuisines-mereprofondes.Les gresd'age Miocene,Oligocene,Cretaceet Jurassique, les carbonatesdu Jurassiqueet les
carbonatesdu Cretacefonnentles reservoirsdansIe Sinal du nord.Les schistesintrafonnationelsdu MesozoIqueet du
CenozoIqueet les carbonatesdenseset Ie Miocene moyendeshydratesfonnentles obturations.Les piegesstructuraux,
stratigraphiqueset line combinaisondes deux se trouventdansla regionetudiee.Le district du Sinal du nord possede
de bonnepossibilite pourI' exploitationde petrole.Seulsquelquesjeux ont etetestes.
Traduit par Marie-LouiseTomas

lNTRODUcnON 1962)(Fig. 1). The centraland northernsectorsof the SinaiPeninsula

are covered with a northward-draining limestone
The Sinai Peninsula,the commonpart of Africa and Asia,
plateauwith a seriesof northeast-trendinganticlinal and syn-
is triangular in shapeand occupiesan area of almost 60 000
km2(Fig. 1). It is separatedgeographicallyfrom Africa by the clinal jebels (mountains). These folds, extending from the
SuezCanal and the Gulf of Suezrift. The southernsectorof WesternDesertin the westto Jordanand Syria in the east,fol-
the peninsula is occupied by rigid Precambrian basement low the Syrian Arc System.Generally,the elevationof thesejebels
rocks that reachelevationsof 2640m in JebelKatherine(Said, decreasesnorthwardsto 1090,890 and 735 m in Jebels

615

Yelleg,Halal and Maghara,respectively(Fig. 1). TheseSyrian
arc folds sink seawardsunder a Quaternary coastal plain.
Farthernorth, a broad tract of sanddunesruns parallelto the
Mediterranean coast and the Bardwail Sabkha (known as
Bardwail Lake) (Fig. 1) and ranging in elevationfrom 10 to
1000m.
The study areais located in the northernpart of Egyptian
Sinai and is delineatedby longitudes3235' and 3425'E and
latitudes 2955' and 3130' N, embracing an area of almost
28000 km2 that averages175 km in length and 150 km in
width. The northernpart of the studyareais locatedin the off-
shoreMediterranean(Fig. 1).
The main target of this paperis to describethe geology,
hydrocarbonpotential and tectonic influence on hydrocarbon
generation,migrationand accumulationwithin the north Sinai
area.This studycoversin detail the geologyand hydrocarbon
habitatof the onshoreand offshoreareasof northSinai.As the
authors are aware, most of the previous work was mainly
localized or focusedon certaingeologicalaspects,e.g.,stratig-
raphy,structure,sedimentology, etc.
,XPLORATION HISTORY
In additionto being very closeto the prolific Gulf of Suez
oil basin in which the first discovery, Gemsa oil field, was
made in 1886,north Sinai containsseveralinterestingsurface
geologic features which made it an attractive exploration
prospect.The explorationfor oil in Sinai beganin 1910when
the Sinai PetroleumSyndicate(SPS)drilled a dry hole Tanka-
1 nearan oil seepin westSinai (EGPC,1986).Sincethen,the
Anglo Egyptian Oil Fields, Standard Oil of Egypt and the
Socony Vacuum Oil Company(the Egyptian subsidiariesof
Shell, Esso and Mobil, respectively)conducteddetailed sur-
face geologic mapping,carried out severalgravity and mag-
netic surveysanddrilled severalwells in the centraland north-
ern Sinai without any success.The drilling ceasedduring the
SecondWorld War (WWII) and attentionwas focusedto the
easterncoast of the Gulf of Suez, south of the study area,
where three oil fields, Sudr, Asl and Matarma,were discov-
ered between1945to 1948(Fig. 1). During the occupationof
Sinai by Israel (1967-1979),the Israeli explorationistscon-
ducted several additional gravity, magneticand seismic sur-
veys over the onshoreand offshore parts of north Sinai and
drilled 17 wells,resulting in the discoveryof Sadotgasfield in
1975 (Fig. 1). Since 1979,the Egyptian General Petroleum
Corporation (EGPC) launched an exploration program and
awardedexplorationrights to severalwesternoil companiesto
explore for hydrocarbonsin north Sinai, e.g.,Conoco,Amoco,
Total, BP,Elf Aquitaine and IEOC (the InternationalEgyptian
Oil Company).Theseresulted in the discoveryof the Tineh,
Port Fouad,Abu Zakin, Wakar, SouthRafah and Mango oil
and gas discoveries(Fig. 1). In additionto thesediscoveries,
severalwells have encounteredgood oil and/or gas shows
(EGPC,1986)(Fig. 2).
A.S.ALSHARHANandM.G. SAlAH
STRAllGRAPHY
The lithostratigraphic units of the north Sinai district have
been defined from examination of measured sections and sub-
surface cores, electric logs tied to microfaunal and palynologi-
cal studies of ditch samples and thin sections (Shata, 1956;
Said, 1962, 1990; Al Far, 1966; Neev, 1975, 1977; Beyth,
1981; Jenkins et ai., 1982; Aromar and Afifi, 1992; Zaghloul
and Khidr, 1992; EGPC, 1994). In this study, the lithostrati-
graphic units in the north Sinai district have been divided into
four major sequences which vary in both thickness and facies
within the northern and central sectors of the north Sinai area.
A lithostratigraphic column of the study area is given in Figure
3.
PALEOZOICSEQUENCE
The Paleozoic succession has been penetrated mostly in the
southern wells in the study area, Nakhl-l, Abu Hamth-1 and
El Hamra-1, with an average thickness of 550 m. It is present
in the surface exposures at Durba-Araba and Jebel Urn
Bogma, southwest Sinai. Farther north, the Paleozoic section
is assumed to lie at great depths as the well Waker-1 (Fig. 2)
was bottomed in the Oligocene rocks at depth of 4733 m.
Generally, the thickness of the Paleozoic section increases
northwards and there is a greater marine influence on the
facies (Fig. 4). This succession is subdivided into the follow-
ing groups and formations: Qebliate Group (Cambro-
Ordovician), represents the oldest Phanerozoic regressive
marine facies terminating in a fluviatile facies and includes
two formations, the Araba and Naqus (Hassan, 1967); Urn
Bogma Formation (Lower Carboniferous); Ataqa Group
(Upper Carboniferous), proposed by Soliman and El Fetouh
(1970), includes two formations, the Abu Durba and Rod El
Hamal; and Budra Formation (Permian?)
TRIASSICTO EARLY CRETACEOUSSEQUENCE
This sequence is the thickest section in the stratigraphic col-
umn of the onshore part of the study area as indicated from the
well Halal N-1 (Fig. 2), which started in the Upper Cretaceous
section and bottomed at 4313 m in the Triassic sediments. It
contains potential source, reservoir and seal rocks. It is present
on the surface as well as the subsurface and consists of the fol-
lowing units: 1) Arif El Naqa Formation (Triassic), continental
clastics and marine limestones exposed in Jebel Arif El Naqa in
the southeastern part of the study area with vertebrate bone frag-
ments and plant remains recorded in the upper and lower parts,
respectively, is encountered in the Abu Hamth-1, Nakhl-1, El
Hamra-1 and Halal N-l wells (Fig. 2); 2) Maghara Group
(Jurassic To Early Cretaceous), shallow shelf limestone and flu-
vial to continental clastics cover a broad area of north Sinai and
extend from the Western Desert of Egypt, through north Sinai,
to Negev Desert, Jordan and Syria. In north Sinai, Jurassic rocks
are exposed in the cores of several structures (Jebels Maghara,
Rizan Aneiza, Minsherah and Arif El Naqa) (Fig. 1) and are
encountered in 17 wells in the onshore and offshore parts of the
study area. The thickest and most complete section of the
 HYDROCARBONPOTENTIALOF NORTH SINAI,EGYPT 617

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TOWN @ OIL AND/OR GAS DISCOVERY

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WELL LOCATION

Fig. 1. Generalized geological map and oil fields in northern Sinai.

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 618 A.S. ALSHARHANand M.G. SAlAH

32130' 33' 30' \ N 341 30"

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Fig. 2. Well locations and major subbasins in the study area.

Jurassic rocks in north Sinai is that of Jebel Maghara, where it
reaches to almost 2000 m (AI Far, 1966), and is used in this
study as a reference section. The Maghara Group is subdivided
into the following formations, in ascending order: Mashaba
Formation (Lower Lias); Rajabiah Formation (Lower Lias);
Shusha Formation (Upper Lias); Bir Maghara Formation
(Bajocian to Early Bathonian); Safa Formation (Early
Bathonian); Masajid Formation; Rakeib Formation (Neocornian
to Barrarnian); and Rizan Aneiza Formation (Aptian to Albian).
UPPERCRETACEOUSTO LATE EOCENESEQUENCE
This sequenceis characterizedby the predominanceof car-
bonatesin the lithostratigraphicunits of the onshorepart of the
studyareaseveralof which are potentialreservoirs.It is pre-
sent on the surfaceand the subsurfaceof north Sinai (Fig. 4)
and consists of two groups, in ascendingorder: Nezzazat
(Cenomanianto Santonian)with thicknessesof 732, 845 and
945 m in the JebelsMaghara,Arif Al Naqa and Minsherah,

.
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 HYDROCARBONPOTENTIALOF NORTH SINAI,EGYPT 619

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Fig. 3. Generalized stratigraphic column, depositional environments and hydrocarbon potential of the northern Sinai area (modified after sev-
eral authors).

1
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 620
~ Paleozoic ~
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Line of Section
Fig. 4. Schematic cross-section across the north Sinai area. (modifiec after Shata, 1956).
respectively (Fig. 1), and El Egma (Campanian to Middle
Eocene) with various thicknesses, facies and conformity with
the overlying and underlying lithostratigraphic units reflecting
the influence of tectonism.
OLIGOCENETO LATE MIOCENE SEQUENCE
The Oligocene sediments, known as Tayiba Red Beds
(Barakat et ai., 1988), are absent in the southern part of the
onshore area due to the emergence of this sector as a result of the
influence of the early stages of the Gulf of Suez rifting. They
average to 90 m in the eastern part of the study area but increase
abruptly to the west to an average of 750 m and reach up to 1075
m west of the Suez Canal (Zaghloul and Khidr, 1992).
The Miocene section is well developed in most of the study
area and is 1100, 1260 and 1350 m thick in the Gal-I, Bardawil-
1 and Sneh-l wells, respectively. A much thinner Miocene
sequence was drilled in wells located over old structural highs
(most probably of Syrian Arc trend) that remained highs during
the Miocene, as in the wells Slave-I, Gofer-l and AI-Arish-l,
where it reaches 270, 180 and 200 m, respectively. The Miocene
section is subdivided into two formations, in ascending order:
Sidi Salem Formation (Lower to Middle Miocene) and
Qawasim/Rosetta Formation (Middle to Upper Miocene).
PosT-MIOCENE SEQUENCE
The post-Miocene sediments show marked variations from
one area to another but generally increase in thickness to the
west in the Nile Delta area, following the same trend seen in
I
A.S. ALSHARHAN and M.G. SALAH
0 40 km
Jurassic ::::::::~~~,. Paleocene
'::.':::::::'::::
',".'.'.'.'.'.
to Eocene
Post -
~ Cretaceous ~ Eocene
the Oligoceneand Miocene sequences. The thicknessesof the
post-Miocene sequenceare 400, 250, 1250 and 1700 m in
wells Gal-I, Sneh-l, Qantara-l and El Temsah-l,respectively.
The post-Miocenesectionis thin in wells locatedon old struc-
tural highs, e.g.,Malha-l, where it has a thicknessof only 88
m. The post-Miocenesectionis subdividedinto the following
formations, in ascending order: Abu Madi Formation
(Pliocene)and Kafr El Sheikh(Pleistocene)(Said, 1962).
STRUCTURE
ANDTECTONISM
The presentanalysesof the structuralgeologyin the north
Sinaiarebasedon the interpretationof bothgeophysical(mag-
netic, gravity and processedseismic) and geological data,
including subsurfaceinformation from wells drilled in, and
closeto, the studyarea,surfaceoutcropsand aerialphotograph
examinationof the structuralconfigurationof the region.
The studyareawasthe subjectof intensivesurfaceand sub-
surface geological and geophysical investigations during
hydrocarbonprospectingand exploration.Among thesestud-
ies are those by Said (1962, 1990), Al Far (1966), Smith
(1971),El Shazlyet ai. (1974), Bartov et ai. (1980),Eyal et
ai. (1981), May (1991),Moustafa and Khalil (1987), Aal et
ai. (1992)and Aal and Lelek (1994).The resultsare incorpo-
ratedin the currentstudy.
The Sinai Peninsulahas attracted the attention of many
geologistsas it is boundedby major tectonic elements.These
 HYDROCARBONPOTENTIALOF NORTH SINAI,EGYPT

are the Mesozoic-Early Cenozoic tectonically-activeTethyseral shearcouple betweennorth Africa and Eurasia (Smith,
1971).This shearcouple startedin the Turonian,climaxed in
Seato the north, the Oligo-MioceneGulf of Suezrifted basin
to the west, and the late Miocene to RecenttransformDead the Late Cretaceousand decreasedinto the Early Tertiary,
causingthe right-lateral rejuvenationof the deep-seated
Sea-Gulf of Aqaba rift to the east. Each of these major ele- faults
mentshasaffecteddramaticallythe structureandtectonicevo- in north Egypt (Smith, 1971) (Fig. 5). This tectonic event,
known in the Middle East as Syrian arc system,produceda
lution of the north Sinai area,which has beensubdividedinto
four tectonicphases,asfollows: series of asymmetrical NE-trending, doubly-plunging anti-
PHASE I: The breakup of north Africa-Arabia in Late clines in the study area, e.g.,JebelsMaghara,Yelleq, Halal,
MinsherahandFallig (Fig. 6).
Triassic-Liassictime and the openingof the Tethystook place
and reactivatedENE-WSW-orienteddeep-seatedfaults. The PHASEill: The rifting of the Gulf of Suez,startedbetween
24 and 21 Ma, during the latest Oligocene to the earliest
southernand central sectorsof Sinai were uplifted, relative to
Miocene (Evans, 1990),was causedby ENE-WSW-trending
the northern(onshoreand offshore)(Bartov et aI., 1980).The
influenceresultedin the developmentof a thick wedgeof thetensionalstressestransmittedthroughthe lithosphere,in addi-
Early and Middle Mesozoicsediments(Triassic,Jurassicand tion to an upwelling of hot asthenosphere(Harnmouda,1992).
Between20 and 17 Ma, the flanks of this future basinbeganto
Early Cretaceous)in the northern sectorand its abruptthin-
be uplifted in responseto heating. Both the crustal extension
ning to the south(Fig. 5). Structurally,this phasewas domi-
andtectonicsubsidenceof the axial troughreachedtheir peaks
nated by JurassicNW-SE left-lateral oblique extensionwhich
resulted in ENE- to NE-trending normal faulting (Aal and between19 and 15 Ma. This tectonicphaseis very clear in the
southern and southwesternparts of Sinai and dominated
Lelek, 1994).
PHASE II: During the Late Cretaceousto Early Tertiary NNW-trendingnormalfaults (Fig. 6).
(Laramide) time, Africa moved west-northwestrelative to PHASEIV: This phaseis represented by theLateMioceneto
Eurasia,which closedthe TethysSeaandproduceda right-lat- RecentGulf of Aqabarifting, which was formed by left-lateral

A North Sinai
Central Sinai South Sinai
Transitional Area Stable Shelf
Unstable Shelf Area
.J Fault
AFTER LARAMIDE DEFORMATION
a Upper
Cretaceous
WJ Lower
Cretaceous

~ Jurassic

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Fig. 5. Evolutionary stages of the study area (modified after Bartov et al., 1980; Moustafa and Khalil, 1987; Aal et al., 1992). See Figure 6 for

regional relationships.

A'
622 A.S. ALSHARHANand M.G. SAlAH

Fig. 6. Major tectonic elements in the northern Sinai District (modified after Neev, 1975).
HYDROCARBONPOTENTIALOF NORTH SINAI,EGYPT 623

oblique-slip movementalong the Dead Sea (Levant) Shear ates permits an acquisition of reliable seismic reflections and,
zone along which approximately105 kIn of left-lateral offset consequently, enables the geophysicists to map the subsurface
has beendocumented(Eyal et ai., 1981).Suchtectonismdom- structures with fair to good reliability. The geophysical data
inated severalE-W-trendingfaults rejuvenatedwith right-later- established typically similar structures in the subsurface of the
al movement,andareobservedin centralSinai (Fig. 6). onshore and offshore Sinai to those present on the surface. The
Magnetic, gravity, seismic, surface and subsurfacedata most dominant subsurface structure is the NE-SW-trending
from the north Sinai areadelineatethe geometryof the fault folds with almost similar sizes as the surface ones (Zaghloul
systems in the basin. According to structural setting and and Khidr, 1992).
regional trends, the Sinai Peninsula can be subdivided into Four main types of structures are reported in the north
four provinces that are separatedby three NNE-SSW- and Sinai area: 1) thin-skinned thrust-related features; 2) base-
ENE-WSW-trendingmajor tectonic dislocation"shearzones" ment-involved forced folds; 3) flower structures; and 4) pure
(Fig. 6). Moustafaand Khalil (1990)recognizedless-extended wrench faults. The distribution and the morphology of these
fold belts and named them as subbelts.The major fold belts structures depend mainly on the type of the dominant tecton-
are: ics, i.e., whether compressional or wrench tectonics (Aal and
a. Ragabet EI-Naam Shear Zone, named Central Sinai Lelek, 1994).
Shear Zone by some authors, is the most southern belt and is The interpretation of gravity, magnetic, seismic and well data
probably a reactivated Paleozoic trend (Beyth, 1981) (Fig. 6). show that northern Sinai consists of elongated troughs (source
Dominance of E-W- and ENE-WSW-trending wrench faults kitchens) that contain several high trends (elongated structural
and folds are interpreted by Aal and Lelek (1994) as a result of highs). Both troughs and highs are trending NE-SW. The age
pure shear forces. This shear zone separatesthe southern sec- and distinctive structural and stratigraphic features within these
tor of the Sinai Peninsula, known as the stable shelf area by subbasinsvary from basin to basin. These subbasins are subdi-
Said (1962), with the exposed Precambrian basement from the vided into onshore and offshore ones,as follows:
transitional zone. Onshore subbasins: These are, from south to north, the
b. Minsherah-Abu Kandu Shear Zone separatesthe transi- Central Sinai, South Yelleq, North Fallig, East Maghara, North
tional zone, where both compressive and wrench stresses Maghara and Northeast Sinai (Fig. 2). The northern onshore
affected central Sinai and resulted in creating flower structures subbasins,formed in the Early Jurassic time due to the tecton-
along prominent right-lateral shear zones (Harding, 1985) and ic activities that affected North Africa, reach down to 5000 m.
the unstable shelf in north Sinai (Fig. 6). Such flower struc- The most southern ones (Central Sinai and South Yelleq) are
tures have a remarkable thinning of the sedimentary section Eocene and Late Cretaceous subbasins and range in depth
along the ENE-trending Jurassic wedge-edge, e.g., Jebel El- from 1500 to 2000 m. They were formed due to the marine
Minsherah (Aal and Lelek, 1994). transgression from the north.
c. Pelusium Shear Zone, proposed by Neev (1975), trends Offshore subbasins: Generally, the whole offshore north
NE-SW and isolates the offshore structures trending NE-SW Sinai area is considered as a deep basin, relative to the onshore
from others trending NW-SE (Fig. 6). This hinge zone truncates area, with two very deep subbasins (Fig. 2): 1) the Walker-Port
the Miocene Messinian evaporites and forms their southeastern Fouad Subbasin, where some of the drilled wells bottomed in
boundary. Neev (1977) extrapolated the Pelusium line northwest the Oligocene section at 4700 m, is located at the northwestern
of the Bardwail lagoon until the Western Desert of Egypt. part of the study area and 2) the Tineh-Mango Subbasin,
Furthermore, it was traced southwest, through West Africa, to extending from the well Tineh-l (bottomed in the Eocene sec-
the Atlantic Ocean and, hence,is a transcontinentalshear. tion at 4200 m), through the NS2l-l well (bottomed in the
The southern part of the unstable shelf area is characterized Cretaceous section at 4500 m), to Mango-l (bottomed in the
by the abundance of ENE- and NE-trending, doubly plunging, Jurassic section at 4650 m).
asymmetric anticlines with relatively gentle dip on their NW
flanks (5-20) and steeperdips on their SE flank. The latter is HYDROCARBONHABITAT
vertical, and even overturned in some of the anticlines, and is The hydrocarbonpotential of the study area is generally
faulted down to the south by means of NE-SW-trending faults promising becausethe tectonic activity producedfavourable
(Moustafa and Khalil, 1987). The north Sinai folds vary in size conditions for rich sourcerock depositionand a heatregime
from 10 km long and 5 km wide (such as Jebels Rizan Aniza placing thesesourcerocks in the hydrocarbongenerationwin-
and Libni) to 50 km long and 20 km wide, e.g., Jebels Yelleg, dow.The differenttectonicphasesresultedin the development
Maghara and Halal (Fig. 1). The outcropping folds suffered of carbonateand sandstonereservoirs,presenceof potential
different degrees of erosion in the core. The maximum record- fine clastics,densecarbonatesand evaporitesealsand several
ed erosion is that of Jebel Maghara, where the Lower Jurassic typesof trap for accumulationof oil and/orgas.
section is exposed, but in other places the Upper Cretaceous
sediments are exposed in the core of the fold. SOURCEROCK POTENTIAL
The contrast between the Upper Tertiary clastics and the This section aims to evaluate the source rock richness,
unconformably underlying Late Cretaceous to Jurassic carbon-~ kerogen type, maturity regime and hydrocarbon (oil and/or
 624 A.S.AUHARHAN and M.G. SALAH

gas)compositionand correlation.The sourcerock potentialof ates (Meyer and Nederlof, 1980). These Jurassiccarbonates
the northernSinai has beenstudiedby Abdin and Aal (1992), areconsideredas typicalcarbonatesourcerocks.
Aal and Lelek (1994)andTammam(1994). LOWER CRETACEOUS:The Lower Cretaceoussectionis
consideredto havethe mostprolific sourcerocks,especiallyin
1) SourceRockRichness the offshorepart of north Sinai (Tammam,1994).The avail-
The geochemical parameters of 12 wells drilled in the able geochemicaldata for the shalesof the upperpart of the
onshoreand offshoreof north Sinai found organic-richsource RakeibFormationand shalesof RizanAneiza Formationshow
rocks within four stratigraphic sequences(Fig. 7) with oil goodto excellentsourceunits. The averageTOC of this inter-
and/orgaskerogentype (typesII and III) (Fig. 8), asfollows: val in the study area is 1.7%. The maximum recordedTOC
JURASSIC: The Jurassic section is penetrated in a few valueis 5.2% in the well Abu Roda-l (Fig. 7).
wells drilled in the studyarea. Most of the Jurassicsectionhas OLIGOCENE:The Oligoceneshalesare well developedin
been identified as having rich potential sourcerocks (more the westernpart of the study area and contain total organic
than 1.5% TOC) in the Shusha, Bir Maghara, Safa and carbonup to 7.01% and 6.0% in the wells Abu Roda-l and
Masajid formations.The Jurassicshalesand carbonatesyield Wakar-l, respectively (Fig. 7). Elsewhere, the Oligocene
an averageTOC value of 2.0% and the recordedTOC values shalescontainpoor to fair sourcerock potential in the rest of
are 3.0%, 1.94%, 2.64% and 1.6% in the N. Fallig-l, El- the offshoreandonshorearea.
Mazar-l, Misri-l and Mango-l wells, respectively(Fig. 7). MIOCENE: The Miocene shalesfollow the sametrend of
The availablepyrolysis yield (S2) for the Jurassicsourcerocks the Oligocenerich shales.The maximumrecordedTOC value
are rarely less than 5 kgmltonne, which matchesthe TOC is 5.37% in the well Abu Roda-l andthe recordedTOC values
readings.In other areas,the JurassicMasajid and Bir Maghara are 0.6%,0.4%, 1.2%,0.8%and 1.0% in the Enab-l, NS2l-l,
carbonateshave not been analyzedand are describedas: a) Wakar-l, El-Mazar-l and Misri-l wells, respectively(Fig. 7).
light brown to black, b) fine-grained,and c) laminatedlime-
stones(Oehler,1984).They showlower formation densityand 2) KerogenType
higher gamma ray in comparisonwith the overlying carbon- The availablehydrogenand oxygenindicesof the candidate

REMARKS
~ L=:j~::I~zarl
PLEISTOCENE KAFR EL SHEIKH Fair
PLIO ENE ABU MADI -I Potentiality
U z
w
LATE
""'" (1.0-1.5% TOC,
-RO~E;;A I:A-:;;AS~ 4-5 kgiTon 52)

0
N SIDI SALEM
0
Z Good
W Potentiality
U M~~~~~~~KAI (1.5-2 % TOC,
5 kgiTon 52)

p V//////.A
U)
~
0 W
w I- MATULLA
Iu u :5 WATA Excellent
-c( A.OADA Potentiality
(>2.0)%TOC,
~ """" >5 kg/Ton 52

ED ZZZ2J

Index Map

UMBOGMA

Fig. 7. Source rock richness through stratigraphic column in the northern Sinai area (based on information from EGPC, 1994).

I!I!
rzzzzj
HYDROCARBONPOTENTIALOF NORTHSINAI.EGYPT 625

Fig. 8. Source rock types in northern Sinai (modified after Van Krevelen diagram).

source rock units in 13 wells (Fallig-l, Misri-l, Bardawil-l, sourcerocks are marginallymatureto immaturein the Central
NS2l-l, Mellaha-l, Abu Roda-l, Enab-l, EI Mazhar-l, Sinai and North Fallig troughs. In the Wakar-Port Fouad
Kersh-I, Mango-I, Teneh-2,Halal-l and Water-I) were plot- trough,they areovermature.
ted on Van Krevelendiagramto detectthe kerogentype and The Oligoceneand Miocenesourcekitchens in north Sinai
the most likely-generatedhydrocarbons(Fig. 8). The Jurassic are theWakar-Port Fouad and Tineh-Mango troughs. The
sourcerocks display an oil and gas-prone(type II) kerogen Oligocenesourcerocks are mature in the northernpart of the
type. The Lower Cretaceous,Oligocene and Miocene rich North Magharatrough.
sourcerocks are oil and/orgas-prone(typesII, III). The Water-PortFouad trough in the MediterraneanSeais
the deepestkitchen in the study area where the Oligocene
3) SourceRockMaturity
reachesto approximately4700 m (Figs. 1, 2) at parts which
Maturity was estimatedon the basisof vitrinite reflectance place the Jurassicand Lower Cretaceoussourcerocks in the
(Ro) and thermal alteration index (TAl) measurements.The gas generationwindow and evendeeper.The oil generation
available vitrinite reflectance data of six wells was plotted threshold (OGT) took place approximately 100 Ma for the
againstdepthto detectthe boundriesof the oil generationwin- Jurassicand Lower Cretaceoussourcesand around5 m.y. ago
dow (Fig. 9). The time-temperatureindexproposedby Waples for the OligoceneandMiocenesources(Fig. 10).The depthto
(1985)was calculatedfirst from the combineduse of a burial the onsetof oil generationranges from about 1800 to over
history plot and geothermalgradientdata,and thenthe equiva- 4100m (Fig. 9).
lent isothermal value was estimated for several modelled
points (Fig. 10). To substitute for the maturity estimate in 4) Oil Study
undrilled areas(particularly in structurally deeperareas),the Tarnmam(1994) used crude oil samplesfrom the Mango
depthsof the stratigraphicunits in thesemodelledpoints were discoveryand Aal and Lelek (1994)usedfluid inclusion anal-
estimatedfrom seismicand well data. ysis resultsin Fallig-l well to geochernicallyassessthe genet-
The main Jurassicand Lower Cretaceoussourcekitchens ic relation(s) betweensourcerocks and hydrocarbonsin the
are: the East Maghara,North Maghara,NortheastSinai and northSinai area.The formerconcludedthatthe Mango-l oil is
Tineh-Mangotroughs.The Jurassicand the Lower Cretaceous sourcedfrom the Lower Cretaceoussources,while Aal and
626 A.S. ALSHARHAN and M.G. SALAH

Fig. 9. Depth-vitrinite reflectance curves for some wells in north Sinai area (based on information from EGPC, 1994).

Lelek determineda match betweenthe Jurassicsourcerocks of Mashaba,Rajabiah and Shushaformations. These sand-
andthe fluid inclusionanalysis. stones are present in the central and northeasternparts of
onshorenorth Sinai and havestronggasshowsin the Qeren-l
RESERVOIRPOTENTIAL well Gusteastof the studyarea).Theyhaveporositiesranging
from 15 to 23% in the Halal-l well and arenominatedasgood
The north Sinai provinceis known for severalstratigraphic
reservoirsby Aal and Lelek (1994).The quality of suchreser-
units which produce, test and/or show hydrocarbons (oil voirs depends mainly on the depth of the sandstone,the
and/orgas).Someauthorsfound that gas discoveriesare gen-
amountof argillaceousmatter and/orcalcareouscementcon-
erally associatedwith Tertiary,Miocene and Oligocenesand-
tent.
stones,while oil discoveriesare found in Mesozoiccarbonates
B. Early Cretaceoussandstones:The Early Cretaceous
and sandstones. The recentdiscoveryEI Temsah(northwestof
sandstones range up to 200 m and are fine- to coarse-grained,
the study area),producing oil from the Miocene sandstones,
crossbedded,highly jointed and of high porosity and perme-
and the Zohar and Sadot gas fields (northeastof the study
ability (Ammar and Afifi, 1992).Thesesandstonesbelong to
area),producinggas from the Jurassicand Cretaceous, respec-
the Rakeiband Rizan Aneiza formations.The sandstones test-
tively, break the old rule. The potential reservoirs in north
ed oil in the Mango-l discoveryand producedfrom the Israel
Sinai areclassifiedinto sandstoneandcarbonatereservoirs.
HeItz oil field Gustnorthwestof the studyarea).The net sand
SANDSTONE RESERVOIRS thicknessin the Mango discoveryreaches35 m with an aver-
The major sandstonereservoirsrangein ageand characters ageporosityof 25%.
asdescribedbelow: C. Oligocene sandstones:These sandstoneshave good
A. Early Jurassicsandstones: Theseinclude the sandstones potential over the westernoffshore and onshoreparts of the
HYDROCARBONPOTENTIALOF NORTH SINAI,EGYPT 627

150 100
fZ) Paleocene ~
--U. Cretaceous D

Fig. 10. Burial history plot of modelled points Mango and Fallig (modified after Aal and Lelek, 1994; Tammam, 1994).
628 A.S. ALSHARHAN and M.G. SAlAH

study area. They tested oil in Tineh discovery with a net sand 1988).A small throwjuxtaposesthe shalesand densecarbon-
thickness of 50 m. They have porosities ranging from 18 to atesof somestratigraphicunits on the downthrownside of the
23% and permeabilities of between 216 to 1729 md. fault againstthe porous carbonatesand/or the sandstonesof
D. Miocene sandstones:The Sidi Salem, Qawasim and Abu the sameunit on the uplifted block. A large throw will bring
Madi sandstones produce oil and/or gas from seven fields in young sealrocks juxtaposing older reservoirson the uplifted
and nearby the north Sinai area: Port Fouad, Walker, Temsah, block (Figs. 11,12).
Kersh, Qantara, Abu Madi and Naf. These sandstonereservoirs The Miocene Sidi Salemand Qawasimshalescan act as
are well developed in the western sector of the study area. The sealing agentsfor the Oligocene and Miocene porous sand-
average reservoir thickness is 30 m with porosities ranging stones. These Miocene shaly intervals will become vertical
between 15 and 25%. The quality of reservoir depends on the and/or horizontal seals,dependingon the magnitude of the
amount of argillaceous matter and/or calcareous cement. throw of the fault. The Miocene shalesalso play an important
role in stratigraphictraps where they laterally face a body of
CARBONATERESERVOIRS
sandstone.The Qawasim equivalent Rosetta anhydrite is
Carbonate reservoirs are restricted to the Middle Jurassic
anothersealfor the OligoceneandMiocenesandstones.
Bir Maghara, Late Jurassic Masajid and Late Cretaceous Wata
and Matulla formations. TRAPPINGMECHANISM
The Bir Maghara limestones have oil shows and were
recorded as oil staining in some of the drilled wells in the east- The hydrocarbon entrapment in the northern onshore and
ern side of the study area. The porosity of these limestones offshore Sinai can be regarded as structural, stratigraphic and
depends mainly on secondary diagenetic processes. combination traps.
The Late JuraSsic carbonates produced oil from the HeItz
STRUCTURALTRAPS
field of Israel and have strong oil shows in most of the coastal
Structural traps are the most important type in the north
wells. These carbonates are reefal limestones and were
Sinai district, where most of the discoveries are in structures
described as good reservoirs by Aal and Lelek (1994).
The Wata and Matulla carbonates are the main reservoir in (Figs. 11, 12). These traps are representedby:
Sadot gas field and Raad discovery where reefal facies with a. Four-way dip closures: This trap is present as 1) fold
almost 35 m net pay thickness and average porosity and per- core sealed vertically and laterally by the overlying shales
meability of 13% and 81 md, respectively, contain 30 billion and/or dense carbonates and sourced from an older source
cubic feet of gas. These carbonates are described as vuggy, rock, e.g., Sadot gas field (Fig. 12a); and 2) the hanging wall
microcrystalline dolomites in the onshore jebels by Ammar anticlinal reservoirs sealed vertically by intraformational mud-
stones or dense carbonates and sourced across or up faults
and Afifi (1992).
In addition to these Mesozoic and Cenozoic major sand- from older sources, e.g., Tineh discovery (Fig. 1 1a).
stone and carbonate reservoirs, some minor reservoirs are b. Faulted structural trap: Both the Mesozoic and Cenozoic
recorded with less potential in the study area, especially in the reservoirs produce oil from faulted traps which are sealed ver-
offshore part of the study area. These reservoirs, described as tically by one of the seals and juxtapose a younger seal on the
having good potential by Aal and Lelek (1994), are the downthrown side of the fault, as in the Wakar, Kersh and Abu
Paleozoic sandstones and the Triassic carbonates. The Zakin discoveries (Fig. lIb). This trap is sourced either across
Paleozoic section, deserving further exploration, was not pene- synthetic faults or from the underlying sources.
trated or exposed in the study area. Farther south, the wells
STRAllGRAPHICTRAPS
Abu Hamth-l, Nakhl-l and Darag-l penetrated some interest-
Stratigraphic traps are very important targets for hydrocar-
ed Paleozoic rocks. The sandstones of the Araba, Naqus and
bon exploration in north Sinai. However, in the northwestern
Abu Durba formations may form potential reservoirs in the
part of the study area some of the Oligocene and Miocene
southern part of north Sinai. Fair to good porosity was pene-
porous sandstones are embedded in finer graded shaly and
trated in the Arif El Naqa carbonates of Halal-l.~
silty successionsand are sealed laterally by a facies change to
finer clastics. Such an example is the Port Fouad discovery
SEALParnNTIAL
where four sand channels of a turbidite system, with an aver-
The Jurassic shalesand densecarbonatesact as vertical age porosity of 18%, tested commercial quantities of gas. Oil
sealsover the Lower Jurassicsandstonesand the Middle and can migrate across faults or up dip from the Jurassic and
Upper Jurassiccarbonates.Within the Cretaceoussequence, Cretaceous source rocks.
the Nezzazatshalesare always consideredto be the ultimate
vertical seal for the Lower Cretaceous sandstones. The COMBINAllON TRAPS
PaleoceneEsnashaleandthe Eocenecarbonatesactas vertical This kind of trap is present as reefal buildups of the Late
sealsoverthe UpperCretaceousreservoirs.In areasof normal Cretaceous carbonates on a fault-controlled high sealed by
faulting, the magnitudeof throw on the clysrnic fault is very intraformational mudstones or dense carbonates and charged
critical in the effective sealing mechanism(Meshref et ai., from Jurassic and/or Early Cretaceous sources.
 630 ALSHARHAN and M.G. SAlAH

TINEH
..,
/32 50
/
N I ~ /".
/ / ~'\."~
, ~~

;000 "" "

.,
31 20

/ Contour Line '* GasWell -+- Oil Well -<:>-Dry Well

Fig. 12. A. Time map on top Cenomanian in the Sadot and Raad gas fields (modified after EGPC, 1994). B. Structure contour map on top
Albian in the Mango discovery (modified after EGPC, 1994).

I
~
./
A.S.
./
HYDROCARBONPOTENTIALOF NORTH SINAI,EGYPT
CONCLUSIONS
The Sinai Peninsula,the commonpart of Africa and Asia,
is boundedby the Gulf of Suezrifted basin to the west,the
transform Dead Sea-Aqaba rift to the east and the
Mediterraneanpassivemargin to the north. The North Sinai
lithostratigraphic units range in age from Precambrianto
Recent.Theseunits vary in lithology, thickness,arealdistribu-
tion anddepositionalsettings.
The interpretationof both geologicaland geophysicaldata
showsfour main tectonic trends (normaland transformfaults
and folds) reflecting the influence of regionaltectonic move-
ments on the North Sinai. These trends are: 1) ENE-WSW-
trending normal faults, mapped at the Triassic,Jurassicand
Early Cretaceouslevels; 2) NE-SW-trendinganticlines at the
Late Cretaceousand Early Tertiary levels; 3) NNW-SSE-
trending normalfaults at the Oligoceneand earlyMiocenelev-
els; and 4) NNW-SSE-trendingtransformfaults mappedon the
Late Miocene.
Three main rich sourceunits: 1) the Jurassicshales;2) the
Early Cretaceouscarbonates;and 3) the Oligo-Miocene fine
clastics,could yield oil and/orgas and are mature enoughin
the deepkitchensto generatehydrocarbons.In additionto the
Jurassic and Cretaceouscarbonates,the sandstonesof the
Miocene, Oligocene,Cretaceousand Jurassicrocks form the
major reservoirs in the north Sinai. The intraformational
Mesozoic and Cenozoicshalesand densecarbonatesand the
middle Miocene anhydrite form the seals for hydrocarbons.
Trap types include structural,stratigraphicand combination
traps.
It is fair to say that the north Sinai remainshigh in hydro-
carbonpotential with manyuntestedplays.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authorsare gratefulto the EgyptianGeneralPetroleum
Corporation for allowing them to publish this work. Special
gratitude is due to A.E.M. Nairn, University of South
Carolina, for reviewing the manuscript. We thank Bulletin
reviewersDr. McMillan and an anonymousreviewerfor their
constructivecommentswhich improvedour paper.
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Manuscript received: July 4, 1995
Revised manuscript accepted: November 15, 1995