Paleozoic and Mesozoic stratigraphy and oil potential of Western Desert
The depocenter of the Paleozoic basin in western Egypt lies in the northwestern part of the Western Desert. The depositional axis of the basin, where thicknesses in excess of 2800 m (9200 ft) have been recorded, has a northwesterly trend to the vicinity of the Siwa Oasis. A less well-defined shallower basin with a northerly trend lies to the southwest. Farther east, a possible Paleozoic basin lies in the Abu Gharadig area where 1300 m (4265 ft) of sediments were drilled. Following the deposition of the Paleozoic section, there was a marked hiatus; the time of Hercynian movements for Permian and Triassic beds is absent. Uplift and the presence of volcanics dated in Permian-Carboniferous time are indicative of Hercynian tectonic activity. Further tectonic uplift accompanied by faulting and marine regression is dated from late Kimmeridgian time to the beginning of the Cretaceous, when transgression began once again. The dominant feature, new in the Western Desert, was the development of an east-west extensional basin, the Abu Gharadig basin, in Cretaceous time. The trough became less distinctive in Cenozoic times when a further trough, the Tiba basin, developed north of the ridge. Production from the northern Western Desert until recently has been disappointing. Exploration results from the Paleozoic Section have yielded little, but the existence of a marine section suggests that the area northeast of Siwa still has potential. The thick deeply buried Jurassic marine sequence in the Western Desert may be the source for at least part of the production from Cretaceous horizons in the Abu Ghradig, Alamein, and Razzak oil and gas fields.
- Research Organization:
- Aminoil, Houston, TX
- OSTI ID:
- 6163755
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-8304200-
- Journal Information:
- Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States), Journal Name: Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States) Vol. 67:3; ISSN AAPGB
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Habitat of oil in Abu Gharadig and Faiyum basins, Western Desert, Egypt
Habitat of oil in Abu Gharadig and Faiyum basins, Western Desert, Egypt