South Alamein petroleum system (Western Desert, Egypt)

Isabelle Moretti1,2,*, Yannick Kerdraon3, Gregori Rodrigo3, Francisco Huerta3,

Jose Juan Griso3, Marian Sami3, Mohamed Said4 and Hossam Ali4
1
Cepsa-Madrid, Ribera del Loira 50, 28042 Madrid, Spain
2
Present address: IFP, 4 Avenue de bois Préau, 92852 Rueil Malmaison, France
3
Cepsa, 10 Road 261, New Maadi, Cairo, Egypt
4
Stratochem, 23/D/5 Shoukry Abd El Halim Street, Laselky, New Maadi, Cairo, Egypt
*
Corresponding author (e-mail: [email protected])

ABSTRACT: The South Alamein study area is located in the Western desert of Egypt
between the prolific petroleum trends of Razzak-Alamein and Baharriya. The
petroleum system of the area has been evaluated within an exploration framework.
Potential source rocks in the Cretaceous Alam El Bueib and Abu Roash Formations
and the Cenozoic Apollonia Formation display good petroleum potential; however,
they are thermally immature over a large part of the studied area. Compilation of
existing data and new measurements have been carried out to determine the initial
source potential of the Jurassic Khatatba Formation source rock as well as its kinetic
parameters for hydrocarbon generation. Results show that maturation of the Jurassic
source rock does not occur below 140C or a vitrinite reflectance of around 0.9%.
This combination of temperature and vitrinite reflectance is not unusual for a mixed
type II-type III source rock, but has crucial implications for exploration in the area.
The main hydrocarbon kitchens are located northward of the study area and
migration to the south began around 40 Ma ago. The hydrocarbons are primarily
trapped in the crest of the Mesozoic tilted blocks. It is believed that both migration
and trapping have been influenced by fault hydraulic behaviour. Since this behaviour
is complex, a sensitivity analysis was carried out on the migration pathway compared
with the fault sealing factor to understand the filling history of the structures.

KEYWORDS: Western Desert, Khatatba Formation, petroleum system, South Alamein

A Mesozoic petroleum system is known to be active in the carbons in the Alamein basin. The South Alamein study area is
Western Desert region of Egypt (Hegazy 1992; Dolson et al. surrounded by discoveries. Cepsa started to explore the area in
2000; Younes & Bek 2003). Mesozoic source rocks and 2007 but to date it lacks any commercial discoveries. Based on
reservoirs were deposited in the context of the Neo-Tethyan new and existing geochemical data, coupled with the acquisition
margins, with trapping in both Jurassic tilted fault blocks and and interpretation of a 4000 km2 3D seismic survey, we discuss
Cretaceous inversion anticlines. The latter being the result of here the presence, richness and maturity level of the various
the compressive Senonian event that inverted existing exten- source rocks in the South Alamein area and the possible
sional grabens (Ayzad & Darwish 1996). Local variations of migration pathways to the potential reservoirs.
source rock and reservoir qualities are related to variations in
the sedimentary environments of deposition. Additionally, the GEOLOGICAL SETTING
burial history varies spatially due to the fault activity that
resulted in local depocentres. Detailed work has been necessary The tectono-stratigraphic history of NW Egypt includes vari-
to evaluate the exploration potential of specific areas within this ous tectonic phases that can be summarized stratigraphically as
region. follows:
The South Alamein study area, is located in the northeastern
+ Triassic to Mid-Jurassic rifting;
part of the Western Desert (Fig. 1). There have been numerous
+ Early Cretaceous: passive subsidence;
discoveries around this area in recent decades: oil occurs in the
+ Late Cretaceous: onset of inversion, Syrian Arc structures:
Cretaceous reservoirs northwestward (Razzak-Alamein trend)
+ Miocene to Recent: quiescence.
and eastward, as well as in the Cretaceous and in the Jurassic
plays southward (Zein el Din et al. 1990). Previous work on the The pre-Jurassic sequence will not be discussed in this paper
hydrocarbon fluids of this basin concluded that the oils have a and is considered here as economic basement since no well data
mixed marine and continental origin. In more recent studies, are available to tie the markers visible on the seismic lines.
Younes (Younes & Bek 2003; Younes 2005) concluded that Consideration of the influence of Palaeozoic deposits on the
there was a Jurassic (Khatatba formation) origin for hydro- Western Desert petroleum system is beyond the scope of this
Petroleum Geoscience, Vol. 16 2010, pp. 121–132 1354-0793/10/$15.00  2010 EAGE/Geological Society of London
DOI 10.1144/1354-079309-004
122 I. Moretti et al.

Fig. 1. Location map of the study area. Green denotes oil discoveries, red denotes gas discoveries, and black marks four dry wells in the area.
Positions are indicated of: the regional cross-section in Figure 3 (black solid line); the subset of the 3D seismic volume shown in Figures 9 and
10 (red box); and the extent of the maps presented for the petroleum system model in Figures 5 and 7 (broken black box).

paper. However, they cannot be completely excluded; accord- the Levant area and has also been recorded southward in the
ing to Guiraud (1999), Silurian, Devonian (Zeitum formation) southern part of the Gulf of Suez (Bosworth et al. 1999).
and Early Carboniferous rocks may be present in the Western Seismic data provides evidence of an older regional erosional
Desert but Permian and Triassic rocks are absent. A major episode recorded by Aptian stratigraphy (before and after the
unconformity separates the Mesozoic from the Palaeozoic Alamein formation deposit). Guiraud & Bosworth (1997)
sequence. The possibility of remnant Palaeozoic source rocks related these two unconformities to the break up of the South
within this sequence will be discussed later. The main rift phase Atlantic during the Apto-Albian.
is considered to be of mid-Jurassic age (Dolson et al. 2001). As a result of this tectonic activity and the near sea level
During the Early Cretaceous, classically considered as a tectoni- position of the study area, thickness changes are common. In
cally quiet phase of thermal sag in the area, normal faulting may addition to the general northward thickening, local thickness
have continued and unconformities, sometimes related to variations are also very frequent, especially during the rifting
erosion of the uplifted footwalls, are numerous (see the phase. Only the main transgressive events, during the Aptian
stratigraphic column in Fig. 2). The Tethys Ocean onset of and Turonian, resulted in a widespread marine conditions;
collision began in the Cenomanian and resulted in a general during those periods the sea reached the northern part of the
uplift with inversion of the half-grabens formed during Jurassic Red Sea at Safaga (Colletta et al. 1988) and the Komombo basin
rifting (Letouzey 1986; Ayyad & Darwish 1996). One of the along the Nile, about 1000 km southward of the current
inverted half-grabens is observed in the cross-section, Figure 3; Mediterranean Sea shore (see location in Fig. 1 and the
the Cenozoic Apollonia deposit postdates the inversion. schematic maps of the sea extension in Dolson et al. 2001).
Guiraud & Bosworth (1997) date the compressive event more A north–south regional cross-section is presented in Figure
precisely as Santonian (83–85 Ma) and highlight the large 3 (see location Fig. 1). This section has been built from old 2D
spatial extension of this phase, extending over most of North seismic sections calibrated by well data. The base of the Jurassic
Africa and southwards into Syria, which they related to a is often speculative due to poor seismic imaging and the lack of
change in the South Atlantic spreading vector. deep well data. The new 3D seismic data acquired in the South
During the entire Mesozoic and a large part of the Cenozoic, Alamein area has allowed the deep horizons to be defined more
the northern Western Desert formed a broad shelfal area the clearly. The main structural and stratigraphic elements of the
southern margin Neo-Tethys and remained near sea level. As a study area can be observed on this cross-section. Fault block
result, transitions from continental to marine deposits are rotation is due to the Jurassic extension and is evidenced by the
numerous, and facies changes are common. All tectonic phases thickening and rotation of the Jurassic sediments towards the
led to local uplift and subsequent erosion. The Syrian Arc main bounding faults. During the Cretaceous, thickness varia-
compressive event has been characterized before and after tions related to extensional tectonic activity lessened, but local
deposition of the Khoman formation (Campanian). The com- erosion and unconformities are visible especially to the south.
pression is not very large in the studied area (see Fig. 2). The Syrian Arc compressive phase led to folding, local uplift
Elsewhere, for example in North Sinai (Scheibner et al. 2001) and further erosion. On the more recent layers, the regional
and the Eastern Desert (Wadi Araba area, see location Fig. 1), Cenozoic tilt is towards the north: the Apollonia depocentre
shortening is greater and large scale folds are common. Syrian was located southward in the Tiba trough (see location Fig. 3).
Arc compression has been described northward in Egypt and The current depocentre is located to the north, due to the large
 South Alamein petroleum system 123

Fig. 2. Litho-stratigraphic column and

main elements of the petroleum system.

sediment influx associated with the Nile Delta that induced EXPLORATION SETTING
flexural subsidence in the delta and surrounding areas. This
flexure is enhanced by the compressive regime of the eastern Egypt has a long history of oil and gas exploration with
part of the Mediterranean Sea and is accentuated towards the significant discoveries in the Gulf of Suez (1950–1980), West-
NE (Stanley 1990). Recent erosion is visible in the centre of the ern Desert (1980–2000) and more recently, the Nile Delta. The
section, including in the study area of South Alamein. various oil and gas provinces of Egypt originate from different
124 I. Moretti et al.

Fig. 3. Regional cross-section based on existing 2D seismic lines. The Miocene outcrops over the entire area. The Jurassic formations are barely
visible on this dataset even though the main structure of the large, tilted block to the south could be inferred. Thickness changes are visible in
the Lower Cretaceous Alam El Bueib member but the relative importance of erosion versus initial thinning above the Jurassic high is unclear.
Apart from the inversion of the Cretaceous half-graben to the south, the influence of the compressive event seems to be very limited. Note the
northward migration of the depocentre during the Cenozoic, between the Apollonia and the Moghra formations as well as the erosion of the
Miocene in the entire southern part of the section.

source rocks. In the Western Desert several organic-rich local lack of maturation does not necessarily mean lack of
intervals have been identified in the Jurassic to Eocene section charge, as regional migration can occur from areas where the
and these are described in more detail below. Regionally, the Turonian source rock is mature. Additionally, older and deeper
same source rocks are present in the northern part of the Gulf sources are believed to exist and a complete study of the
of Suez (Darwish & Tewfik 2004) but in the offshore and petroleum system would be needed to settle this question.
southern parts of the Gulf of Suez, the synrift Miocene deposits Definitive conclusions on the migration pathways and the
are more prolific (El Shahat et al. 2009). In the Nile delta, fault-related seals could not be drawn from the sparse, 2D
Miocene and Pliocene shales constitute major thermogenic gas seismic data set. Our approach has been to integrate new and
sources, although mixing with biogenic gas, as well as methane existing data and to simulate these, through numerical model-
derived from oil biodegradation, has also been reported ling of the maturation of the various source rocks and the
(Vandré et al. 2007). migration pathways. Continuity of the carrier beds and the
There are a number of well developed reservoir intervals in possibility of filling reservoirs deeper than the Cretaceous were
the Western Desert. The deepest are the Bahrein sandstones of some of the questions we wanted to address.
the Lower Jurassic and the Middle Jurassic Khatatba Forma-
tion, a potential source rock which contains sand intercalations.
There may be good reservoir potential within the Cretaceous SOURCE ROCKS
sandstones of the Alam el Bueib, Kharita, Barhariya and Abu
Roash-E formations and carbonates of the Alamein Dolomite, Potential
Abu Roash-F formations. As previously discussed, there are numerous potential source
Traps related to Cretaceous plays in the Alamein area are rock intervals within the Jurassic to Eocene sequence of the
mainly structural and consist of the inverted hanging walls of Western Desert (Halim et al. 1996). The best candidates are:
tilted blocks and/or folds related to the inversion of these the basal part of the Turonian Abu Roash Formation (‘F’
former half-grabens (Ayyad & Darwish 1996). The top seals are Member); the Neocomian Alam el Bueib Formation, and the
formed by interbedded shale beds. Stratigraphic trapping Middle Jurassic Khatatba Formation. In addition thin intervals,
potential is thought to exist, for instance within the Jurassic such as the Kharita Formation and the Bahariya Formation,
synrift series; however, the Jurassic depositional environment is from the Lower Cretaceous have some source rock potential.
still poorly understood and this type of trap has not yet been The Eocene Apollonia Formation also has good source poten-
explored systematically. The Jurassic play is still immature from tial. Finally, the Palaeozoic contains numerous source rocks in
an exploration standpoint in the area but recent discoveries in North Africa which may extend into Egypt (Luning et al. 2000).
the Khatatba Formation in the Alamein field and Abu Ghradig Figure 4 shows the geochemical profiles of the WNAT-1
Basin area have demonstrated potential for additional discov- and SH18–2 wells (see locations in Fig. 1) as well as the
eries (Hoogerduijn-Strating & Franssen 2006; Hoogerduijn- synthesis of the new measurements with previous ones from
Strating & Postuma 2008). the existing database.
The study area is located between two very prolific hydro-
carbon trends, the Razzak-Alamein area (northward) and the Cenozoic source rocks Within the Cenozoic, only the Apollonia
Bahariya area (southward), as indicated on the location map Formation (Paleocene–Eocene) has source rock characteristics;
(Fig. 1) where oil fields are highlighted in green and gas fields the younger Cenozoic sediments can be ruled out as source
in red. There are also a number of important dry wells, such as rocks. In the argillaceous limestone of the Apollonia Forma-
the West Wadi Natrun-1 well (WNAT-1, Fig. 1), drilled by BP tion, good, mainly oil-prone source rock quality, is encountered.
in 2001, Fayad-1 and BFD-1. In order to progress the explo- The organically rich interval can be up to 500 m thick, as found
ration of the area, a post mortem of these wells needs to be in the Sheiba-24 well. Hydrogen Index (HI) ranges between
completed. Such failures could be explained by various factors: 200 and 550 mg HC g–1 of total organic carbon (TOC) and
a lack of hydrocarbon charge, seal failure, fault breaching or generation potential (from Rock Eval pyrolysis S2 yields) is
absence of trap. Our analysis suggests that lack of charge is the between 2 and 10 mg HC g–1 of rock. However the Apollonia
most likely explanation. For instance in the Fayad-1 well, the Formation is thermally immature throughout most of the north
good Turonian source rock (Abu Roach F) is only 2500 m Western Desert, especially at the basin margins. In those
below ground level with vitrinite reflectance (Ro) of 0.5%, depocentres that have not yet been penetrated, it could possibly
indicative of little or no hydrocarbon generation. However, be mature enough for hydrocarbon generation.
 South Alamein petroleum system 125

Fig. 4. Rock Eval and maturity data. Above: geochemical profile on two wells (left SH18–1; right WNAT-1). Below: compilation of maturity
data by source rock.
126 I. Moretti et al.

Cretaceous source rocks Throughout the Cretaceous, several initial HI around 300–400 mg HC g–1 TOC. These authors
potential source rock horizons have been identified, ranging in concluded that the Khatatba Formation sourced most of the
age from the Early to the Late Cretaceous. As already noted, Meleiha area fields.
the main source rocks are the Neocomian Alam El Bueib Eastward, in the Gebel Maghara, coals from the Khatatba
Formation and the Turonian Abu Roash ‘F’ Member (Fig. 4b). Formation constitute an excellent source rock (TOC over 50%
However, locally, organically-rich sediments have been encoun- and HI over 400 mg HC g–1 TOC). However, only one sample
tered within the Albian Kharita, Cenomanian Bahariya and Abu from the WNAT well (Fig 4a) has such potential (TOC = 64%,
Roash ‘G’ formations in addition to the Maastrichtian Khoman HI = 427 mg HC g–1 TOC at 3285 m). The thickness of this
Formation. The Aptian Dahab shales are also partially organi- bed is unknown but is unlikely to be more than a few metres in
cally rich. the well. All other samples contain less than 14% TOC. The
The Abu Roash ‘F’ sediments exhibit good source rock Khatatba source rock has been represented by a thin bed of
qualities: mainly oil-prone with HI reaching 600 mg g–1 TOC coal and a thicker bed of shale in our models.
and initial TOC of around 2–2.5% (see Fig. 4). Locally, as in
the Gondul well (see location Fig. 1), the thickness of the Palaeozoic source rocks The Palaeozoic depocentres generally
source interval ranges from 50 m to just a few metres with an trend NNW–SSE, and were controlled by major faults devel-
average around 20 m in the study area. The Alam El Bueib oped during late Precambrian times (Guiraud & Bosworth
source rocks generally have fair to good hydrocarbon generat- 1999). Most of the facies encountered are light-coloured
ing potential and are interpreted as predominantly gas-prone glauconitic sandstones, and grey or red shales formed from
with initial HI values between 200 and 350 mg g–1 TOC and palaeosols or well oxygenated marine sediments. Devonian
TOC between 1 and 2%. The Alam El Bueib source rock shales interbedded in the thick depocentre are proven source
thickness varies from 10 m (in the Tiba area for instance) to facies in the age equivalent to the Tanezzuft Shales in western
more than 200 m with variability related to its structural posi- Libya (Hegazy 1992). Palaeozoic strata are absent from large
tion and the occurrence of erosion below the unconformities. areas of the north Western Desert because of erosion during
These rocks consist mainly of organic-rich shales and/or the Hercynian tectonic event that predates the Triassic–Jurassic
coal-bearing sandstones which were presumably deposited in an rift phase. Until now, production from Palaeozoic strata has
east–west orientated fluvial/deltaic belt (Parker 1982). Land- been minimal, but the Palaeozoic section still remains to be
derived, humic-rich organic matter dominates the kerogen explored systematically and none of the wells in the South
composition of these rocks. Some source rocks with a mixed Alamein area has reached the pre-Jurassic sequence. Although
oil/gas affinity have also been encountered locally. In general, the source rocks of the Palaeozoic sediments are not fully
these sediments have more lipid-rich material, suggesting a understood, new unpublished work indicates that mainly type II
distinct depositional environment. and type II/III kerogen source rocks could be encountered in
thin sections within the Carboniferous, Devonian and Silurian
Jurassic source rocks The Jurassic Khatatba Formation, described sequences along the north-western side of the Western Desert
as a mixed kerogen (types II and III) rock, likely to produce oil (e.g. Siwa and Faghur basins).
and gas, is considered to have been the main source rock for
most of the fields in the area (Berglund et al. 1994; Younes &
Bek 2003). Northward of the study area, offshore and in the Maturity maps (Ro, data)
northern part of the onshore Nile Delta, the Jurassic source Well temperature profiles and palaeo-thermometers such as
rocks consist of marine kerogen (Bosworth 2007). Onshore, vitrinite reflectance and Rock Eval maturity indicators were
within the Khatatba Formation, various facies have been compiled first from 22 wells within the study area. Temperature
described. In organic-rich rocks, both shale and coal are present distributions versus depth in this area are very homogeneous
and within the coal different sequences are observed (Bagge from well to well and are compatible with a constant current
et al. 1988). These sequences have been described in the heat flow of about one heatflow unit (1 HFU = 41.8 mW m–2 ),
Western Desert and in the North Sinai, especially where which corresponds to a temperature gradient of around 22C
Jurassic strata crop out. The limited subsurface data available in km–1. Currently, heatflow in the study area is not elevated.
the South Alamein area for the Khatatba formation have not Although the heat flow was probably elevated during rifting,
allowed local facies variations to be determined. Hence, stan- this mid-Jurassic event does not have any great impact on the
dard regional hypotheses were used for the modelling and present day maturation levels of the Mesozoic source rock, due
sensitivity analyses that have been completed. The regional to time/temperature decay, subsequent uplift and cooling
extension of the source rock and its richness were confirmed by during the Syrian Arc inversion event and the greater impact of
reference to all available data. The thickness of the known later Cenozoic burial.
source rock interval ranges from 30 to 300 m although only a In general, inversion and erosion may result in discontinu-
few wells have penetrated the entire Jurassic section in the ous maturity versus depth profiles in the Western Desert.
study area. Moreover, seismic data does not show large varia- Although erosional surfaces are clearly visible on the seismic
tions in Khatatba Formation thickness. At the scale of the data in the South Alamein basin, none of the studied well
South Alamein study area a fairly constant thickness around maturity profiles shows such expected discontinuity. The only
150 m of the Khatatba source rock is compatible with the visible maturation–depth irregularity is due to the current
available data. erosion (as in the two wells presented in Fig. 4a). We conclude
In the study area, only a few samples have a Rock Eval S2 that the most recent, roughly Miocene, burial was sufficient
over 30 mg HC g–1 rock, but more typical values are between to overprint the signature of previous uplifts on palaeo-
5 and 10 mg HC g–1 rock. HI ranges between 150 and 430 mg thermometers such as the vitrinite reflectance or Rock Eval
HC g–1 TOC. The geochemical study published for the Tmax values (the temperature of the S2 peak). Post-Miocene
westward Meleiha area by Taher et al. (1988), among others, erosion has been taken into account and calibrated on well data.
shows very similar characteristics for the Khatatba Formation, Following the calibration work, 3D maturation models have
with average TOC values between 1 and 2%, very high S2 been run to construct maturation maps for each source rock
values for the coal (up to 86 mg HC g–1 rock), and average level. Depth maps supporting this approach were based on 2D
 South Alamein petroleum system 127

Fig. 5. Vitrinite reflectance (Ro) at the top of the Khatatba source

rock. Light blue colours correspond to immature zones. Heat flow
and Cenozoic erosion on the model have been calibrated by Fig. 6. Evolution of source rock maturation versus temperature
geochemical log profiles from 21 wells. For map location see using the global kinetic parameters acquired for each kerogen. The
Figure 1. black curve is the temperature-vitrinite reflectance relationship used
in the model.
seismic data that had poor coverage in the northwestern part of
the study area. Nevertheless, this was sufficient to capture the These analyses confirmed the characteristics of the Khatatba as
deepest part of the hydrocarbon kitchens that were located a late generating source rock. The onset of maturation, at a
northward of the area, where new seismic data have been transformation ratio (TR) of 10%, was not reached before
acquired. The resulting depth maps have to be taken with some 135–140C and peak oil generation at around 155–160C as
degree of caution especially for the Jurassic sequence which as shown by the transformation ratio (TR) versus temperature
described earlier is difficult to image at depth. Although the profile in Figure 6. These values correspond respectively to Ro
maps are insufficient to define a prospect to drill, they are values of 0.76% and 1.1%. Such a high temperature oil window
suitable for defining regional maturity trends. Figure 5 illus- is normal for type III source rocks for which the transforma-
trates the computed vitrinite reflectance distribution at the top tion ratio is often no more than 5% at 0.7% Ro.
of the Khatatba formation. The colour code highlights the Bulk kinetic parameters have also been acquired for two
effective hydrocarbon kitchens in yellow and red. The light blue other main source rocks in the area. For the Alam El Bueib
corresponds to areas where the Ro does not reach 0.7% and is Formation, the kerogen shows a similar maturity evolution
considered immature. The level of maturity of this particular versus depth to that of the Khatatba source rock (Fig. 6) and
source rock between 0.7 and 1.0% of vitrinite reflectance will its evolution versus temperature indicates a late maturation
be discussed later. Three main troughs resulting in deep source (TR=10% at 135–140C, peak oil window at 155C). This
kitchens are identified throughout the study area: Abu Gharadig evolution is fully compatible with the terrestrially-derived
Basin in the SW, Alamein Basin in the NE, and the East Tiba organic material of these shales.
Trough in the centre–east of the area. However the vitrinite For the Abu Roash formation the analyses confirmed a
reflectance is an approximate indication of the maximum standard maturation versus temperature trend, typical of a type
temperature reached in a basin. Because of this, a full petroleum II source rock, with an entrance into the oil window at 120 ºC
system basin model was carried out. (TR=10% equivalent to Ro=0.7%) and a fast evolution (peak
oil generation at 135C, equivalent to Ro=0.83%).
PETROLEUM SYSTEM MODELLING Full compositional kinetic parameters have not been pub-
lished for the Western Desert. The limitations of the bulk
As already noted, the Khatatba source rock displays character- kinetic description used here have been highlighted by numer-
istics of a mixed type II and III kerogen; it also contains high ous geochemists (e.g. Behar et al. 2008) and we are aware that
TOC coal beds. At the outset of this study, specific composi- a quantitative description of the expected hydrocarbon fluids in
tional kinetic parameters were not available for this source rock; the traps is incomplete with the current data. However, the
as a consequence, a mixed kerogen model inferred from main aim of this study has been to determine the position of
standard types has been used. Tests have been made with a the source kitchens, the approximate timing of the maturation
50/50, types II/III model and a 25/75, types II/III model. and migration processes compared to the age of the structures,
Using these parameters, the oil window was modelled relatively and potential migration pathways. The aim was not to predict
deep since standard type III kerogens have a late maturation. the gas-oil ratio (GOR) or the fluid composition in individual
Given this situation, a good fit of Rock Eval data (e.g. Tmax, traps but the presence, or lack, of hydrocarbons, i.e. hydro-
HI) and thermal data (current borehole temperatures and Ro), carbon charge. For detailed modelling and prediction of fluid
could not be achieved with the default kinetic parameter values. properties, further compositional kinetic analyses would be
We have therefore selected immature Khatatba shale samples necessary. To quantify the uncertainties in the Khatatba For-
to run kerogen-specific kinetic analyses. Kinetic parameters mation evolution versus depth, while taking into account its
have been measured on 2 samples with different generation heterogeneity and presence of coal beds, we made various
potentials and from different locations. Results show very systematic runs with fairly conservative approaches. For
similar kinetic behaviours for these samples, and variation does instance, the Khatatba shale models were run using a hypotheti-
not exceed 5C on the peak oil generation temperature, Tmax. cal source rock with the kinetics of a classic type III kerogen,
The initial potentials were S2=8.27 mg HC g–1 rock, HI=168 then with the kinetics of a 25/75 mixture of types II and III,
mg HC g–1 TOC for one of the samples, and S2=12.43 mg HC and with the newly measured kinetic parameters presented in
g–1 rock, HI=170 mg HC g–1 TOC for the second sample. Figure 6.
128 I. Moretti et al.

Fig. 7. Maps of the transformation ratio (TR) at the tops of the three main source rocks. Values less than 20% are in light blue. For map location
see Figure 1.

Fig. 8. Evolution versus time in the northern kitchen. Left: burial and oil window for the main horizons. Right: transformation ratio for the main
source rocks.

The maturity maps for the three main organic-rich levels are timing problem of hydrocarbon charge versus trap formation.
presented in Figure 7. The active hydrocarbon kitchens, arbi- Recent erosion may have halted maturation locally; however,
trarily defined as transformation ratio (TR) > 20%, have been this event did not affect the seal integrity since mainly Miocene
highlighted by setting lower TR values to be transparent. deposits have been eroded.
Modelling of the Cretaceous source rocks, suggests that present
day the Abu Roash-F/G is immature in the study area and that
Drainage area
the Alam El Bueib Formation enters the oil window only
locally. Currently, the Khatatba Formation is mature over a These results show that even though the Cretaceous source
large part of the area, and in the three deeper depocentres rocks are largely immature, an active petroleum system occurs
where the Khatatba Formation is currently deeper than 5 km, it in the South Alamein area. However, dry wells are present (4 in
is in the condensate/gas window. The displayed maps represent the study area, all targeted at the Cretaceous, see Fig. 1). These
the maturity at the top of the formations, thus displaying a dry holes could be due either to structural issues, off structure
conservative view of the potential kitchen limits at the base of well location based on the 2D seismic dataset, or a lack of an
the source rock intervals. The conclusion is clearly that in the effective migration pathway since the Cretaceous reservoir was
study area the active source rock is the Khatatba Formation not directly in contact with a mature source. The size of the
whereas the Upper Cretaceous source rocks are not thought to effective drainage area of a particular structure may also be an
have played any significant part in charging the prospects. issue. Due to structural complexity and the fragmentation of
carrier beds, the effective drainage cells for individual structures
may be limited in extent and volume potential. To quantify this
Timing of maturation risk, modelling of the migration pathway has been carried out
In the South Alamein area, maturation began where the using ray-tracing.
organic-rich sediments were most deeply buried at the end of The main carrier beds, which can also form the reservoirs,
the Cretaceous but hydrocarbon migration didn’t start before are the Cretaceous Kharita and Alam el Bueib formations and
the deposition of the Apollonia Formation at about 40 Ma (Fig. the Jurassic sandstones (intra-Khatatba and Wadi Natrun
8). The targeted traps are older than the onset of migration, the formations). Targeting reservoirs of Jurassic and Cretaceous
tilted blocks are Jurassic in age and the inversion features ages, migration pathways have been computed for both, regard-
developed at the end of the Cretaceous. Therefore there is no ing the Khatatba Formation as the source rock. Only this
 South Alamein petroleum system 129

Fig. 9. Above: extract from the 3D seismic cube. Below: interpretation illustrating the fault network and the carrier bed compartmentalization.
For profile location see Figure 1.

source rock has been modelled, since the others are immature study area (West Wadi Natrun well WNAT-1, red symbol) may
as discussed above. The modelling has been undertaken in 3D be partially filled, if the faults are open, by a northward
but with a simple hypothesis, based on the buoyancy approach, migration from the half-graben to the south. On the contrary,
that generated fluids will migrate vertically to the first carrier if the faults are sealed, the hydrocarbon charge must come from
bed and will then follow them laterally to the first trap. This the northern kitchens. However, other small culminations along
approach allows a qualitative evaluation of the expected charge the migration pathway could have retained a large part of the
and a ranking of the prospects. The computed prospect charges migrated fluids, resulting in undercharged or even completely
reflect the maturation and richness of the source rocks within dry structures within the middle Cretaceous reservoir.
their drainage areas and depend therefore on the size of
individual drainage areas. Fault role
Figure 11 shows the results for two reservoirs in the eastern As may be seen in Figures 3, 9 and 10, numerous normal faults
part of the study area. Sensitivity analyses have been made for initiated during Mesozoic extension, and possibly reactivated
the fault hydraulic behaviour, and the two runs shown here later, divide the carrier beds. Their hydraulic behaviour prob-
correspond to 100% open or sealing faults. The grey polygons ably influenced migration pathways, as well as the lateral seal
correspond to structural closures and the green to active source integrity of the prospects. Fault hydraulic behaviour versus time
kitchens; orange colours represent shallow areas whereas blue and depth is an unresolved issue which is currently the subject
colours represent greater depth. For proprietary reasons, the of research. The current state of understanding may be sum-
sizes of the prospects are approximate. The discrepancy marized below.
between the grey and green polygons could be accurately
interpreted as reflecting the various degrees of charge risk. For 1. Distinction between transverse permeability and lateral per-
example, the structure that has been drilled in the east of the meability. Very often faults act as transverse seals. In the fault
130 I. Moretti et al.

Fig. 10. Segmentation of the fault network. (a) Coherency of the 3D seismic data round the West Wadi Natrun well (red point), Time slice near
the top of the Jurassic. (b) Top of the Khatatba formation, cut by the main fault that borders the West Wadi Natrun structure, and position
of the well. Note that the well is not located at the top of the structure and that the SW border fault is not continuous but is segmented in at
least three parts. In the box, stereo diagram of the faults (lower hemisphere).

gouge, the cataclastic band may have reduced grain size, east–west), likely to create faulted relays between the N140E
reducing permeability, and clay smearing may also occur. On trending normal faults.
the other hand, damage zones may result in preferential The 3D seismic data acquired recently show that the faults
migration pathways along the fault plane because of second- are less continuous than was originally interpreted from the 2D
ary permeability due to an increase of fracture density. data (see Fig. 10; the 3D-interpreted fault network around the
2. Fault permeability changes with time, especially when the WNAT well). When a previously-interpreted single fault is
fault is seismically active, resulting in cycles of opening and actually a series of small segments with a relay and ramp in
closing of the fracture networks around the faults at each between, the local sealing property of one of the segments
increment of deformation. cannot be considered as representative of the fault zone as a
3. Fault permeability depends on the surrounding material: the whole. Being unable to predict the individual fault hydraulic
same fault can be a lateral seal at one depth yet allow behaviour, extremal hypotheses were tested at large scale as
transverse flow at other depth. The juxtaposition concept shown in Figure 11.
may be useful at the reservoir scale (for instance in a clastic Note that the structure drilled in the West Wadi Natrun well
context with intercalation of thin shale and sandstone beds) (red symbol, Fig. 11) is not charged by oil coming from the
but it is often inappropriate at the basin scale since the northern pool. The structure could only be oil-charged if
precise fault network and its evolution versus time are not migration through the southern fault took place, which was
well known. apparently not the case as the well was dry. Similarly, to the SW,
4. Fracture opening and the resulting damaged zone per- the structure highlighted by the pink star remains only partially
meability depend on diagenetic evolution within the frac- charged if additional hydrocarbons do not pass from the south
tures and is therefore temperature dependent. For example, though the fault from the local kitchen in the Tiba.
in quartz-rich environments, faults are often preferential
migration pathways at temperatures lower than 100C,
whereas at higher temperatures they can act as a seal (e.g. DISCUSSION
Labaume & Moretti 2001).
5. Fracture opening and the resulting damaged zone per- As explained above, faults play a significant role in the trap,
meability depend on the effective stress tensor as modified lateral seal and migration pathway compartmentalization in the
by production/injection or seismic events (e.g. Sibson Western Desert. We consider that our current knowledge does
1996). not allow us to be fully predictive at this point. In terms of
charge probability, a structure that could be charged, whatever
There is no definitive constitutive law that allows prediction the fault hydraulic connectivity over time, is obviously less risky
of fault hydraulic behaviour. The previous remarks are related (i.e. the structures are charged on both sealing and non-sealing
to the local characteristics of a single fault zone whereas very models in Fig. 11). However, charging the crest of a tilted block
often a fault may actually comprise a set of fault segments by hydrocarbons migrating from the deepest part of its hanging
whereby the fluids may pass through fault relay zones even if wall is not unusual in a rift setting. This process has been
each individual segment is a seal. An example of such a relay is proposed for many of the structures in the Gulf of Suez as well
shown in Figure 10b. The time slice of the 3D coherence cube as within the Viking Graben in the North Sea. In the Gulf of
(Fig. 10a) shows the predominance of a general trend about Suez, hydrocarbons in the Nubian sandstones lying above the
N140E but the stereodiagram reveals the complexity of the granitic basement were sourced at the rift borders by hydro-
fault network. There are two main trends: N140E and carbons migrating along faults from the deep central graben
N160E. Note the existence of another fault direction (almost (Ungerer et al. 1985); commonly the basement itself is charged
 South Alamein petroleum system 131

Fig. 11. Charge corresponding to fault hydraulic behaviour. Migration pathways for hydraulically open faults (left) and closed faults (right).
Above: Cretaceous reservoir; below: Jurassic reservoir. Zoom on the eastern part of the study area (red box in Fig.1). The colour code indicates
the depth of the carrier bed. The grey patches represent structural closure and the green areas the part of the structural closure that could be
charged with migrated hydrocarbon in the model. The black lines are HC flow lines. Note the lack of charge in the West Wadi Natrun structure
(NE red dot).

and produces, since its porosity is enhanced by fracture and CONCLUSIONS

alteration processes (Salah & Alshrahan 1998). Similarly, in the
Western Desert, charge access from deep hanging walls by The good quality source rock at the base of the Upper
along-fault migration, has been proposed for other structures to Cretaceous Abu Roash Formation is buried to sufficient depths
the west (Strating & Franssen 2006). for hydrocarbon generation and expulsion in the Abu El
In some parts of the Western Desert the Upper Jurassic and Gharadig and Gindi basins to the southwest and northwest of
Lower Cretaceous are thick enough to induce early hydro- the study area, respectively. Elsewhere, including the study area,
carbon generation from the Khatatba Formation before the end these rocks are mostly immature for hydrocarbon generation.
of the Cretaceous (Metwalli & Pigott 2005; Umbarka wells area, However, the study has confirmed the occurrence of several
StratoChem study for the Alamein-1X well). In such a context alternative source rocks in this South Alamein area. The deepest
the timing of the trap formation versus hydrocarbon migration one, Jurassic in age, is currently in the oil and condensate/gas
is a key factor, but this is not the case in the South Alamein area. window in the troughs. This source rock has a mixed kerogen
In addition to the general north–south trend of oil migration type II/III origin, a fairly low initial HI and maturation at a
within the study area, one may note in Figure 11 that the local relatively high temperature with peak oil generation occurring
Jurassic source rock kitchen within the Tiba (Fig. 7) is between 150 and 160C. Data are not available to evaluate the
sufficiently large to charge the other nearby prospects. existence, and any remaining potential, of Palaeozoic source
132 I. Moretti et al.

rocks. Migration from the active hydrocarbon kitchens within El-Shahat, W., Villinski, J.C. & El-Bakry, G. 2009. Hydrocarbon potentiality,
the troughs to the Cretaceous and Jurassic carrier beds took burial history and thermal evolution for some source rocks in October oil
field, northern Gulf of Suez, Egypt. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineer-
place during the Oligocene and Miocene. Mesozoic extensional ing, 68, 245–267.
tilted fault blocks, and Syrian Arc related inversion anticlines in Guiraud, R. 1999. Palaeozoic geodynamic evolution of the Northeastern
close proximity to the active kitchens are likely to be charged, African Epicratonic Basins: an outline. In: Feist, R., Talent, J.A. & Daurer,
but some structures, especially in Cretaceous reservoirs, may A. (eds) North Gondwana: Mid-Palaeozoic Terranes, Stratigraphy and Biota.
lack charge due to distance from mature source and compart- Abhandlungen der Geologischen Bundesanstalt, Wien, 54, 15–26.
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of rifting in Africa and Arabia: synthesis and implications to plate-scale
The petroleum system modelling has been carried out using Basin- tectonics. Tectonophysics, 282, 39–82.
Mod software (PlatteRiver). The integration of data and their Guiraud, R. & Bosworth, W. 1999. Phanerozoic geodynamic evolution of
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315, 73–108.
Halim, A.M., Said, M. & El Azhary, T. 1996. The geochemical characteristics
APPENDIX 1 of the Mesozoic and Tertiary hydrocarbons in the Western Desert and Nile
Parameters used for the modelling Delta basins – Egypt. 13th Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation Exploration
and Production Conference, 21–24 October 1996, Cairo, Egypt, 1, 401–416.
Thermal computation: transient heat flow. Hegazy, A. 1992. Western Desert oil and gas fields (A comprehensive
Bottom heat flow: today 42 mW m–2; increased during overview), EGPC Conference Proceedings, 4321. Egyptian General Petroleum
Jurassic rifting up to 80 mW m–2. Corporation, Cairo.
Cenozoic erosion: the cross-sections in Figures 3 and 9 Hoogerduijn-Strating, E.H. & Franssen, R. 2006. Discovering and developing
a deep Jurassic play in the mature Western Desert, Abu Gharadig Basin,
show erosion of the outcropping series. The amount of erosion Egypt. 68th EAGE Conference & Exhibition, Vienna, Extended Abstract,
has been calibrated at the wells. For example a post-Miocene SPE 100125.
erosion of 800 m has been calculated at the level of the Hoogerduijn-Strating, E.H. & Postuma, W. 2008. Reservoir compartmentali-
WNAT-1 well, based on palaeo-thermometers (vitrinite reflect- sation in the JG Field – Western Desert, Egypt. 70th EAGE Conference
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fault zone sealing in sandstones. Example from the Bolivian sub-Andean
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Heat flow and Tertiary erosion on the model have been Letouzey, J. 1986. Cenozoic palaeo-stress pattern in the Alpine Foreland and
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Received 10 March 2009; revised typescript accepted 8 February 2010.