Geophysical assessment of basement rocks for use as an unconventional reservoir in the Rabeh East oil field, southern Gulf of Suez Basin

Basement rocks are among the most significant unconventional oil and gas reservoirs. Fractured or weathered granites are examples of such reservoirs found globally. Fractured basement reservoirs represent favourable targets for hydrocarbon exploration in the Gulf of Suez Basin. The objective of this research was to geophysically evaluate the petroleum potential of the basement rocks in the Rabeh East field in the Gulf of Suez Basin as an additional source for long-term petroleum exploration in the southern Gulf of Suez. The applied geophysical assessment was based on twenty seismic lines and well log data from four wells (RE-25, RE-22, RE-8, RE-22 and Nageh-1) in the Rabeh East field. The interpreted seismic data revealed that the top of the basement is highly fragmented by several normal faults striking mainly toward the NW-SE direction, as well as a few E-W faults. The qualitative explanation of the well logging data proved that only RE-25 well shows all of the positive petrophysical signs between depths 5685 ft and 5700 ft of being a potential reservoir in the examined field. The average petrophysical parameters for this interval indicate porosity (11%), water saturation (60%), and the bulk volume of water (0.06). This investigation reflects the promising petrophysical characteristics of the basement rocks in Rabeh East oil field for generating hydrocarbons. Consequently, it is obligatory to add other possibilities while searching for and evaluating hydrocarbons in Rabeh East field, and to concentrate on deep-oil exploration in the basement rocks in this field.

Automated summary

Basement rocks, such as fractured or weathered granites, are significant unconventional oil and gas reservoirs found globally. This study focused on geophysically evaluating the petroleum potential of the basement rocks in the Rabeh East field in the Gulf of Suez Basin. The analysis revealed promising petrophysical characteristics, indicating the possibility of long-term petroleum exploration in this area.