GEOLOGICAL MODELING AND HYDROCARBON

RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION OF MESSINIAN

SEQUENCES IN WEST DIKIRNIS FIELD, ONSHORE

NILE DELTA, EGYPT

BY

AHMED ABD EL-MONEIM AHMED IBRAHIM KANDEEL

(B. SC. & M. SC. IN GEOLOGY)

THESIS

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

FOR THE DEGREE OF PHILOSOPHY OF DOCTORATE IN SCEIENCE

IN GEOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY

FACULTY OF SCIENCE

CAIRO UNIVERSITY

CAIRO

2012

APROVAL SHEET FOR SUMISSION

Thesis Title: Geological Modeling and Hydrocarbon

Reservoir Characterization of Messinian

Sequences in West Dikirnis Field, Onshore

Nile Delta, Egypt

Name of candidate: Ahmed Abd El-Moneim Ahmed

This thesis has been approved for submission by the

supervisors:

1- Prof. Dr. Mohamed Darwish Mohamed Salem

Signature:

2- Prof. Dr. Abd El-Moneim Ahmed El-Araby

Signature:

Prof. Dr. Mohamed Abd El-Rahman Hemdan

Chairman of Geology Department

Faculty of Science- Cairo University

85

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author wishes to thank Prof. Dr. Mohamed Darwish, Professor

of Petroleum Geology, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, for his

supervising, constant help and guidance during the progress of this work.

The author is grateful to Prof. Dr. Abd El-Moneim Al-Araby,

Professor of Sedimentology, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, for

supervising this work, and his constant guidance and support during the

progress of this work covered by the present thesis.

Deepest gratitude and appreciation is due to Geol. Mohamed Kassem,

Geology General Manager, for his continuous help and advice during the

practical work.

The author is indebted to Eng. Ahmed El Hawary, Chairman of Qantara

Petroleum Company for his continuous support and to Exploration

Manager, for wire-line logs, samples and data provided.

Special thanks with great debt of appreciation and gratitude are due to my

father and mother for their continuous encouragement.

 

ABSTRACT

 

ABSTRACT

Nile Delta is one of the most famous deltas in the world and also

considered as well as a unique and very important hydrocarbon province in Egypt.

Its potentiality is concentrated in the different Tertiary sedimentary facies. In the

present study, the depositional setting of the principal productive reservoir in the

southern onshore part of the province (Messinian Qawasim reservoir) and the

reservoir facies types were identified and evaluated in order to improve our

understanding of the reservoir behavior. Sedimentological analysis of the

Messinian Qawasim clastics indicated a deposition in a deltaic environment.

During this time, the Mediterranean Region is characterized by a sharp drop in sea

level (Messinian Salinity Crisis) which was accompanied by severe excavation of

the Proto-Nile drainage systems.

West Dikirnis Field is located in the southern part of El Mansoura

Concession - onshore Nile Delta. Exploration of this field added an additional play

concept for gas, condensate and oil prospecting in onshore Nile Delta area.

Stratigraphic sequence represents the normal succession in the southern part of the

region. Production testing of the Messinian reservoirs in the field had been done

through six wells between years 2005 and 2007.

Qawasim Formation in West Dikirnis Field was frequently discriminated

into three complete depositional cycles namely from base to top A, B and C

accompanying the relative sea level oscillations. Each depositional cycle consists

of a lower sandstone reservoir (Unit R) and an upper shale barrier (Unit B).

Lithofacies analysis using core samples and wireline logs revealed six lithofacies

types, labeled (F1 to F6) based on their lithological aspects, grain size distribution

and sedimentary structures; Lithofacies F1 is Conglomeratic Massive Sandstone,

Lithofacies F2 is Massive Sandstone, Lithofacies F3 is Laminated Sandstone,

Lithofacies F4 is Silty Laminated Sandstone, Lithofacies F5 is Laminated Siltstone

and Lithofacies F6 is Laminated Mudstone.

It is found through the analysis carried out on Qawasim Formation that the

reservoir quality variation through the different reservoir lithofacies primarily

reflects grain size differences. The highest porosity and permeability occur in the

coarser lithofacies. Deterioration of reservoir quality is recorded in decreasing

order from sandstone lithofacies types (massive, laminated and silty laminated) to

conglomeratic sandstone to siltstone (laminated type) and finally to mudstone

(laminated type). The later lithofacies type is considered as a flow barrier.

CONTENTS

Chapter Page

I. INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………….… 1

I.1. Area of Study ………………………………………………….…… 1

I.2. Exploration History ……………………………………………….... 3

I.3. Aim and Purpose of Study ……………………………………......... 5

I.4. Data, Material and Methodology ……………………………........... 6

II. GEOLOGICAL SET-UP OF THE NILE DELTA …………………... 7

II.1. Tectonic Evolution ………………………………………………... 7

II.2. Regional Structural Setting ….………………………………..….. 10

II.3. Regional Stratigraphic Setting ………………………………….. . 14

III. GEOLOGICAL SET-UP OF QAWASIM SEQUENCES …………. 19

III.1. General Structural Setting of West Dikirnis Field ………………. 19

III.2. Strtigraphic Setting of Qawasim Formation and Biostratigraphic

Assignments ………………………………………………….….. 22

III.2.1. Lower Pliocene / Zanclian Section ……...……………….. 25

III.2.2. Upper Miocene / Lower Messinian Section ..……..……… 25

III.2.3. Upper Miocene / Tortonian Section ………………….….. 26

III.3. Stratigraphic Units of Qawasim Formation in West Dikirnis

Field ……………………………………………………………... 29

IV. DEPOSITIONAL MODEL AND SEDIMENTOLOGICAL

EVOLUTION OF QAWASIM FORMATION …………………..... 46

IV.1. Overview on Cored Intervals of Qawasim Formation in

West Dikirnis Hydrocarbon Field …………………………….... 46

IV.2. Core Description, Lithofacies Suite and Petrography of

Qawasim Formation ……………………………………………... 48

Chapter Page

IV.3. Lithofacies Analysis from Image Logs .……………..…………. 71

IV.3.1. Lithofacies Analysis from the FMI Image ..………..…… 72

IV.3.2. Dipmeter Interpretation …………………………...…….. 74

IV.4. Depositional Model for Qawasim Formation Sandstone

Reservoir.…………………………………………….……...……. 79

V. QAWASIM RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION AND

HYDROCARBON POTENTIALITY …………………………...… 100

V.1. Traditional Petrophysical Aspects of Qawasim Formation in

West Dikirnis Field …………………………………….…….... 102

V.2. Reservoir Properties from Magnetic Resonance Logs …...…..…. 113

V.3. Reservoir Parameters of the Depositional Lithofacies ………….. 119

V.4. Clay Minerals Role in Porosity – Permeability

Characterization ………………………………………………..… 125

V.5. Significance of Diagenesis on Reservoir Quality of

Qawasim Reservoir ……………………………………………… 135

V.5.1. Diagenetic Aspects …………………….…………...…... 137

V.5.2. Reservoir Quality ……………………………………….. 151

VI. PETROLEUM SYSTEM …………………………………...…….... 159

VI.1. Petroleum Source Rock Potentialities, Maturation Regime

and Hydrocarbon Migration …………………………...……..... 159

VI.2. Reservoir, Seal and Entrapment Mechanism ………………....... 164

VI.3. Hydrocarbon Characterization and Correlation ……………….... 166

VII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ………………...…………...………..... 179

References

Arabic Summary

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No. Page

Fig. I.1: Nile Delta Location map…………………………………………….2

Fig. I.2: El Mansoura Concession map and zooming of West Dikirnis Field

location map…………………………………………………………3

Fig. I.3: Generalized stratigraphic column of West Dikirnis Field………….4

Fig. II.1: Areal distribution of the major tectonic features, (Bertello et al,

1996)……………………………………………………………….11

Fig. II.2: Simplified cross-section for the Nile Delta showing the sequence of

deposition on both sides of the flexure zone. The cross-section trend

is shown in Fig.II.1………………………………………………...12

Fig. II.3: Nile Delta Generalized Stratigraphic Column (compiled from EGPC,

1994)……………………………………………………………...15

Fig. II.4: Inferred palaeogeography of the Nile Delta area in the Late Miocene

(Tortonian and Messinian) and relative position of the West Dikirnis

field (Aarburg et al., 2006)………………………………………..17

Fig. III.1: Structure contour map on top Qawasim reservoir in West Dikirnis

Field (Based on well and seismic data), showing the structural

setting of the reservoir and the four way dip closure. N.B: 1) The

map in the bottom left corner shows the general fault pattern of El

Mansoura Concession. 2) F(I) trends E-W, F(II) trends N-S,

F(III)&F(IV) trend NW-SE and F(V) trends NE-SW……………20

Fig. III.2: N-S Seismic In-line passing through the field, showing faults (FI)

and F(V).………………………………………………………….20

Fig. III.3: E-W Seismic Cross line passing through the field, showing fault

F(II)……………………………………………………………….20

Fig. III.4: E–W structural cross section passing through West Dikirnis Field,

showing the four way dip closure and fault F(III)………………21

Fig. III.5: N–S geoseismic cross section passing through West Dikirnis Field,

showing the southern major E-W trending normal fault and faults

F(I), F(V)…………………………………………………………..21

Fig. III.6: Biostratigraphic distribution chart, foraminifera for West Dikirnis-3

well, showing the foraminifera biozones in the penetrated section

(EREX, 2007)……………………………………………...………23

Fig. III.7:Abundance and diversity of nannofossils histogram for West

Dikirnis-3 well, showing the calcareous nannoplankton biozones in

the penetrated section (EREX, 2007)……..……………………..24

Fig. III.8: West Dikirnis Field Biostratigraphic Summary Chart with relation to

the sequence chronostratigraphy of Haq et al (1988). There is a

zooming on Qawasim Formation showing the Type Section of the

Figure No. Page

three depositional cycles (A, B and C). (N.B: DTCO is the sonic log

curve TNPH is the neutron log curve and RHOZ is the density log

curve)……………………………………………………...……………...27

Fig. III.9: The subcrop map of Messinian age in El Mansoura Concession,

showing the missing of cycle 3.3 in western and eastern parts of the

concession…………………………….…………………………..28

Fig. III.10: A schematic stratigraphic column, showing details of the

depositional cycles identified in the Qawasim Formation……….30

Fig. III.11: Isopach map of Unit (R1), West Dikirnis Field……………….…34

Fig. III.12: Isopach map of Unit (B1), West Dikirnis Field………………...35

Fig. III.13: Isopach map of Unit (R2), West Dikirnis Field………………..36

Fig. III.14: Isopach map of Unit (B2), West Dikirnis Field………………..38

Fig. III.15: Isopach map of Unit (R3), West Dikirnis Field………………..40

Fig. III.16: Isopach map of Unit (B3), West Dikirnis Field………………..42

Fig. III.17: The relationship between PEFA (Prediction Error Filter Analysis)

and INPEFA (Integrated Spectral Frequency Analysis) curves (after

Nio et al., 1996) .....…………………………………………….…44

Fig. III.18: Stratigraphic correlation panel through wells West Dikirnis-9, West

Dikirnis-4 and West Dikirnis-7 using top Qawasim Formation (Early

Messinian Section) as a datum; showing the retrogradational trend (green

arrow) and the progradational trend (red arrow)…………………………45

Fig. IV.1: West Dikirnis Field location map showing the cored wells in the field

with a sketch for each litholog of the cored intervals (A. Moneim et

al., 2010)………………………………………………………...…47

Fig. IV.2: Fig.IV.2: Core description and litholog of the interval 9115’ –

9331.5’ in Qawasim Formation, West Dikirnis-9 well, cores #1, #2

and #3. This figure shows the different encountered lithofacies and

the vertical change in grain size in addition to a compiled description

for penetrated lithofacies in the last track………………………….51

Fig. IV.3: Lithofacies (F1) Display……………………………………………52

Fig. IV.4: Lithofacies (F2) Display……………………………………………54

Fig. IV.5: Lithofacies (F3) Display……………………………………………59

Fig. IV.6: Lithofacies (F4) Display……………………………………………64

Fig. IV.7: Lithofacies (F5) Display……………………………………………69

Fig. IV.8: Lithofacies (F6) Display……………………………………………71

Fig. IV.9: A presentation for West Dikirnis-9 well cored interval showing: (1)

the conventional wireline log gamma ray in the first track (left hand

side) to provide the basic information about the lithological