Is Al Thuraya another Mediterranean giant discovery Zohr Field? Identification of Al Thuraya reef build-up gas prospect, offshore Nile Delta, Eastern Mediterranean, Egypt

Abstract

The offshore Eastern Mediterranean region includes a diversity of hydrocarbon plays, dominated by Oligocene, Miocene, and Pleistocene clastic plays proven within the Nile and Levant Basins. Most of the Nile Delta gas discoveries are of thermogenic origin, while within the eastern portion of the Levant Basin, many of the gas discoveries are biogenic. There have also been a number of oil discoveries within the southern part of the Levant Basin. Most of the region’s discoveries targeted siliciclastic plays. For instance, the Miocene and Oligocene gas discoveries within the Nile Delta include the Abu Madi, Baltim, El Temsah, Happy, Raven, and Salamat fields. The Mango-1 well tested oil-bearing sand within the Lower Cretaceous. The Early Miocene gas discoveries within the Levant Basin include the Tamar and Leviathan fields. Gaza Marine tested the gas-bearing sand within the Lower Pliocene. The Cretaceous carbonate gas play was recently proven by the Zohr-1 and Calypso-1 discoveries. The Zohr field, discovered by ENI in Egypt’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in 2015, is the largest natural gas field in the region, with an estimated 30 TCF of gas in place. The play corresponds to the geographically extensive Cretaceous rudist structures that are enhanced by the karstification process during uplift and erosion events. The play is believed to be laterally charged with mainly biogenic gas through Oligo-Miocene clastics. Subsequent to Zohr, the Calypso-1 discovery proved the extension of the play within Cypriot waters. A significant structure called Al Thuraya, which is similar to Zohr, has been identified in the North Sinai offshore within the Eastern Mediterranean. Al Thuraya is estimated to contain a prospective un-risked ‘mean’ recoverable resource of over 10 TCF (Figure 1). Note: This paper was accepted into the Technical Program but was not presented at IMAGE 2022 in Houston, Texas.