Oil Families and Their Potential Sources in the Southern Gulf of Suez, Egypt

Abstract

Four oil families are identified in the southern Gulf of Suez, through high-resolution geochemical studies including gas chromatography, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, and carbon isotope analyses. Biological features characterize oils in family 1a, suggesting tertiary carbonate source rocks for these oils, rich in type II organic matter and deposited under anoxic depositional environment. Family 1b oil shows minor variations in the source of organic matter and the depositional environment, as it was derived from carbonate source rock with more algal and bacterial contribution and minor input of terrestrial organic sources, deposited under less saline condition compared to family 1a oil. Family 2 oil, although genetically related to family 1a oil, has some distinctive features, such as diasterane to sterane and pristane to phytane ratios, which suggest clay-rich source rocks and a more oxic depositional environment. Also, the lack of oleanane indicates pre-tertiary source rocks for this oil. In contrast, family 3 oil is of mixed sources (marine and non-marine), generated from low sulfur and clay-rich source rock of tertiary and/or younger age. Family 4 oil seems to be mixed from family 1b and family 3 oils, sourced mainly from carbonate source rocks rich in clay minerals with algal and bacterial contributions. Family 4 oil is highly mature, family 1b oil lies within equilibrium values (peak oil generation stage), while the other families are more or less near equilibrium.