Petrophysical characterization for Thebes and Mutulla reservoirs in Rabeh East Field, Gulf of Suez Basin, via well logging interpretation

Mohammad Abdelfattah Sarhan

doi:10.1007/s13202-021-01288-x

Mohammad Abdelfattah Sarhan

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13202-021-01288-x

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Abstract

The current work assesses the sandstones of the Mutulla Formation as well as the limestone of the Thebes Formation for being promising new oil reservoirs in Rabeh East field at the southern portion of the Gulf of Suez Basin. This assessment has been achieved through petrophysical evaluation of wireline logs for three wells (RE-8, RE-22 and RE-25). The visual analysis of well logs data revealed that RE-25 Well is the only well demonstrating positive criteria in five zones for being potential oil reservoirs. The favourable zone within Thebes Formation locates between depths 5084 ft and 5100 ft (Zone A). However, the other positive zones in Mutulla Formation occur between depths: 5403.5–5413.5 ft (Zone B), 5425.5–5436 ft (Zone C), 5488–5498 ft (Zone D) and 5558.5–5563.5 ft (Zone E). The quantitative evaluation shows that the Zone A of Thebes Formation is the best oil-bearing zone in RE-25 Well in terms of reservoir quality since it exhibits lowest shale volume (0.07), minimum water saturation (0.23) and lowest bulk volume of water (0.03). These limestone beds include type of secondary porosity beside the existing primary porosity. On the other hand, the sandstones of Mutulla Formation in RE-25 contain four reservoir zones (B, C, D and E) with the total net pay thickness of 35.5 ft. Moreover, the obtained results revealed that it is expected for zones B, C and D to produce oil without water but Zone E will produce oil with water.

Highlights

The Gulf of Suez Basin (GSB) province is the oldest and the most productive oil region in Egypt
Despite the fact that its rifting process began in the Miocene epoch, both post-rift and pre-rift periods contain prospective source rocks and reservoirs (Shahin and Shehab 1984; Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), 1996; Atta et al 2002)
Based on the available wells in Rabeh East Field, the Eocene Thebes Formation is mainly composed of limestones (Fig. 3), whereas the Matulla Formation consists principally of sandstones and shale interbeds (Fig. 4)

Summary

Introduction

The Gulf of Suez Basin (GSB) province is the oldest and the most productive oil region in Egypt. The present work aims to perform geophysical assessment using well log data for the limestone of Thebes Formation and the sandstones of Mutulla Formation in order to add new promising targets to the well-known oil reservoirs in Rabeh East field. Based on the available wells in Rabeh East Field, the Eocene Thebes Formation is mainly composed of limestones (Fig. 3), whereas the Matulla Formation consists principally of sandstones and shale interbeds (Fig. 4).

Results

Conclusion