Red Sea orbital stratigraphy: a new R&D project

The Gulf of Suez and Red Sea are an important hydrocarbon province. The former holds about ten billion barrels of original oil reserves, and the latter has a proven Miocene petroleum system. These basins are also a primary laboratory for the study of rift systems. Over the past few decades many scientific and industry organizations have studied them and proposed various tectono-stratigraphic models. These models primarily emphasize local tectonic movements, and to a lesser extent the role of glacio-eustatic sea level fluctuations.

Red Sea Orbital Stratigraphy is a new R&D project that highlights glacio-eustasy as the driving force for sedimentation in these basins. This project reinterprets the Red Sea’s stratigraphy as a subsiding basin with Gulf of Suez and Bab Al-Mandeb as restrictions or sills at both ends. Orbital-forcing produced glacio-eustatic cycles, extensional tectonics caused regional subsidence, and the sills allowed intermittent flooding. Accordingly, the sediments reflect restricted low stands (unconformities, evaporites, coarse clastics) to open-marine high stands (carbonates, marls and shales).

This project brings together the expertise of M. Dia Mahmoud (Geopex-Spectrum) and Moujahed I. Al-Husseini (Gulf PetroLink-GeoArabia), both of whom have explored the Red Sea. This expertise is combined with the knowledge and modeling software of Rob K. Matthews (RKM & Associates).

Phase 1 of this R&D project presents the initial interpretation of most of the Red Sea formations and members, in terms of third (millions of years) and fourth-order (404,000 years) orbital cycles. Phase 2 will attempt to calibrate the fourth-order orbital cycles to lithofacies and unconformities, based on wells and outcrop sections. Companies that would like to sponsor and participate in either or both phases of this exciting R&D project should contact: M.I. Al-Husseini, Editor-in-Chief, GeoArabia.