Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Mar Geophys Res (2018) 39:383–406 DOI 10.1007/s11001-017-9320-9 ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER Investigating the complex structural integrity of the Zeit Bay Field, Gulf of Suez, Egypt, using interpretation of 3D seismic reflection data M. Afife 1  · M. Salem 1  · M. Abdel Aziz 2   Received: 6 August 2016 / Accepted: 19 May 2017 / Published online: 20 July 2017 © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2017 Introduction and geologic setting The Gulf of Suez rift is a Neogene continental rift that developed by separation of the African and Arabian plates in the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene. It represents a north- west-elongated structural depression at the northern end of the Red Sea that is 350 km long and ranges in width from 52 km in the north to 90 km in the south (Abd El-Naby et al. 2009; Lashin and Abd El-Naby 2014). Previous studies have recognized that the Gulf of Suez is a large-scale rift basin, with axis segmentation into sub- basins, by accommodation zones (Moustafa 1976; Purser and Bosence 2012). The Gulf province is a narrow and elongated trough, which originated as a result of Tertiary extensional tectonic activity, and it has been interpreted as being arranged in a complex half graben system (Bosworth 1985). The Gulf is divided along its axial direction into three main tectonic provinces, according to the dip orientation of the pre-Neogene complex sequence. The Late Cenozoic Gulf of Suez Basin is one of the best-exposed and most- studied examples of continental pull-apart rifting. Several recent models of the rift geometry and evolution have relied heavily on the data and concepts derived from this location (Bosence 1998; Bosworth 1994). The Zeit Bay Field is an off-shore oil and gas field that is located in the Gulf of Suez and operated by The Suez Oil Company (SUCO). It occupies the southwest offshore margin of the Gulf of Suez, in a shallow water depth (water up to 65 ft.) just east of Ras El Bahar Peninsula. The field is located approximately 65 km north of Hurghada, 85 km south of Ras Gharib and 350 km southeast of Cairo. It lies between longitudes 33° 32′ and 33° 36′ E and latitudes 27° 42′ and 27° 47′ N, encompassing an area of approximately 19.25 km², and is 5.5 km long and 3.5 km wide (Fig. 1). Abstract Zeit Bay Field is one of the most important oil-bearing fields in the Gulf of Suez, Egypt, producing oil from the fractured basement rocks. Due to the complex structural setting of the area and the classical exploration concept that was based mainly on 2D seismic survey data, the area suffered from limited hydrocarbon interest for sev- eral years. During this time, most of the drilled wells hit structural highs and resulted in several dry holes. The pre- sent study is based on the interpretation of more recently acquired 3D seismic survey data as, matched with the available well logs, used to understand the complex struc- tural setting of the Zeit Bay Field and provide insight into the entrapment style of the implied hydrocarbons. Sev- eral selected seismic cross sections were constructed, to extract subsurface geologic information, using available seismic profiles and wells. In addition, structure contour maps (isochronous maps, converted to depth maps) were constructed for the peaks of the basement, Nubian Sand- stone, Kareem and Belayim Formations. Folds (anticlines and synclines) and faults (dip-slip) are identified on these maps, both individually and in groups, giving rise to step- like belts, as well as graben and horst blocks. Keywords Structure · 3D seismic · Gulf of Suez · Zeit Bay · Egypts * M. Afife mohamed.afify@fsc.bu.edu.eg 1 Geology Department, Benha University, Benha, Egypt 2 Suez Oil Company (SUCO), Giza, Egypt