Core study of two wells drilled in the southeastern
part of the Nile Delta reveals a sub-basin in
northern Egypt from the Carboniferous–Permian up to the
post-Miocene. The drilled sections are approximately
2600 m thick in the Ubur well in the east and about 3238 m
thick in the Orabi well to the west. Basement rocks are
recorded in the eastern side of the sub-basin, whereas
drilling reached only Lower Cretaceous rocks in the west.
The faulting movements played the most important factor
determining the distribution, lateral facies changes and
unconformities between the different rock units across the
sub-basin. The reversal of the faulted blocks over time led
to different thicknesses of the drilled units. During the
Paleogene, the downfaulted western Orabi part of the subbasin
received up to 1163 m of Paleocene–Eocene sediments,
whereas only 203 m were deposited in the eastern
uplifted Ubur part. During the Miocene, reversal of the
sub-basin taphonomy took place leading to deposition of a
thick Miocene section (898 m) in the downfaulted Ubur
eastern part, whereas minor thickness (387 m) of the
Miocene sediments were laid down in the high Orabi
western part of the sub-basin. The stratigraphy of sections
drilled is more related to the north Eastern Desert and Sinai
rather than to the Western Desert facies. During the Miocene,
stratigraphy of the rock units and their facies are a
continuation of the Mediterranean subsurface in northern
Sinai and eastern Nile Delta facies. |
