Age

Formation

Lithology

MARMARICA

Limestone

MOGHRA

Sand

Composed mainly of lose sand and in some areas contains

intercalations of clay. Due to its higher porosity & permeability leads to
losses of drilling mud while drilling it.

DABAA

Shale

Composed mainly of sticky soft shales which absorbs water from the
water base mud while drilling and swells leading to stucking of the
drilling pipes.

APOLLONIA

Limestone

Composed mainly of hard limestone that contains some Chert beds.

Many companies set a surface casing at the top of this bed to avoid
drilling problems ( Losses & Stuck ) caused by the above thick section
of shales in Dabaa Fm. In some fields of NWD we can find
hydrocarbons inside it.

KHOMAN

Chalky Limestone

Thick section of Chalky Limestone contains a lot of Cherts. In some

areas as in Abu El gharadig basin it diveded into two memmbers,
khoman (A) composed of Chalky limetone & khoman (B) composed of
Limestone and Shale intercalations.

A/R - A

Shale and Limestone

Composed of intecalations of Shales and Limestones

A/R - B

Limestone

Composed mainly of hard limestones

A/R - C

Shale

Composed mainly of Shales. In some areas of WD it contain beds of

fine grained sandstones which may contain hydrocarbons

A/R - D

Limestone

Composed mainly of limestones. Some of these limestones at the base

of this member may contain hydrocarbons but with low porosity which
needs to frac it or drilling a horizontal wells inside to increase its
porosity & permeability.

A/R - E

Anhydrite, shale, siltstone,

sandstone & lime stone
intercalations

It characterized by first appearance of the Anhydrite salts which

intercalates with Shale, Siltstone & Limestone beds. In some areas of
WD it may Contains fine sanstones with hydrocarbons.

A/R - F

Limestone

Composed mainly of Limestone. Is the main Source Rocks of

hydrocarbons in the WD because it contains a lot of organic matters
that converts to hydrocarbons due to increasing pressure &
temperature affecting it with depth.

A/R - G

Shale and Limestone

Composed of intecalations of Shales and Limestones. In some areas of

WD it contain sandstone beds with hydrocarbons as in Salam field of
KPC and some fields in Qarun Pet. CO.

A/R-G
Dolomite

Dolomite

Composed of fractured Dolomites with high porosity and permeability.

Is a main Reservoir in WD as in NRQ, RZZK fields.

Upper Bah.

Sandstone & Siltstones

Lower Bah.

Sandstone & Siltstones

TERTIARY

Miocene

Oligocene

Eocene

Turonian - Santonian

ABU ROASH Fm

Upper Creteaceous

Campanian / Masstrichtian

Remarks
Is the surface strata at NW part on WD and composed of vuggy
limestone contains many small caves leads to surface losses of drilling
mud while drilling it.

CRETACEOUS

BAHARIYA

Cenomanian

KHARITA

Sandstone

is big section of Sandstones and other clastic rocks as

Siltstones & Shale. In some areas it contains some intervals of
carbonate rocks as Limestone & dolomite. Its sandstone have
angular grains that make it abbrassive to the drilling bit cones
leading to decreasing the drilling rate.

DAHAB

Shale & Siltstone

Copmposed of Shale and Siltstone with thin beds of Dolomite &

Limestone. Drilling is very slow in this formation and drilling pipes may
stucked due to Active pressurized Shales which caves inside the hole
once they drilled due to releasing the load above it.

Alamein Dolomite

Dolomite

One of the most important Reservoirs of oil in the WD. Consists

of porous, permeable & fractured dolomites. Its high porosity
and permeability may leads to complete mud losses while
drilling so drillers should decrease the mud pumping rate
before hitting this formation to avoid complete mud losses.

ALBIAN

Creteacous

Aptian

AEB # 1

Shale, Sandstone &

Siltstone

AEB # 2

Dolomite & sandstone

AEB # 3A

Sandstone, Shale &

Siltstone

AEB # 3C

Siltstone & shale

Hauterivian - Barremian

ALAM EL- BUIEB Fm

Lower

U.Bah. & L.Bah. are the most important Resevoirs in the WD.
Composed mainly of Sandstones, Siltstones, Shales & Limestone
beds. Sandstone are very dirty containing high percent of clay
minerals which increase water saturation and decrese effective
porosity so may need frac to vovercome this.

AEB # 3D

Sandstone & siltstone

AEB # 3E

Sandstone

AEB # 3F

Siltstone & shale

AEB # 3G

Sandstone

AEB # 4

Siltstone & shale

Alam Elbuieb formation is a very iportant

formation in the WD.
Composed mainley of Sandstone & Siltstone
beds alternating with some Limestones &
dolomites and divided into many units according
to these alternating cycles

All AEB sands considered as important Resrvoir

rocks and main targets to many oil companies
working in the WD as in KPC, BAPTCO & AGIBA.

Famous AEB reservoirs are mostly countered in

AEB-1, AEB-3A, AEB-3D, AEB-3E, AEB-3G, AEB-5
& AEB-6.

Some of AEB Fm units are very hard during

drilling due to coarse grained abbrassive
Sandstones or hard, compacted, ferrigenous
Siltstones as in AEB-3C, AEB-3F, AEB-4 & AEB-6
units.

ALAM
Valangenian

Berrisian

AEB # 5

Sandstone & siltstone

AEB # 6

Limestone, Shale,
Dolomite, Sandstone &
siltstone

The boundary between Creteaceous & Juraasic

age deposites occurs at the base of AEB-6 unit.

Composed mainly of Thick limestone section which

may be Dolomitized if it contains fractured
Dolomite at its top.

Upper Jurassic

MASAJID Fm

Limestone

Sometimes cosidered as good Reservoir when its

top if fractured or Dolomitized which increase it's
porosity and permeability.

Middle Jurassic

Lower Jurassic

Zahra

Shale & Limestone

Consists mainly of Shale with Limestone & thin coal beds

inside it. Active caved shale and coal may cause stucking drill
pipes while drilling it.

Upper Safa

Siltstone, Sandstone &

Coal beds

Very important Reservor in the WD. Characterized by the

presence of thin Coal beds. Gases will increase while drilling it
especially against coal beds. Drilling problems as differential
stuck of drill pipes increase.

kabrit

Limestone

Thin limestone bed sepearing upper & lower safa

Lower Safa

Sandstone & Siltstone

Very important Reservor in the WD. Gases will increase while

drilling it . Differential stuck of drill pipes is the most problem
encountered.

Wadi El Natroun Fm

Limestone & shale

Composed of Limestone with thin Shale beds.

Ras Qattara Fm

Sandstone

Mainly Sandstones. Are good Reservoir in some areas as in

Shams fiels of KPC

KHATATBA Fm

JURASSIC

have Shale intercalations due to facies change

especially toward the west of WD.

TRASSIC

Safi

Siltstone & Sandstone

Dhiffah

Shale & Siltstone

Desouky

Sandstone

Paleozoic takes an important attention last years

after many oil discoveries in its strata as in
Faghour basin of KPC.

FAGHOUR GROUP
Silurian

Ordovician - Cambrian

PRE CAMBRIAN

Lithology

Zeitoun

Shale & limestone

Basur

Sandstone & Siltstone

Kohla

Shale

Shiffah

Siltstone, Shale &

Sandstone

Lithology

Basement

Sandstone

Shale

Siltstone

Limestone

Dolomite

Anhydrite

Coal

Reservoir / payzone

Source Rock

Carbonate rocks as Limestone are found in some

paleozoic beds as in Shiffah & base Zeitoun
formations.

The main source rock of paleozoic are the black

shales of Khola, Zeitoun & Dhiffah formation.
Igneous Diykes, Sills, Volcanic Extrusives are
common inside Paleozoic strata.

Drilling problems of Paleozoic includes very slow

drilling rate due to the very hard & abbrassive
rocks.

Are igneous rock fragments as granite and basalts of pink,

green & black colours. Its top if fractured due to weathering,
after that it will be massive & very hard to be drilled.

BASEMENT

Symbol

Paleozoic beds are of angular dippining towards

the west so that if you drill at the eastern part of
WD you will meet the lower paleozoic beds, while
at the western flank of WD will found a complete
paleozoic section.

Paleozoic contains many important Reservoirs as

Dihiffah, Desouky & Basur formations. all these
reservoirs are Sandstones.

Devonian

SIWA GROUP

PALEO ZOIC

Carboniferous

Symbol

Prepared by : Reda abdelrahman