SPE 127815

The Key Challenges for Pliocene Reservoirs Exploration in West

El Manzala and West El Qantara Concessions, East Nile Delta
Onshore, Egypt
Samir Raslan, Mohamed Fathy and Leonardo Salvadori, Dana Gas Egypt

Copyright 2010, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE North Africa Technical Conference and Exhibition held in Cairo, Egypt, 1417 February 2010.
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of
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Abstract
Exploration drilling in the Nile Delta has dramatically risen over the past 3 years, jumping from 5-10
wells/year up to 20-25 wells/year.

Much of this recent drilling has been targeting the highly

successful Pliocene play trend and the 2008 industry success ratio approached a phenomenal 90%.
Thick sequences of Pliocene deep marine sediments have been successfully drilled and led to several
offshore gas discoveries.

No great exploration interest had been directed towards these good

reservoirs in the onshore areas of the Nile Delta. Nevertheless, Dana Gas has been one of the most
active and successful operators for this exploration target in its West El Manzala and West El
Qantara Concessions.
The gas sands of the Pliocene reservoirs are characterized by low velocities and densities compared
with the surrounding shales and, subsequently, the top and base of the reservoirs have a bright
seismic amplitude response. Additionally, the gas charged Pliocene reservoirs are often associated
to acoustic impedance anomalies presence. The key challenge in the Pliocene reservoirs exploration
is to understand the depositional environment with respect to the amplitude and acoustic impedance
geometry from 3D seismic data through the cross-correlation between seismic facies character and
the depositional pattern and environment.
The main features and variations recognized in the reservoirs drilled to date in West El Manzala and
West El Qantara Concessions show a slow activity in the main basin evolution stage that seems to
be not affected by high turbidity current flow or significant slope channeling. The early stage broad
and straight channel system valley was cut and filled by younger channelized systems.

Minor

incisions of channel cuts are considered to be a key feature in defining channel fill development and
sand distribution.

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A comprehensive study has been made recently on the Pliocene sequences in West Manzala and
West Qantara concessions to assess the potentiality of El Wastani and Kafr El Sheikh Formations
which represent the main reservoirs for the Pliocene sequence.

The study has been focused on

sequence stratigraphy analysis of the entire sequence to understand the depositional setting of the
area through time as a fundamental support to the prospect generation and ranking of the area.
The presence of shallow dry gas reservoirs with good productivity combined to a relatively cheap
drilling cost makes the Pliocene exploration very attractive and economically profitable even for
small accumulations.

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1. Introduction
The study area covers the West Manzala and West Qantara Concession acreage, located in the
northeastern onshore of the Nile Delta, Egypt (Figure 1).

A number of multi-Tcf gas fields have

been discovered in the deep water of the Nile Delta in the last few years. Starting from the
twentieth century the exploration activity across the Nile Delta was focused on the Offshore where
discoveries were made on the extension of the Pliocene shallow marine reservoirs of the Rosetta
Field. Recent drilling technology advancement in the deep water coupled with the use of 3D seismic
as a standard exploration tool, have highlighted the outstanding prospectivity of the Pliocene in the
offshore deep water. During the last five years more focus has been given to the Pliocene
exploration in the Nile Delta onshore especially in West Manzala and west Qantara area which led to
additional discoveries although characterized by relatively lower reserves volumes. The current
paper will address the current understanding of the Pliocene play sequence analysis which could
potentially lead to more discoveries in the study area.

2. Stratigraphy of the Pliocene Sequence

The

early

Pliocene

marine

transgression

associated

extended into the Egyptian inland along the Nile Valley.

with

the

global

sea-level

rise

This was followed by the late

Pliocene to early Pleistocene rejuvenation of the northward movement of the African plate
and the revival of the Red Sea rifting (Figure 2).
The Pliocene age is ranging in age from 2.4 to 5.2 million years and indicated by the
appearance of NN17 till NN 12b nannofossils (Martini, 1971)
The Nile Delta progradation started in the Late Pliocene, coinciding with a sea level drop.
Terrigenous sediments supply to the delta increased with the warping up of the mountain
regions to the southeast. Subsidence patterns changed, whereas the Miocene subsidence
had been previously concentrated in the North Delta basin along the east-west trend. In
the Pliocene time, it spread to the south Delta block producing a north-south oriented
depocentre.
east-northeast

In the Pleistocene time, this axial deepening continued, but with the main
to

west-southwest

trending

depocentre

direction

developed

under

the

present outer continental shelf to the south of the Miocene structures (Rizzini, et. al.,
1978).
The Kafr El Sheikh Formation contains a significant volume of biogenic gas in place according to
some researchers and operators. This is consistent with the nature of this deposit. Kafr El Sheikh
gas is producing from barely consolidated sands, that have excellent reservoir characteristics and
can be easily recognized on logs. Entirely different Kafr El Sheikh facies also seems to be
productive.

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3. Sealing Rocks
The shale of the Kafr El Sheikh Formation provides the sealing mechanism for the intra Kafr El
Sheikh reservoir sands. The gas is expected to be trapped in mainly stratigraphic traps, which have
a structural element in the form of regional tilting.

4. Source Rock and Maturity

Most of the Kafr El Sheikh gas is believed to be biogenic. Only the Lowest Kafr El Sheikh section
produces gas with some condensate. Often the small Kafr El Sheikh gas accumulations are
associated with deep faulting. Whether these faults mainly act as a conduit for biogenic Kafr El
Sheikh gas or thermogenic pre-Messinian gas (or a mixture of the two) remains to be quantitatively
determined.
Even though extensive exploration has taken place in the West El Manzala and other offshore
concessions, a comprehensive source rock evaluation has not been carried out. Basic geochemical
data can be integrated to determine the source-rock and the source-quality of the discovered gas
and condensate in the Nile Delta province.
Abundant source-rock is present in several formations within the thick Tertiary sedimentary section
in the study area. The best source potential is believed to be the organically rich Oligocene to lower
Miocene shale (Tineh and Qantara Formations). They contain an average of 2.1% wt. TOC and have
the best known hydrocarbon generation potential.
This maturity assessment is based on the available vitrinite reflectance (Ro), Tmax from the rock
eval pyrolysis and Spore Color Index (SCI). This data suggest that the Pliocene and upper Miocene
source rocks are relatively immature, while the deeper middle Miocene and older rocks are more
mature, especially those buried deeply to the north of the flexure zone, commonly defined as Hinge
Line.
Generally, the Ro and SCI indicate that the hydrocarbon generation window ranges in depth from
4,000 to 4,500 meters and possibly deeper to the north in the offshore area (EGPC, 1994).

5. Sequence Stratigraphy Study of Kafr El Sheikh Formation

Sequence
framework

of

stratigraphy
cyclic,

is

the

genetically

study

related

of

rock

relationships

strata bounded

by

within

surfaces

of

stratigraphic

strata

continuity

and /or discontinuity (Emery, & Myers, 1996). It is an integrated interpretation of strata
patterns

from

seismic,

well

logs,

high-resolution

biostratigraphic

analysis,

the associated depositional environments and genetically related lithofacies.

together

with

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The sequence stratigraphy involves the transfer of the different units into varying cycles
that may be correlated from one well to another, and hence can be tied in 2D pattern.
This

analysis

is

based

chronostratigraphically

on

significant,

global

cycles,

as

because

it

deposited

was

each

depositional
during

sequence

given

is

interval

of

geologic time. Wireline logs are the mirror reflectors of lithofacies, coarsening and fining
upward cycles. So, it is a guide in separating retrograding cycles from prograding ones.
Kafr

El

Sheikh

Formation

during marine flooding.

started

with

the

deposition

of

the

Early

Pliocene

sediments

The age definition of Kafr El Sheikh is Early to Late Pliocene.

It is

defined by NN12b at the base and NN16b & rarely NN17 at the top. This formation ranges
in age from 2.4 to 5.2 million years. Kafr El Sheikh Formation is incised at the top by
lowstand and prograding clastics of El Wastani Formation (Raslan, 2002).
Based on the work done on wireline logs sequence analysis on the study area and through
the integration of bio data from some key wells with the seismic sequence stratigraphy
approach, five 1st order sequences on Kafr El Sheikh Formation have been defined.

The

first and upper sequence is a prograding sequence ranging from 2.4 to 3 million years and
it is related to cycle 3.6 according to El Haq scheme (El Haq, et al., 1989). The second
sequence ranges from 3 to 3.8 million years, the third one from 3.8 to 4.2 million years,
the fourth one from 4.2 to 4.6 million years and finally the fifth one and the basal Kafr el
Sheikh sequence is included between 4.6 and 5.2 million years (Figure 3) as aggrading
sequence with high marine influences coming with minor marine channels.
The seismic sequence analysis of Kafr El Sheikh

Formation

has clarified that

the

two

loermost sequences are the most sand prone and are deposited in a prograding setting
with

appropriate

channel

geometry.

Some

slumps

are

also

associated

with

this

depositional sequence (Figure 4).

The

surfaces

understanding

between
of

the

these
Kafr

five

El

sequences

Sheikh

have

depositional

been
model

mapped

in

compatible

support
with

the

of

the

regional

model of the Nile Delta (figure 5).

Conventional mapping of the intra Kafr El Sheikh events has been carried out as well on a
local scale only. The 3D set-up of the entire Kafr El Sheikh Formation is not yet fully
understood

or

mapped

but

the

most

obvious

regional

sequence

and/or

para-sequence

boundaries have been identified.

The structure map of the uppermost sequence indicates a general slope towards NE, the
second

sequence

(3.8MY)

indicates

NS

trending

slope,

the

third

one

(4.6MY)

indicates

NNE-SSW trending Slope whereas the basal Kafr El Sheikh sequence indicates a NW-SE
trend (Figure 6).

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The Isochron Maps built between each successive sequence indicate increasing thickness
towards the South and South West to confirm the wedge shape profile of the Pliocene
deltaic deposits (Figure 7). The change of the slope direction through time from NE to NW
is clarified in figure 8.
The

slope

of

these

events

generally

progrades

to

the

North

and

Northeast.

Further

mapping is planned to enable us a better understanding of the spatial distribution of sand

and the depositional environments they represent. From the regional geology it is known
that the basin experienced a significant deepening during the deposition of the Kafr El
Sheikh Formation. It is not believed that the Kafr El Sheikh ever represented a truly deep
marine deposition.
The Kafr El Sheikh depositional system found the West El Manzala and West El Qantara
blocks

are

interpreted

to

be

remnants

of

drowned

fluvial

or

shallow

marine

feeder

channels covered by marine shales during a subsequent high-stand period. This process
repeated itself several times during the Pliocene time resulting in sand filled channels at
different levels within a shaly dominated sequence of the Kafr El Sheikh formation. This
model also supports the hypothesis that the Kafr El Sheikh clay in the West El Manzala
and West El Qantara area was probably never true deep marine clay (deepest during the
aggradational

phase).

3D

Seismic

coherency

data

through

the

Kafr

El

Sheikh

section

confirm the presence of the channel-shaped features located in multiple levels within the
sequence itself. Although the lower Kafr El Sheikh is more sandy than the upper one,
most bright-spots occur in the upper third of the Kafr El Sheikh Formation. This would put
them in the progradational phase of the formation.
The Paleo-bathymetry of Kafr El Sheikh is inner to middle neritic and it goes to outer neritic to the
North (Figure 9).
The Kafr El Sheikh is made of marine sediments, deposited during a succession of highstands. The
shape of the clinoforms indicates that the deposition was prograding to the north east and that the
water depth was probably less than two hundred meters. Most exploration prospects are targeting
the slope deposit sands in the progradational upper unit of the Kafr El Sheikh.
In addition to clay, clay embedded, often linear, sand bodies with an axis that is roughly pointing to
the North, down to the regional slope, can be identified on seismic. Coarse siliciclastic Kafr El Sheikh
Slope (turbidities?) and shoreline sediments produce significant volumes of gas in the current
offshore. The sands (and gravels) that were deposited in the current offshore area must have been
transported through the current onshore delta area included in the West El Manzala and West El
Qantara Concessions. This supports a model in which, during sea level low-stand events, rivers

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carried coarser sediments through older marine clay towards the current offshore areas, where they
accumulated as shoreline or slope deposits and turbidities.
Two types of poor quality, and not so obvious on the logs, reservoirs, have been identified within
the Kafr El Sheikh:
1. Sequences of interbedded thin sands and clays that are barely visible on logs, but can
produce dry gas in economic volumes. These reservoirs can be identified on high resolution
logs and borehole image recordings. During drilling these reservoirs have increased gas
readings.
2. Sequences of mixed clays, sand and silt, that were most likely the result of mass sediment
transport and slumping. These reservoirs can also be identified on high resolution logs
through borehole imaging, but they cannot be evaluated using conventional logs.
If these two facies the presence of seismic bright spots has not been proven yet and, in order to
fully assess their potential, special well logging techniques and possibly well testing are required
when this can be justified based on gas shows reported during drilling.

6. Seismic Interpretation & Attributes

A large area of around 1,650 square kilometers of 3-D seismic data, covering roughly half of the
West El Manzala and West El Qantara Concessions acreage, was acquired between 2005 and 2007.
Processing during acquisition and interpretation allowed starting to use this 3-D data set for the
2006 drilling proposals. The complete final processed data was not available until the beginning of
May 2007. In November 2007, final seismic attributes covering Pliocene and Miocene reservoirs,
were made. This data was reprocessed and merged with traded data sets in 2008. It is this data set
which has been used to define the prospectivity.
Quality of the pre-stack time migrated seismic volume, with a 25X25 meters bin-size, is considered
fair to good in the deep section. For the detailed evaluation of the Kafr El Sheikh the data is good
and numerous bright spots have been identified and mapped in this formation.
Although many anomalies are too small to be viable drilling targets, many of them contain potential
reserves that should not be left in the ground and that can be extracted profitably, even with the
capped gas-price. This is also due to the availability and proximity of pipelines and gas plants inside
the Concession acreage.
In the Lake Manzala, only accumulations of a significant size would be economic to test and produce
from this play.

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Clay, the dominating lithology in the Kafr El Sheikh formation, generally accumulates slowly but the
in this sequence 2 kilometers of shales were deposited in just two million years. These is due to a
very high sediment supply rate from the area of provenance to the South. This rapid accumulation
also explains the pore pressure distribution in this massive sequence, with the highest pore pressure
just corresponding to the intermediate zone of the section. Rapid burial has also contributed to the
preservation of organic material.
The seismic interpretation of the area has been carried out on different version of 3D surveys
created in different times over the study area. The interpretation has been based on seismic picking
of reflectors calibrated with the nearest well data that represent the top and bottom of any
prospective sequence. The second step consists of making amplitude extractions between the top
and base of the different sequences, in particular windows around the picked horizons and on the
picked horizons as well. Then the best window to display the amplitude extraction is chosen in order
to identify depositional trends and prospective zones (Figure 10).
The third step is to validate the reservoir and gas presence within the reservoir, which is normally
characterized by a particularly high amplitude (Figure 11).
The fourth step is to carry out a detailed interpretation of the top reservoir or multi reservoirs based
on the correct polarity in line with the well to seismic calibration (Figure 12) possibly supported by a
good match with the well synthetic seismogram (Figure 13). The definition of the best window for
the channel to make amplitude extraction is very important for prospect identification and
depositional environment interpretation (Figure 14). An estimation of the volumetrics and risk is
done to rank the prospects and define the drilling locations. The presence of a good structure map is
helpful for supporting the well location and sometimes more than one map is needed to evaluate
various levels. Several potential reservoirs were interpreted from the seismic in West El Manzala and
West El Qantara (Figure 15).
The structural contours over the potential sand reservoirs of some prospect are mapped like for the
channel A, B & C shown in Figure 15.
Some prospects have an EW bounding fault that may act as conduit for gas charge from deeper
shale gas prone levels in the deeper Kafr El Sheikh or connected to another main fault developing in
the deeper horizons.
Amplitude extractions highlighted the presence of a gas accumulation in a stratigraphic trap
(channel) 5.5 km long and 400 to 500 m wide on the core (Figure 14).
Recently processed seismic attributes, derived from the 3-D seismic dat a set have proven to be a
valuable tool in distinguishing the Kafr El Sheikh gas sands from wet sands.

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Obvious bright amplitudes can be picked up on the seismic with great certainty but the presence
of gas in these sands is not guaranteed. Additional work checking seismic attributes is needed to
differentiate genuine DHIs from tight sands (rare in the Kafr El Sheikh) or by sequence boundaries
(common).
Some quantitative analysis on seismic attributes is definitely a strong tool for prospect identification
and ranking, fault identification, thin bed tuning effect analysis, seismic stratigraphy and
geomorphology. More recently, interpreters have used crossplotting to identify clusters of attributes
that are associated with either stratigraphic or hydrocarbon anomalies. Once again, the attribute
community has worked hard to first duplicate such human-driven clustering through the use of selforganized maps, geostatistics, and neural nets, and then to extend this capability beyond the three
dimensions easily visualized by interpreters. Tentative steps have been made towards computerassisted seismic stratigraphy analysis, whereby an interpreter trains the computer on a suite of
structural or depositional patterns and asks the computer to find others like them.
Seismic attribute analysis and 3D visualization have played a crucial role in defining the Kafr El
Sheikh reservoirs and the channel systems in the West Manzala and West Qantara areas. This is
because there are significant geological variations.

A study on the available post- and pre-stack

seismic attribute volumes with 3D visualization tools was carried out to determine what attributes
are indicative of hydrocarbon reservoirs and which attribute or combination of attributes best
correlates to known hydrocarbon reservoirs. The goal of this study is further to understand the
information containing in the seismic data and develop the approaches that may be used to define
and predict potential hydrocarbon zones.
Because Lambda*rho and Mu*rho attributes were considered as two of the most effective seismic
attributes for the delineation of the reservoirs in the study area. The inline sections across each well
were studied. This work provided fundamental information on the well ties, reservoir types and their
vertical and lateral variations.
A similar approach of inline analysis was taken in analyzing Intercept and Gradient attributes. AVO
classes and anomalies were studied with a cross plotting tool.
Sub volume detection was performed based on two relationships, Lambda*rho vs. Mu*rho and
Intercept vs. Gradient. The sub volume detection of Lambda*rho and Mu*rho used the results of
well log cross plotting as a basis, in which the gas charged reservoirs were identified in cross plot
space. The same type of cross plot from inverted Lambda*rho and Mu*rho was used to detect the
potential reservoirs.
In the studied area Lambda*rho is considered as a hydrocarbon indicator and Mu*rho as a
lithological indicator. Because a low value of Lambda*rho can indicate shale as well, the combination

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of Lambda*rho and Mu*rho is thus used in delineation of the gas charged reservoirs. The projection
of these data points to 3D Lambda*rho and Mu*rho volumes results in the sub volumes that are
considered gas charged reservoirs. Using the same approach, the data points in Intercept and
Gradient cross plot were projected into the Intercept and Gradient volumes and the sub volumes of
AVO types were generated.
To understand the resolution of the seismic data, two wedge models were built, one for the tight
unit in the Upper Abu Madi formation and the other for gas sand in the Lower Abu Madi formation.
The run of different amplitudes with the contour overlay, average magnitude amplitude, fluid stack
amplitude and LMR and maximum amplitude in near and far offset confirm the presence of good
anomaly and raise the chance of gas presence. All the previous attributes together with the
structural mapping support for the well location.
A good seismic interpretation will positively drive a better geological model for each prospect or well
location (Figure 16).
The near and far offset have also been used in addition to acoustic impedance to validate the well
location and the gas response in 1D and in 2D models (Figures 17 & 18).

7. Reservoir
The primary objective in the well is the Pliocene Upper Kafr El Sheikh Sand. These sands found
in some wells indicate multiple reservoirs with thickness variations between 5 and 8m per each level
(Figure 19). The sand porosity is very good reaching 32% and the water saturation can go up to
24%. Gas-water contacts are present in some wells, as in Marzouk-1, and represent a very
challenging situation for obtaining good recovery factors. Early water coning or break-through in
wells with such a contact has led to shutting in reservoirs before the expected reserves have been
recovered. Therefore it is important to penetrate these reservoirs in the highest structural position
to minimize the water influx problems.
The sand quality is generally good with a high porosity and permeability and high productivity of dry
gas. However, some poor facies sandy reservoirs have been drilled in the acreage, like Gelgel field,
and good production has been achieved as well.

8. Conclusion
The study of the Pliocene sequence, focusing on the Kafr El Sheikh Formation, using sequence
stratigraphy was a very important tool in defining the different sequences and their depositional

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environment which helps in the reconstruction of the reservoir distribution. The upper Kafr El sheikh
sequence is the most interesting section and it is characterized by a prograding clastic sequence.
The basal Kafr El Sheikh is an aggrading sequence with some episodes of marine channeling.
The use of very advanced techniques to generate and analyze different seismic attributes provide an
essential support to the prospect definition and ranking and final well location identification. This
technique led to new discoveries in the Kafr El Sheikh and more dry gas production in the area.

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank DANA GAS EGYPT Company, El Wastani Petroleum Company
& Egas for their permission to publish this paper. The paper has been based on a significant amount
of good quality work carried out in West El Manzala & West El Qantara Concessions by the DGE
Exploration Team.

References
Emery, D., Myers, K. J. (eds.), 1996. Sequence Stratigraphy: Blackwell Science (Pub.) P. 89140.
Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, EGPC, 1994. Nile Delta and North Sinai Fields,
Discoveries and Hydrocarbon Potentials (a comprehensive overview) Cairo, Egypt, 387pp.
Haq, B. U., Hardenebol, J., Vail, P. R., Wright, R.C., Stover, L. E., Baum, G., Loutit, A., Gambos,
A., Daris, T., Pflum, C., Romine, K., Posamentier, H. and Jan Du Chene, R., 1989. MesozoicCenozoic Cycle Chart, last version.
Martini, E., 1971. Standard Tertiary and Quaternary Calcareous Nanno-plankton Zonation: In A.
Farinacci (ed.). Proceedings II Planktonic Conference, Roma, 1970, 2, P. 739-783.
Rizzini, A., F. Vezzari, V. Cococcetta and G. Milad 1978. Stratigraphy and Sedimentation of a
Neogene-Quaternary section in the Nile Delta area. Marine Geology, V. 27, P. 373-348.
Raslan, S., 2002 PHD, Integration of Seismic Sequence Stratigraphy for the Pliocene at the North
western offshore Mediterranean, Egypt. Ain Shams University, P 15-25.

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