Egyptian Red Sea License Round Closes 1st August 2019

The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources is offering 10 exploration blocks in the underexplored Egyptian Red Sea in close proximity to well established hydrocarbon production. 

The closing date for the submission of bids is 1^st August 2019 at 12pm Cairo time (more info).

TGS data available for the license round consists:

• 10,318 km Red Sea ’18 (RS18) 2D long-offset broadband seismic, PSTM/PSDM (view map)
• >16,500 km 2D calibrated vintage seismic
• 3,650 km² of reprocessed 3D
• 12 calibrated wells with legacy data (11 with logs)
• Interpretation of vintage data  and literature pack (including gravity, magnetics, seep, geological reports, and more)
• Intergrated interpretation products of the RS18 seismic, gravity and magnetic data 

Contact [email protected] to discuss the available data. Download flyers for more information: 

• Egyptian Red Sea License Round Data Package 
• Egyptian Red Sea RS18 2D

Linking potential to successes in Gulf of Suez and offshore Saudi Arabia

The Egyptian Red Sea contains an estimated mean volume of 5 BBO of undiscovered but recoverable oil and 112 TCF natural gas (USGS 2010). Since 1976, more than 27,000 km of 2D and about 4,000 km² of 3D seismic data have been acquired, along with 12 test wells that have been drilled through several concessions. These surveys have been either calibrated or reprocessed ahead of the Licensing Round. 

Assessing prospectivity and potential

The Gulf of Suez has proven the effectiveness of pre- and syn-rift petroleum systems, while offshore Saudi Arabia has confirmed the presence of post-salt plays. New regional 2D data in the Egyptian Red Sea better illuminates the salt and sub-salt offshore Egypt, allowing a link from this frontier basin to the Gulf of Suez and offshore Saudi Arabia. This implies that the African margin is more prospective than previously believed.

The entire Egyptian Red Sea basin now offers sub-surface imaging in a regional context and with more detail. This allows for defining of the basin depth, identifying the elements of the petroleum systems which are proven to work elsewhere in correlation, and modelling of the thermal regime. Mapping the pre-rift sequence is crucial to understanding the lack of discoveries in the existing wells. The wide extent of salt occurrence creates a regional seal for pre-salt reservoirs and for a large number of salt-induced traps in the post-salt section.

The multi-disciplinary approach utilized on the available data allows for a regional sequence stratigraphic framework for supporting and progressing the deepwater exploration in the basin. This is imperative for any future exploration.