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Hydrocarbon source potential of the Jurassic sediments of Salam-3X borehole, Khalda Concession, Northern Western Desert, Egypt

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Abstract

A total of 51 samples, collected from the Jurassic sediments (Ras Qattara, Yakout, Khatatba, Masajid, and Alam El Bueib (member 6) formations) of Salam-3X well, were subjected to organic geochemical analysis. Of the samples, nine have been subjected to palynofacies investigation. Based on the sedimentary organic matter, these sediments show only one palynofacies type, indicating the presence of gas- and oil-prone source rocks and reflecting deposition under marginal dysoxic–anoxic to shelf-to-basin transition conditions. The total organic content of the samples analyzed is characterized by a wide range of content, including fair, good, very good, and excellent. The organic matter quality of these samples is concentrated around types III (gas prone), III–II (gas and oil prone), and II (oil prone), reflecting gas- and oil-prone sediments, with a tendency to generate gas rather than oil; the result matches with the palynological analysis data. The temperature of maximum pyrolytic hydrocarbon generation of analyzed samples are ranging between 440 and 457 °C, reflecting thermally mature organic matter.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the management of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and the Khalda Petroleum Company (KPC) for permitting and supplying the material on which the present paper has been based. Deep thanks are also due to the Phoenix Resources Company for providing the data of the analyzed Jurassic samples. The authors are indebted to the Faculty of Science, Aswan University for the facilities offered to achieve this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Science, Geology Department, Aswan University, Aswan, 81528, Egypt

    Adel W. Felestteen, Maher I. El-Soughier, Mustafa S. Mohamed & Mostafa N. S. Monged

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  1. Adel W. Felestteen
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  2. Maher I. El-Soughier
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  3. Mustafa S. Mohamed
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  4. Mostafa N. S. Monged
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Correspondence to Maher I. El-Soughier.

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Felestteen, A.W., El-Soughier, M.I., Mohamed, M.S. et al. Hydrocarbon source potential of the Jurassic sediments of Salam-3X borehole, Khalda Concession, Northern Western Desert, Egypt. Arab J Geosci 7, 3467–3480 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-013-0997-z

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