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Petrographical and petrophysical integrated studies, Jurassic rock samples, North Sinai, Egypt

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Abstract

For the hydrocarbon production enhancement and development, many petrophysical parameters are needed while some of them are usually calculated using relevant equations or even assumed by geologist or geophysicist. In the present study, 112 core samples obtained from six formations at Gebel El-Maghara Jurassic rocks, Mashaba Formation, Rajabia Formation, Shusha Formation, Bir Maghara Formation, Safa Formation, and Masajid Formation. The studied samples were classified into two following main groups: sandstone rock samples (27 samples) and carbonate rock samples (85 samples). Based on the mineralogical composition, texture, structure, and faunal content, thin section examination and scanning electron microscope study of Jurassic rocks at Gebel El-Maghara revealed that the studied carbonate rock samples were classified into five carbonate microfacies, biomicrite, fossiliferous biomicrite, sandy biomicrite, oobiosparite, and foraminiferal biomicrite, while the studied sandstone rock samples are mainly quartz arenite. The porosity of the studied samples is mainly primary mixed with secondary porosity due to the effect of the diagenetic processes (cementation, dissolution, leaching, neomorphism, and compaction). The permeability of the most samples increases with increasing the porosity. The studied sandstone samples reflected good reservoir characteristics in some intervals due to high porosity and permeability, while fair to bad reservoir characteristics in some other intervals due to low porosity and permeability caused by matrix and diagenesis. The limestone reflected bad reservoir characteristics in the most intervals. The reservoir quality index depends mainly on permeability, where the high permeability offsets by the high reservoir quality and the low permeability offsets by the low reservoir quality, where the reservoir quality index with average values of 0.70 and 0.13 μm offsets by the permeability with average values 231.44 and 1.16 mD for sandstone and limestone rock samples, respectively.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the reviewers for their great comments that improved and reconstructed the manuscript. Thanks are also due to the editor, whose patience and insightful suggestions have led to a concise revised version.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute, Naser City, Cairo, 11727, Egypt

    Mohamed A. Kassab, Hesham H. Abuseda, Nahla A. El Sayed & Osama M. Elnaggar

  2. Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

    Amir M LaLa

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  1. Mohamed A. Kassab
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  2. Hesham H. Abuseda
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  3. Nahla A. El Sayed
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  5. Osama M. Elnaggar
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Correspondence to Mohamed A. Kassab.

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Kassab, M.A., Abuseda, H.H., El Sayed, N.A. et al. Petrographical and petrophysical integrated studies, Jurassic rock samples, North Sinai, Egypt. Arab J Geosci 9, 99 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-015-2146-3

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