FOREWORD
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
PROVINCE GEOLOGY
       Province Boundary and Geographic Setting
       Political Entities
       Geologic Setting
       Exploration History
           Gulf of Suez (120+ fields or discovery wells)
           Western Side of Red Sea (4 fields)
           Eastern Side of Red Sea (2 fields)
PETROLEUM OCCURRENCE
SOURCE ROCK
       Campanian Sudr (Brown/Duwi) Source Rock of the Gulf of Suez
       Middle Miocene Maqna Source Rock of the Red Sea and Southern Gulf of Suez
       Other Source Rocks
OVERBURDEN ROCK
       Thickness
       Thermal Gradient
TRAP STYLE OF OIL AND GAS FIELDS
       Known Traps and Their Timing
       Undiscovered Traps
ASSESSMENT UNITS
       Sudr-Nubia(!)
       Maqna(!)
PROVINCE AREAS EVALUATED AS TOO HIGH RISK FOR ASSESSMENT PURPOSES
SELECTED REFERENCES

FIGURES

1.   Pre-rift Red Sea stratigraphy
2.   Syn- and post-rift Red Sea stratigraphy
3a. Index map of Red Sea region
3b. Sudr-Nubia(!) petroleum system map
3c. Maqna(!) petroleum system map
4.  Gulf of Suez structural cross section
5.  Field-size histogram by petroleum system
6a. Sudr-Nubia(!) burial history chart
6b. Maqna(!) burial history chart
7a. Sudr-Nubia(!) events chart
7b. Maqna(!) events chart

TABLES

1. Fields and reserves by petroleum system
2. Reserves by reservoir rock

FOREWORD

This report is a product of the World Energy Project of the U.S. Geological Survey, in which the world has been divided into 8 regions and 937 geologic provinces for purposes of assessment of global oil and gas resources (Klett and others, 1997). These provinces have been ranked according to the discovered petroleum volumes within each; high-ranking provinces (76 "priority" provinces exclusive of the U.S.) and others with varying types and degrees of intrigue (26 "boutique" provinces exclusive of the U.S.) were chosen for appraisal of oil and gas resources. The petroleum geology of these non-U.S. priority and boutique provinces are described in this series of reports. A detailed report containing the assessment results for all provinces will be available separately.

The Total Petroleum System concept is the basis for this assessment. A total petroleum system includes the essential elements and processes, as well as all genetically related hydrocarbons that occur in petroleum shows, seeps and accumulations (discovered and undiscovered), whose provenance is a pod or related pods of mature source rock (concept modified from Magoon and Dow, 1994). The minimum petroleum system is that portion of the total petroleum system for which the presence of essential elements and processes has been proved. The assessment unit is a mappable volume of rock within the total petroleum system, sufficiently homogeneous in terms of geology, exploration strategy and risk characteristics to constitute a single population with respect to criteria used for the chosen methodology of resource assessment. Assessment units are considered established if they contain more than 13 fields, frontier if they contain 1-13 fields and hypothetical if they contain no fields.

A unique, eight-digit numeric code identifies each assessment unit with respect to region, province, and petroleum system. The first digit is the region number, the next three digits the province number, the next two digits the total petroleum system number, and the final two digits the assessment unit number. The codes for the regions and provinces were established, listed and mapped in Klett and others, 1997.

Figures in this report that show boundaries of total petroleum systems, assessment units, and pods of active source rock were compiled using geographic information information (GIS) software. Political boundaries and cartographic representations on these figures were taken with permission from ESRI's (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.) ArcWorld 1:3 million digital coverage. The boundaries have no political significance and are displayed for general reference only. Oil and gas field centerpoints shown on these figures are reproduced with permission from Petroconsultants, 1996. Also included as a figure is an events chart that shows the time of deposition of essential rock units; the time processes (such as trap formation) necessary for the accumulation of hydrocarbons; the critical moment in the petroleum system; and the preservation time. The format is that proposed by Magoon and Dow (1994).

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¹Sudr-Nubia(!) Total Petroleum System (# 207101) - Gulf of Suez and northwestern Red Sea; Egypt; Red Sea Basin Province (2071); Middle East and North Africa (Region 2).
Maqna(!) Total Petroleum System (#207102) - southern Gulf of Suez and Red Sea; Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea (Ethiopia), Yemen, and Saudi Arabia; Red Sea Basin Province (2071); Middle East and North Africa (Region 2).