Source rock evaluation of the Cenomanian Raha Formation, Bakr oil field, Gulf of Suez, Egypt: Observations from palynofacies, RGB-based sporomorph microscopy, and organic geochemistry

The Gulf of Suez area in eastern Egypt is one of the most prospective and promising hydrocarbon provinces all over the world. Sixty drill cuttings samples of the Upper Cretaceous Raha Formation (70-120 m) have earlier been processed for their palynomorph and palynofacies contents, including 36 geochemically screened samples for their source-rock potential using TOC, Rock-Eval (R). 6 Turbo, the new Rock-Eval (R) 7S instrument along with one of its latest modules, the CleanSim method. The combination between visual palynofacies and RGB-based sporomorph color image analysis along with the geochemical results are presented as part of a detailed assessment of the organic matter (OM) types, OM-richness, and thermal maturity levels. Palynofacies analysis defined three associations of OM types. The first and third associations consist of kerogen Type II; the former is dominated by a moderate abundance of amorphous organic matter (AOM) and phytoclasts, whilst the latter is dominated by high AOM content. Conversely, the second association is dominated by terrigenous fragments of gas-prone Type-III kerogen. The application of RGB analysis indicated a thermally immature to mature stage for some intervals in one of the three studied wells, the B-109. Geochemical screening results led to divide the Raha Formation into three distinctive groups, which are characterized by varied OM qualities and quantities, hydrocarbon potential, and thermal maturity levels. Varied thermal maturity levels was related directly to the Late Cretaceous tectonics like the effect of Syrian Arc System and the Oligocene-Miocene syn-rift activity that led to the opening of the Gulf of Suez. Differences in kerogen types were observed between geochemical and palynofacies analyses. Microscopic investigations of palynofacies-dominated AOM suggested that most AOM particles were of terrigenous origin due to the effect of biodegradation and gradual transformation of phytoclasts into AOM, reflecting a kerogen Type III instead of kerogen Type II that was indicated by palynofacies analysis ternary plots.