RIASSUNTO
Abstract
Dragon Oil (ENOC Group) is operator with 100 % of interest in the exploration East Zeit Bay (EZB) block, which covers a surface of 93 km2 in an area where producing oil fields are nearby; e.g.: East Zeit, Hilal, Ashrafi, Ashrafi SW, and Zeit Bay fields. The license commitment consists of a seismic acquisition and processing and the drilling of two exploration wells before September 18th, 2019, which corresponds to the end of the extension of the first exploration period. The EZB block is located in the Gulf of Suez (GoS) in an area characterized by very shallow waters, where two coral reef islands emerge during low tide and several obstacles are present, i.e.: an oil terminal, mooring buoys, a waiting area for tankers and fishing and touristic activity. In the period 1969-1984, some 240 km of 2D seismic were acquired within the block using different acquisition parameter sets and processed with inhomogeneous flow-charts generating a sparse 2D seismic grid of variable data quality. Some of these data were reprocessed even in PSTM and PSDM, but without any sensible improvement. Furthermore, 3D seismic surveys were also acquired in 1996/1997 and almost cover the entire surface of the EZB block: The Ashrafi Deep Water (DW) survey, obtained towing a streamer, has been recorded in the north-eastern part of the block and the central and western parts have been surveyed by the West Ashrafi campaign in Ocean Bottom Cable (OBC) mode. But this 3D is of very poor quality due to the screening effect of coral covering the sea bottom on the geophone component of the recording.
During the last four years, extensive multidisciplinary analyses integrating reprocessing of existing magnetic data with new acquired gravity data and new and reprocessed 2D and 3D seismic data, well log and dipmeter analyses were carried out by Dragon Oil to delineate drillable prospects. Key of the success in generating a valid interpretation was the idea to combine a well site survey, compulsory for rig location, with a 2D seismic survey in an area with restricted vessel maneuverability.