Tectonic-Geophysical Mapping of Israel and the Eastern Mediterranean: Implications for Hydrocarbon Prospecting

Abstract

The eastern Mediterranean is a tectonically complex region evolving in the long term located in the midst of the progressive Afro-Eurasian collision. Despite years of investigation, its geological-geophysical structure is not completely known. At the same time, the recent discovery of large gas deposits has attracted the attention of many researchers to this region. For instance, the latest U. S. Geological Survey estimates using conventional assessment methodology suggest that there are on the order of 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil and more than 4 trillion m3 of recoverable gas in the Levant Basin [1]. This highlights the need for analysis of the paleogeographical conditions that can yield deep paleotectonic criteria for oil and gas discovery in this region. For this purpose, isopach maps of the Middle-Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous were generated from detailed examinations of numerous well sections and the most significant outcroppings in the eastern Mediterranean. The maps confirm an earlier model of continental accretion [2]. In particular, abrupt changes in the trend and thickness of the Early Mesozoic formations coincide with the terrane boundaries. These compiled isopach maps also pinpoint significant distinctions between the Arabian and Sinai plates on the one hand and the Syrian arc on the other. A new tectonic map of the eastern Mediterranean is presented that first of all integrates geophysical satellite-derived gravity and airborne magnetic fields, as well as tectonic-structural, paleogeographical and facial analyses. The results have clear implications for hydrocarbon prospecting in this region

Newly developed paleomagnetic map of the EasternmostMediterranean joined with tectono-structural analysis unmaskgeodynamic history of this region

“…Of primary importance are the geophysical maps that included gravity and magnetic maps of Israel and the Levant [18,[24][25][26], aeromagnetic map of the world [http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov], satellite gravity data [18,20], gravity-magnetic data bases of the Easternmost Mediterranean compiled in the Geophysical Inst. of Israel, maps of the Moho discontinuity for the EMM [8,27], the geothermal gradient map of Israel [28], a map of the Curie discontinuity for Israel [27], and maps of earthquakes epicenters [19,29,30].…”

“…Hermon). Data on borehole sections and outcroppings were taken from numerous publications and reports [9,11,18,33,[60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75]. Among the employed materials were geological maps of Israel [76], Jordan [77], Egypt [72] and photomaps of Israel and adjacent areas [78].…”

“…Radiometric data displayed in [22,73,[79][80][81][82][83] were explored. Available paleontological data for the region under study [9,18,[84][85][86] were studied. Besides these, some additional sources were analyzed [87][88][89][90][91][92][93].…”

“…Geophysical-geological evolution of the EMM in terms of the modern geodynamics ( rst of all, plate tectonics) is re ected in [4,6,[14][15][16][17]. Integrated geologicalgeophysical zonation of the deep structure of this region was triggered in [8,18,19]. We elucidate this geodynamic relationship by examining the structural stages within the following tectonicgeophysical zones ( Figure 2): (1) regions of development of continental crust of the Nubian, Arabian and Sinai plates, (2) EMM remaining oceanic crust, and (3) the thinned continental crust of the terrane belt.…”

Implication of satellite images in studying potential hydrocarbon resources in the licence Blocks 9 and 11, the exclusive economic zones of Egypt and Cyprus

“…The magnetization decrease results from hydrocarbon reworking due to influence of upwelling flows of heated material from the mantle along weaken tube-like zones in the lithosphere. There is a network of intraplate (mantle) tectonic faults delineated by multi-geophysical approach in the area of gas fields of the Ni-le Delta and Levantine Basin [Eppelbaum, Katz, 2011]. They are able to provide favourable conditions for forming such pathways.…”