This project supports research by Dr. Francisca E. Oboh-Ikuenobe, Department of Geological Sciences and Engineering, University of Missouri at Rolla, Missouri, in collaboration with Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim, Department of Environmental Sciences, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt. They plan a study on the oceanic anoxic event and organic facies of the Cenomanian-Turonian and their relation to oil and gas formation in North Western (NW) Desert, Egypt. Intellectual Merit: The Upper Cenomanian-Lower Turonian sediments in NW Desert, Egypt record the global Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE2), which is characterized by widespread deposition of organic-rich shales, marls and limestones. These organic-rich strata have sourced almost one-third of the world''''s hydrocarbon reserves, including North Africa. Despite decades of hydrocarbon exploration in Egypt, little data is available on Jurassic-Cretaceous palynomorphs and their use in age assignment, paleoenvironmental interpretation and determination of the source rocks. This project addresses this knowledge gap. The study will be aimed at recognizing the green house effect during the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary (about 93 Ma), and how the resulting anoxic seawater conditions that led to the accumulation of organic-rich strata affected marine and terrestrial microfloras. The PIs will focus on palynological, palynofacies and geochemical analyses of the subsurface Cenomanian-Turonian Abu Roash Formation in three wells selected from the Razzak and Meleiha oil fields, NW Desert. The study will help determine oil and gas source-rock potential, organic thermal maturity, and reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions. The main proxy used will be palynofacies analysis, the natural interface between palynology, sedimentology, and organic geochemistry. Microfloral range data for the pollen, spores and dinoflagellates recovered from the rocks will be used to refine the biostratigraphy of the formation, while also yielding paleovegetation, paleoclimatic, paleoenvironmental and/or paleogeographic information when integrated with palynofacies and geochemical data. The study will compare contrasting methods of source-rock potential and organic matter maturity, namely kerogen quantity (amount), kerogen quality (type), and degree of thermal maturation (spore/pollen color and total organic carbon, TOC). The C/T oceanic anoxic event will be identified by the characteristic positive excursion in the d13C record of carbonates and organic matter. An additional objective of this study will be to compare the local to regional and continental-scale changes in paleoenvironment and/or paleogeography by correlating the Egyptian microfloral data with equivalent Cretaceous data from West Africa.
Broader Impacts: This project will enable scientists and students from Egypt to work with their U.S. counterparts. The exchange of ideas, technologies, and cultures will provide important international experiences. This capacity building will continue with a female student from Egypt visiting with the PI in Rolla for two months, supported by the parallel award to the Egyptian collaborator. The project will help the PI to recruit underrepresented groups and minorities and will help support one undergraduate student. The research results will be disseminated to the scientific community through peer-review publications and presentations at professional meetings. One important societal benefit of the study will be contribution to the general understanding of petroleum generation, especially with respect to organic maturity and source-rock potential. This project is being supported under the US-Egypt Joint Fund Program, which provides grants to scientists and engineers in both countries to carry out these cooperative activities.
