Journal of Earth Science & Climatic Change
Open Access

Abstract

The increasing demand for energy and the progressive depletion of crude oil resources have renewed interest in oil shale as an alternative fuel resource especially in Egypt. This paper focuses on studying the potentiality of oil shale in Wassief and Mohamed Rabah mines, Safaga, Red Sea region, by using inorganic and organic techniques. With mineralogical analysis by (XRD of bulk samples) have shown the main component are calcite, kaolinite, quartz and pyrite. While the organic results of samples confirmed that high total organic carbon (TOC) content ranges from 4.34% to 24% in Wassief mine and form 2.17% to 22.69% in Mohamed Rabah mine which considered very good source rock. The examined samples show kerogen of types I and II that prone oil and oil-gas, indicating marine organic matter derived mainly from algae and phytoplankton organisms which proposing typical oil source rock. The average of the potential index (PI) value is 0.02 mg HC/g rock, which indicates the beginning of a considerable amount of oil generation. The Tmax values range from 409 to 423. Based on the Tmax data and PI values, the studied oil shale samples are immature to early mature for hydrocarbon generation. In general, the organic matter of all studied kerogen isolates is immature and lies within the diagenesis state of maturation regardless of the vitrinite reflectance value.

Biography

Mohamed Abdel Kader Barakat has completed his PhD from the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA (in 1985). His Post-doctoral studies focused on the main sedimentlogical and geochemical characteristics of the oil fields in the Gulf of Suez, Egypt. In 1995, he is elected as an active member of the New York Academy of Sciences. He published more than 40 research papers and 16 unpublished scientific reports covering various fields of structural geology, groundwater, hydro-geochemistry and pollution studies. From 1997 to 2005, he acted as a Professor of Geology, Geochemistry, Hydrogeology and Head of the Drilling dept. of the Higher Institute for Water Affairs (Libya). From 2005 to present, he has been working as a Professor in Geology and Sedimentology in The Exploration Dept. EPRI. He participated as a Speaker in International Geological Conferences held in across the world. He is an active member in the following scientific societies: The Geological Society of Egypt, The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), The Sedimentological Society of Egypt, The New York Academy of Sciences and The International Union of Geological Sciences, Kyoto, Japan.

Email: ph.barakat@gmail.com