Noble Energy hopes to hit the jackpot based on a test of the new theory

Implications: James M. Peck of Deep Seek Exploration Experts reported in the October 6 issue of the Oil & Gas Journal that the Eastern Mediterranean basin is a prolific hydrocarbon area. The geology is the result of a five-stage tectonic process from the Late Triassic to the Pliocene flood period. The basins reserves are distributed within three systems. In the distal portion of the basin, oil seeps from the sea bed have been reported. They come from deep-seated faults that are almost vertical. Between 2001 and 2005, TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company acquired a data base of 19,256 kilometers of 2D seismic surveys. Previous interpretations from top to bottom of the stratigraphic column suggested the distal basin was natural gas prone. Deep Seek experts made a bottom up interpretation of the distal basin based on the data base which indicated the province was oil prone. Their concept will soon be tested by Noble Energy’s Tamar-1 offshore Lebanon to be spudded later this month.

Analysis:  An enduring feature of exploration for oil and gas is that old theories are frequently cast aside as a result of a new interpretation of existing data. Often a new component emerges as a central feature of the reinterpretation. In this instance it is the belief that almost vertical fractures connect the deep Mesozoic horizons to the ocean floor. The oil could be coming from many different sources in both the Mesozoic as well as the entire Cenozoic section of the stratigraphic column. The Deep Seek interpretation based on their seismic data base suggests the target pay zone should be an Early Cretaceous sandstone (Albian) with oil generated from Middle Jurassic rocks. The Jurassic has been known as a good oil source as a result of investigations in Saudi Arabia. Most of the existing hydrocarbon resources in the near reaches of the basin are gas fields located offshore Egypt, mny of them in th Nile Delta region. Today, as Mr. Peck notes, the distal basin is greatly under explored and there has been little enthusiasm for drilling deep, expensive tests of the Mesozoic portion of the column. If the Noble Energy well is a success, the entire East Mediterranean will immediately come under much greater scrutiny.