Geochemical studies using trace elements analysis of source rocks and related crude oil in the Gulf of Suez, Egypt

Abstract

The occurrence and distribution of trace elements in source rocks and crude oils is used to asses the process of geochemical exploration. Rock and crude oil samples representing the giant fields of the Gulf os Suez province were collected and analyzed for Al, Ba, Ca, Cr, Cu, Co, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Sr, Ti, V, Zn, and Zr. The analyzed data were treated statistically to find some factors and clusters concerning the interrelation between the source rock and crude oils. The application of both factor and cluster analysis in this study revealed four factors for both rock and crude oil samples. These factors can be classified into three groups namely; the factor of diagenesis, trace elements adsorption factor and the factor of source rock. In addition to the cluster analysis separated the Gulf of Suez oilfields into two major groups; the first includes the oilfields (Ras Bahar and Shoab Ali) which located in the extreme southern part while the second group includes the oilfields (Ras Matarma-Asl-Abu Rudies-October-Ras Budran-Amer-Bakr-Belayim-Rahmi and July) these fields located in the northern and central parts of the Gulf of Suez. The two separated cluster groups may be related to multiple source rocks with different organic facies along the Gulf of Suez province.