Soudan2

Israel Offshore

Levant Geographic Basin

On this tentative geological interpretation of a Canvas autotrace of a seismic line of Israel offshore are depicted the main geological feature of a Mediterranean Type basin developed since the Middle Jurassic above a Paleozoic fold belt or volcanic crust. Let's remember a Mediterranean basin is an episutural basin, developed within the megasuture (Earth's mobile region which testifies to the complexity of the accretion and deformation phases undergone by geological bodies in regions where compressional tectonic regimes predominate) formed in associated with A-Subduction zones, in which the lengthening (extension) behind theoverridding lithospheric plate is important enough to cause an oceanization, i.e., the break-up of the lithosphere with formation of a marginal sea over af new oceanic crust, in which a non-Atlantic divergent margin develops. Notice the pinchout of the Messinian evaporites, as well as the salt tectonics in the western part of the autotrace. To see more autotraces of this area please go to Seismic Examples (Europa and Mediterranean, Page 14C).

This tentative interpretation of Canvas autotrace of a Levantine offshore seismic through Leviathan and Tamar gas discoveries, in which Oligo-Miocene deep-water sandstones of turbidite submarine basin and slope fans, sealed by Middle to Late Miocene sediments and Messinian salt, trap significant gas reserves (16 and 7 TCF of proven reserves were announced, respectively, to Leviathan and Tamar). Remind, the Levantine geological basin, which, roughly correspond to the Atlantic-type divergent margin was infilled by post-breakup Meso-Cenozoic sediments. The reservoir rocks are, mainly, Mesozoic and Paleogene sandstones (near shore marine and submarine sandstones) and Jurassic and Cretaceous shelf-margin carbonates. On the location map, in Egypt waters, is located ENI's Zohr field (a limestone bio-construction of skeletons and shells buried under thousands of meters of sediments), one of the largest natural gas fields ever found in the Mediterranean (100 km² of extension with around 30 TCF of potential resources). Notice, in Cyprus' waters the Aphrodite gas fields, in turbidite sandstones, with, approximately, 5 TCF of reserves.