 the natural resources of Egypt mainly refer to

the oil and gas of Egypt. The oil reserves of

Egypt draw huge annual revenues from its
export profits. There are of course other natural
resources as well. These include iron ore,
phosphate, limestone, manganese, talc, zinc,
asbestos and gypsum. However, the analysis of
the Egyptian natural resources would remain
incomplete without the consideration of those
resources, which had been bringing prosperity
to the land of Egypt in the ancient times of
Pharoic domination.
 The Oil and Natural Gas of Egypt
 The newly discovered oilfields in the
Mediterranean seabed have opened up fresh
opportunities for reviving the country's oil
export business. The 3.7 million barrel reserve
that Egypt previously possessed, now have
more than doubled the reserve figures. The
markets of Turkey and Israel are the chief
targets of Egypt.
The natural resources of Egypt are mainly
concentrated on the oil and gas in Egypt.
North Africa, in recent times, has been
rediscovered for new oil field and the nations
of Libya and Egypt are the owners of these oil
fields. The oil reserves in Egypt, previously
amounted to 3.7 million barrels, which has
increased to 8.2 million barrels.
 The export program of Egypt still has to make
large improvements in order to catch up with
the standard of the European market. Libya,
Algeria and Tunisia are the biggest players in
the oil export industry of North Africa. They
are associated with France and Italy for export.
 In this scenario, Egypt has made an indeed
diplomatic move by marketing its oil and gas
reserves to Israel and Turkey. The export trade
has been successful largely due to the efforts of
the President of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, who
approved the execution of export in Egyptian
natural gas reserves.
 The oil reserves are discovered concentrated in
the Mediterranean coast occupied by Egypt.
The new findings are expected to double up the
production of oil and gas in Egypt. The report
has been confirmed by three international oil
companies and formally reported by Sameh
Fahmi, the oil minister of Egypt.
Study of rock structure in the ocean basin,
properties of rocks such as magnetism,
occurrence of earthquakes.
 Marine geophysical technologies are used
extensively for non-intrusive subsurface
investigation and exploration.
Global Remote Sensing provides the full range of
marine geophysical survey services for the
assessment of underwater environments. Global
Remote Sensing personnel are experienced in data
collection and analysis of marine survey data from
an array of hydroacoustic systems such as sidescan
sonar, subbottom profilers and specialized acoustic
seabed classification systems. Studies cover a wide
spectrum of subjects such as mapping submerged
aquatic vegetation to sediment characterization for
dredging projects
 We provide geophysical interpretation services
and specialize in geoacoustic analysis of
acoustic reflection data for the quantitative
assessment of in situ sediment
conditions. Digital substrate classification data
is incorporated directly into
mapping/monitoring databases via GIS to
enhance the interpretive process.
 Services include:
 Sidescan sonar and bathymetric mapping
 Subbottom Profiling
 Magnetometer, Ground Probing Radar
 Seabed classification
 Seafloor habitat mapping and monitoring
 Acoustic Sediment Assessment (ASA)
surveys<link to Geotechnical Services>
 Delineation of subsurface stratigraphy,
assessment of lithology
 Sediment distribution mapping (vertical and
horizontal)
 Forensic Expertise
(Images: Preparation for geophysical survey. Interpretation of Sub-bottom geology.)
 The present-day Gulf of Suez Basin was initiated
during the Oligocene as a result of relative motion
between the Arabian, Nubian, and Sinai plates. At that
time, pre-Miocene sediments were broken into fault
blocks that were rotated and then inundated by the
organically rich "globigerina" marls and shales of the
Lower Miocene. These Lower Miocene sediments
served as the primary source of the oil and gas found
in the Gulf of Suez Basin, while the rotated pre-
Miocene blocks formed structural focal points for the
accumulation of the hydrocarbons generated.
Subsequent deposition of-the thick and widespread
Middle Miocene evaporites ensured that all the
generated hydrocarbons were sealed in the basin in
reservoirs ranging in age from Miocene to Devonian.

The most prolific and prospective oil province in
Egypt is the Gulf of Suez Basin. Its productive
history can be traced back to ancient times with oil
being recovered from seepages at Gebel el Zeit and
Gemsa by the Pharaohs. To date, 3.5 to 4.0 billion
bbl of recoverable oil have been discovered in 24
oil fields within the basin. In spite of its long
history of production and exploration, it is only in
recent years with improved seismic and renewed
exploratory drilling that the petroleum geology of:
the basin has been fully understood.
 The Gulf of Suez Basin encompasses and, in
General, parallels the coastline of the Gulf of
Suez (Fig. 1). The basin extends, in an east-west
direction, from the Sinai Shield on the east to
the Esh EI Mellaha Shield, in the Eastern Desert
on the west. The average distance between
these shield masses is 54 miles. In a north-south
direction, the basin's northern limit lies just
north of Suez City and extends to the south to
Hurghada, a distance-of approximately 210
miles.
 The Gulf of Suez has formed primarily as a result of
tensional movements, and ensuing subsidence, which to a
minor degree occurred as early as Paleozoic times. Since
these times, the formation of the Gulf of Suez has taken
place in a number of distinct evolutionary stages (Fig. 2).
The presence of Devonian or older sandstones and
Carboniferous black shales in numerous wells is evidence
that a depression approximately coinciding with the Gulf of
Suez existed at least as early as Carboniferous times.
However, the thicknesses of these Paleozoic rocks are
relatively minor compared with those of the main Paleozoic
basin in the western and southwestern regions of Egypt.
This comparison leads to the hypothesis that the Paleozoic
rocks in the Gulf of Suez region were formed in an
embayment that extended from the Mediterranean area
southward to Hurghada at the mouth of the Red Sea.8,12,16

A hiatus caused by the Hercynian epeirogeny
precluded sedimentation in the Gulf for a
considerable time following the Paleozoic
deposition. This is noticeable particularly
further south, where commonly Upper
Cretaceous deposits (Cenomanian) rest
uncomfortably upon Lower Carboniferous
black shales.