INTEGRATION AND ANALYSIS OF WELL LOGGING AND REMOTE SENSING DATA FOR EXPLORING NEW POTENTIAL GEOTHERMAL SITES ALONG THE GULF OF SUEZ, EGYPT

The tectonic setting of Egypt in the northeastern corner of the African plate suggests that it may possess significant geothermal resources, especially along its eastern border. The Gulf of Suez region represents the most promising area in Egypt for geothermal exploration. It is characterized by superficial thermal manifestations represented by a cluster of hot springs with varying temperatures from 35 ˚C to 72 ˚C which is adequate for geothermal power production. The coasts of the Gulf of Suez consist of the hottest springs in the areas, including Hammam Musa, Hammam Faraun, Ayn Musa in the east and Ain Sokhna in the west. Field data, obtained from 197 offshore and onshore deep oil wells along the Gulf of Suez, were analyzed in this study. Well logging measurements, including bottom-hole temperature (BHT), and depth to basement data were conducted as well. Horner BHT and Gulf of Mexico correction methods were implemented on the bottom hole temperature data to obtain the actual temperature values. The results indicated that the study area has a geothermal gradient ranging from 0.249 to 6.554 ˚C/100 m, and a heat flow ranging from 31 to 173.32 m.W.K^-1. Additionally, the thermal conductivity was found to be in the range of 1.6 - 3.2 w.m^-1.k^-1, with an amplitude temperature varying from 49.48 ˚C to 157.8 ˚C, and an oil window in the range of 66.08 - 18630.5 m. Geological maps along with remote sensing satellite data, from Landsat-8 and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), were used to map relevant physiographic variables including elevation, surface gradient, lineaments density, land surface temperature, and major lithological units. Well logging data was interpolated using GIS and integrated with the remote sensing derived maps to locate new potential geothermal sites along the Gulf of Suez and its vicinity. The extreme southern part of the western coast, and some sporadic locations on the east side of the eastern coast of the Gulf of Suez were found to be among the areas that could hold high geothermal potential, thus it requires more attention for future geothermal exploration. The present approach could be adopted, with some modifications, to locate new potential sites for geothermal energy in other places in Egypt and East Africa.