Tertiary-Quaternary Basin Evolution of the Red Sea Basin Sudan

Abstract

The extensional Red Sea rift basin in the East African rift system started opening up during the Oligocene age. The opening of the Red Sea basin was characterized by salt and clastic deposition in the Palaeocene, followed by regression and transgression processes leading to sedimentation of limestone and sandstone with variable grain sizes. This study aimed to understand the development of basin architecture and tectonic activity, using sediment accumulation as a key constraint on tectonic activity and the sea-level change during the Tertiary- Quaternary period. The data were obtained from 6 wells and 45 2D seismic lines. These data were comprehensively studied using an innovative workflow involving five main steps: 1) constructing a neural network to estimate the lithofacies logs, 2) identification and correlation of lithology boundaries, 3) inferring the geological age, 4) picking up and interpreting these boundaries on the seismic lines, and 5) using seismic velocity to guide lithology interpretation in four lithology models. This methodology yielded credible results in locating lithofacies and predicting sea level changes. Finally, this methodology allowed drawing a conceptual lithofacies map in different geological periods.

Keywords: Red Sea basin, Sediment supply, Basin evolution, Oligocene, Seismic interpretation