Geochemical investigations of the source rock intervals of the Oligocene Tineh Formation, offshore Nile Delta, Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Helwan University, Ain Helwan, 11795, Cairo, Egypt

2 Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Assiut, 71516, Egypt

Abstract

The gas chromatograms of the n-alkanes of the investigated Tineh Formation (Oligocene) show a dominance of short-chain n-alkanes with a slight admixture of medium-chain n-alkane components. They indicate the dominance of algae, microorganisms, Sphagnum moss and aquatic macrophytes. The low wax content (average 0.77), the low TAR value (0.01) and the high Paq value (average 0.91) show that submerged and floating seagrasses predominate over higher woody vascular plants in the studied formation. The redox potential based on the ratios of Pr/Ph (average 0.67) and Ph/n-C18 (average 0.32) of the Tineh samples indicates that an anoxic and dysoxic aquatic marine medium prevailed during the accumulation and preservation of OM. The low value of the ACL proxy (average 26.36) can also be attributed to the dominance of seagrass over woody plants, which took place in a relatively cool paleoclimate. The CPI shows an average value of about one (1.04), with two samples showing a value of less than one (samples C and D), which emphasizes the margin and the entry of the Tineh Formation into the main stage of maturation.

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