Introduction
عملت شركة الخليج العربي للنفط منذ انشائها على التنقيب عن النفط والغاز في مناطق مختلفة من ليبيا وقد حققت الكثير من النجاحات التي ساهمت بالرقي بشركة الخليج إلى مصاف الشركات العالمية، ومن خلال سعيها الدائم إلى التنقيب عن النفط والغاز في المناطق الجديدة والمهجورة قررت العودة إلى التنقيب عن النفط والغاز في منطقة برقة. فبالرغم من ان منطقة برقة من اول المناطق التي بدأت بها اعمال التنقيب عن النفط خلال خمسينيات القرن الماضي إلا ان اعمال التنقيب بها قد توقفت لعدة أسباب لعل اهمها الاكتشافات الضخمة التي حققتها الشركات النفطية خلال تلك الفترة في حوض سرت النفطي (مثل حقل السرير والنافورة وغيرها) وحوض الحمادة النفطي، ومن ناحية أخرى فقد تكون التقنيات المستخدمة في تلك الحقبة لا تتلاءم والطبيعة الجيولوجية المعقدة للمنطقة.
ومن خلال متابعة شركة الخليج العربي للنفط للنشاطات والنجاحات الاستكشافية في المناطق المجاورة لليبيا، قررت العودة إلى التنقيب عن النفط والغاز في منطقة برقة، وذلك من خلال منظور وتقنيات جديدة، وبدعم من المؤسسة الوطنية للنفط استهلت شركة الخليج هذه العودة بالبدء بأعمال حفر البئر الاستكشافية (A1-75/03) وسوف تتبع هذه البداية بإجراء ورشة عمل تهدف إلى دعوة المتخصصين لدراسة وتقييم الخصائص الجيولوجية والنفطية للمنطقة ومقارنتها بالمناطق المجاورة وذلك للخروج بطرق استكشافية جديدة قد تساهم في الكشف عن الإمكانيات النفطية للمنطقة.
The Cyrenaica region extends over the northeastern part of Libya, covering an area of about 160,000 km2. The region consists of five geological settings namely; the Cyrenaica Platform in the south, Al Jabal al Akhdar Anticlinorium and Marmarica Uplift in the north, the Soluq Depression in the west and the Marmarica Terraces and Cyrenaica platform flanks in the eastern and central parts respectively. The Cyrenaica region is bounded on the south by the Jaghbub High and the Ajdabiya Trough of Sirt Basin from the west. The northern part of the western desert of Egypt occupying the eastern boundaries, while the northern boundary is occupied by the off-shore basin.
Geologically, the vast region of Cyrenaica is composed of rock units that vary in their rock type from carbonates dominating the Cenozoic to clastic forming the majority of rocks in the Mesozoic and Paleozoic sections. These rock units have gone through complex and variable tectonic episodes which have led the region to its present geological setting.
Although Libya has a long history of hydrocarbon exploration, the Cyrenaica region is poorly explored, with only 120 wells drilled in the entire area till today. Regardless of the fact that the first exploration well drilled in Libya in the fifties of the last century was on the crest of Al Jabal al Akhdar Anticlinorium (Well A1-18) the ratio of drilled wells in the area is very low (one well per 1300 km2) as of today. The extreme decline in exploration activity in the region was due to several factors. Perhaps the most important being the giant discoveries that have been made in the early stages of exploration in the rifted basin of Sirt and the intracratonic basin of Ghadames. On the other hand, the basic exploration methods (in particular 2D seismic, magnetic and gravity surveys) which were sometimes not capable of fully revealing the complex geology of the region, may have also contributed to the decline and the abandonment of exploration activity in the region.
The recent discovered pool (C-NC129) known as Sultan Field, made by the AGOCO in the Soluq Depression has demonstrated the latent potential of the region. The first well drilled in the Sultan Field was based on 2D seismic shot in the year 1995. During the subsequent years 3D seismic survey that was carried out over the pool led to a better assessment of pool extension and drilling of the rest of the appraisal and development wells.
Recently, based on published literatures, the Exploration Department of AGOCO has reviewed the successful exploration activity on the northern part of the Western Desert basins of Egypt (NWDBE). This revision has shown geological similarities between Cyrenaica region and NWDBE in terms of stratigraphy and tectonics.
In order to elaborate more on these observations and to have a well understanding of the geology and the petroleum geology of Cyrenaica region, AGOCO with the full support of the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC), intends to organize a workshop later this year 2024, focusing on the hydrocarbon potential of Cyrenaica region and the neighboring areas. It is hoped that this workshop will lead to a successful hydrocarbon exploration activity in Cyrenaica region in the coming years