Evaluation of Geothermal Energy Potentiality in the Junction between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Suez, Egypt

Abstract

Egypt has a range of renewable energy sources. Our main purpose of this research is to extend our study of the potentiality of geothermal resources in Egypt to be used as a primary energy source in the future, especially in the southern Gulf of Suez. Gravity, magnetic, and well logs, as well as interpolating basement depth from the wells, are used to detect the potentiality of the geothermal energy. A temperature grid from wells was created, and a 3D cube was established to show the relation between temperature increase and depth using Geosoft Oasis Montaj and Python software. We revealed the subsurface geology and tectonics of the study area, which led to identify the main reason and source for geothermal energy and the relationships between different data sets and the existence of geothermal energy. By calculating the geothermal gradient along various depths and assessing the discrepancies between different geophysical models, our investigation revealed that the depth to the basement did not yield significant results, likely due to the complex geological structure of the study area. However, by analyzing the Moho and Curie depths, we discovered a temperature gradient that increases toward the northern region. We established a relationship among bottom hole temperature (BHT), basement depth, Moho depth, and Curie depth to accurately identify areas of interest for drilling. This analysis enabled us to select the most promising location for geothermal potential, situated in the northern section of the study area at an approximate depth of 2,550 meters.