Integration of Well Logging and Remote Sensing Data for Detecting Potential Geothermal Sites along the Gulf of Suez, Egypt

Abstract

The Gulf of Suez area is one of the most favorable regions in Egypt for geothermal exploitation since it hosts an evident cluster of superficial thermal springs. Some of these thermal springs include Hammam Musa, Hammam Faraun, Sudr, Ayn Musa and Ain Sokhna, which are characterized by high temperatures ranging between 35 °C to 86.66 °C. It is this feature that makes the Gulf of Suez locality sufficient for geothermal power production. Corrected bottom hole temperature (BHT) data from 197 oil wells situated onshore and offshore of the Gulf of Suez were utilized for the present research. The results indicated that the study area has a geothermal gradient ranging from 24.9 to 86.66 °C/km, a heat flow ranging from 31 to 127.2 m W k−1, a thermal conductivity of 2.6–3.2 W m−1 k−1, and an amplitude temperature varying from 49.48 °C to 157.8 °C. The derived geothermal and geological layers were used together with the remote sensing thermal infrared and topographic data, to map relevant physiographic variables including surface elevation, fractures density, drainage density, nighttime land surface temperature and major lithological units. The nine produced variables were integrated in GIS to model the geothermal potential map (GTP) for the Gulf of Suez region. The model identifies the northeastern and the southwestern areas as equally two sites for high geothermal potential. Findings of this study demonstrate that integration of well logging and space data with the adopted geospatial techniques is a practical method for geothermal prospecting in similarly geologic and tectonic setting in Egypt and East Africa.