PETROPHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MESSINIAN ABU MADI FORMATION IN THE BALTIM EAST AND NORTH FIELDS,OFFSHORE NILE DELTA,EGYPT

Baltim East and North fields in the offshore Nile Delta produce gas‐condensate from accumulations located in the northern portion of the Abu Madi palaeovalley. The hydrocarbons in the Abu Madi Formation are present in sandstone reservoir units referred to as the Level III Main and Level III Lower. In this paper, the petrophysical characteristics of these reservoir units in the Baltim area are described using data from wireline logs (gamma‐ray, density, neutron, sonic and resistivity) from fourteen wells and core data from one well. Results of wireline log and core analyses indicate that the Level III Main can subdivided into two sandstone‐dominated intervals (both interpreted as sandbar deposits) separated by a shale‐rich interval which is a partial barrier to fluid flow. Effective porosity is 9–18.5% and permeability 40–100 mD. Sandstones in the Level III Lower are interpreted as braided channel facies and have effective porosity of 12.5–22% and permeability of 100–500 mD. Isoparametric maps for the Abu Madi Formation sandstone reservoirs based on log and core interpretations show the influence of depositional facies on petrophysical characteristics and can be used to assess possible targets for future exploration and development.     

Organic richness,kerogen types and maturity in the shales of the Dakhla and Duwi formations in Abu Tartur area,Western Desert,Egypt: Implication of Rock–Eval pyrolysis

The objective of this study is to assess the organic material for petroleum potential and characterize the relationships between organic material, thermal maturity, and the depositional environments. This is done using “14” samples from the shales of the Dakhla and Duwi formations in Abu Tartur area. The samples have been analyzed using the geochemical method of Rock–Eval pyrolysis. The analysis shows that the total organic carbon content lies between 0.56 and 1.96 wt%. It also shows that kerogen is a mixture of type II and III that is dominant, and is deposited in the shallow and restricted marine environment under prevailing reducing conditions. This type of kerogen is prone to oil and oil/gas production. The geochemical diagrams show that all the studied samples have good thermal maturation. The Dakhla and Duwi formations which have been divided into all zones are mature (have T_max over 435 °C), and have organic carbon content located at the oil window (T_max between 435 and 443 °C).     

Performative Urbanism: An Emerging Model of the Gulf

With the largest stretch of desert sand in the world, the UAE has an extreme climate and arid ecology. Previous to the postwar discovery of oil in the region, the built environment developed with low or no energy to be responsive to extreme climatic changes. Guest-Editor George Katodrytis looks at the ways that a more performative approach might be employed in contemporary architecture to make it more culturally and climatically relevant.     

The Evolution of Tall Building in the Gulf: From the Sensational to the Sensitive

In just 35 years the built environment in the Gulf region has evolved so rapidly that it has gone from having no high-rise buildings to having the world's tallest building — SOM's Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Terri Meyer Boake , a professor at the University of Waterloo in Ontario and specialist in steel construction and skyscraper design, provides an overview of the fast-paced development of this building typology.     

Fast Forwards: 10 Years of Sustainable Initiatives in the Gulf Region

Over the last decade, sustainable initiatives have proliferated in the UAE through a disparate range of public and private sector efforts. Jeffrey Willis , Sustainability Leader for Arup in the Gulf, provides a comprehensive review of these enterprises, highlighting how momentum has been clustered in three distinct periods of activity: previous to 2006 ; 2006 to 2008 ; and then since the global financial crisis in 2008.     

Tar mats and residual oil distribution in a giant oil field offshore Abu Dhabi

This paper describes how geochemical data (Rock Eval analysis, SARA composition) combined with wireline log interpretation allows for the recognition of the distribution and continuity of bitumens in a main reservoir of an offshore giant field in Abu Dhabi. The integration of new geochemical data with data and field information provided by the oil company ZADCO allows for the recognition of two types of bitumen rich levels in the main reservoir of the field: a) one corresponding to bitumen rich main reservoir intervals associated with high resistivity and high oil saturation, these intervals can be called “tar mats”, b) the other corresponding to low oil saturated intervals, and can be classified as “heavy residual oil”.In terms of lateral and vertical distribution, the tar mats are found at the crestal area of the Present-day structure and are located at the base of the reservoir unit above a tight limestone which plays a role of being a vertical permeability barrier. The tar mats seem to be independent of the Present-day OWC and are not related to biodegradation processes. The heavy residual oil is mainly located in the Northeast and the Southeast parts of the field and close to the OWC but it is also present all around the field except 1) in the west, in the area of the spill point and 2) in the Northwest area where direct contact between mobile oil and water is detected.Study of the structural evolution demonstrates that a tilting of the field began at Dammam age time (Eocene). The tilting of the structure led to a reduction of the structural closure in the West followed by the leakage of part of the originally trapped oil.Numerical modeling of such a geological scenario leads to a distribution of fluids (water, movable oil and residual oil) very close to the one observed at Present-day time in the field. This modeling allows a prediction of the extension and distribution of the residual heavy oil within the studied reservoir and can be used to better define an optimal production scheme. The effects of the residual heavy oils on the fluid circulation are difficult to evaluate, depending on the distribution of the bitumen in the pore network.     

Yas Island Marina‐Hotel – Pole Position in Abu Dhabi

Viele der in Dubai und Abu Dhabi in den letzten Jahren im Zuge des Goldrausches für Projektentwickler und Planer konzipierten Bauvorhaben beeindrucken nicht nur durch ihr immenses Volumen, sondern auch durch die engen für die Realisierung zur Verfügung stehenden Zeitrahmen. Insbesondere ist das der Fall, wenn es sich um Bauten für die Formel 1 handelt. Am Rande Abu Dhabis entsteht auf Yas Island, einer ursprünglich unbebauten Insel in der Einflugschneise des internationalen Flughafens, ein neuer Formel 1‐Kurs nach dem Masterplan des Ingenieurbüros Tilke GmbH & Co. KG aus Aachen. Auf und um das Streckengelände werden bis zum ersten Rennen im November 2009 vielfältige Einrichtungen realisiert, die umfassende Infrastrukturmaßnahmen einschließen. Eines Tages wird man von dort aus das ebenso neu entstehende Kulturzentrum auf Saadiyat Island mit seinen Vorzeigebauten erreichen. Hier geht es nicht um Einbindung in ein bestehendes städtebauliches Gefüge, alles ist neu entwickelt, alles beansprucht für sich Einmaligkeit. Yas Island Marina Hotel – Pole position in Abu Dhabi. Many of the projects conceived for Dubai and Abu Dhabi as part of the development and design goldrush of the past years are not only impressive by their enormous scale, but also their demanding delivery dates. This is especially the case when building for the Formula 1 with a race date delivery. In the outer skirts of Abu Dhabi, next to the international airport on Yas Island, a previously empty island, construction for a new Formula 1 racecourse master planned by Tilke GmbH & Co. KG is underway. On and around the racecourse massive developments are being delivered for the first race in November 2009 including vast infrastructure projects. One day Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi's much talked about new cultural district equally built from scratch, will be accessed from here. Not the existing urban fabric or context is the theme, everything is newly developed and everything claims individuality.     

Improve effluent water quality at Abu‐Rawash wastewater treatment plant with the application of coagulants

This research investigated a process to improve the Abu‐Rawash WWTP effluent water quality with the application of aluminum chloride (AlCl₃); in turn, this improvement will lead to improve water quality at the El‐Rahawy drain and in the Rosetta branch of the Nile River. Sewage samples were collected from the effluent of the grit removal chamber. Jar tests were performed to estimate the coagulant dosage required to obtain acceptable treatment. To prove the efficiency of the AlCl₃ in wastewater treatment, a comparison was conducted between AlCl₃ and other common coagulants used in wastewater treatment which include ferrous sulfate (FeSO₄), ferric sulfate (Fe₂(SO₄)₃) and ferric chloride (FeCl₃). Results showed AlCl₃ was more cost‐effective and efficient in wastewater treatment than these three iron‐based coagulants. A paired‐sample t‐test was also performed to rank the performance of the various coagulants tested. The t‐test has also confirmed that the AlCl₃ has the highest performance over those coagulants.