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The Gulf of Suez (GOS) is the most promising geothermal resource for power generation to promote a green energy mix in Egypt. This research clarifies the GOS geothermal features and the control factors forming high-temperature zones by three-dimensional (3D) interpolation of temperature, geothermal gradient, and heat flux borehole temperature data from 281 oil wells with confirmed ranges of 25.1–184.5 °C (average: 105.7 °C), 0.02–6.97 °C/(100 m) (average: 3.1 °C/(100 m)), and 20.4–232.4 mW/m2 (average: 104.2 mW/m2), respectively. K-means clustering distinguished three regional structural areas and two local accommodation zones. These formed the highest potential plays: a medium enthalpy (100–180 °C) basement-dominated play in the southernmost GOS and a low enthalpy (< 100 °C) sediment-dominated play in the northernmost GOS. The results clarified that the GOS resource is characterized by (a) large radiogenic heat and permeability at shallow basement depths, (b) frequent volcanic activity, (c) large porosity and permeability of the clastic and carbonate sequences, (d) development of fractures of varying density, geometry, intersection, and frequent rejuvenation, (e) development of evaporites together with salt diapirs, and (f) frequent earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 3. Strong fault control on the geothermal resource was identified through lineament analysis of integrated bathymetry and topography in the GOS and surrounding area. Findings from the analysis helped to locate efficiently areas with high geothermal potential, leading to better management for binary power generation and enhanced geothermal systems in the GOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Morphotectonic lineaments observed on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt were auto-detected from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission 90-m digital elevation model (DEM) and gravity grid data and then analyzed to characterize the tectonic trends that dominated the geologic evolution of this area. The approach employed consists of DEM shading, segment tracing, grouping, statistical analysis of the distribution and orientation of the lineaments, fault plane characterization, and smooth representation techniques. Statistical quantification of counts, mean lengths, densities, and orientations was used to infer the relative severity of the tectonic regimes, to unravel the prominent structural trends, and to demarcate the contribution of various faulting styles that prevailed through time. Restored to the present-day geographic position, prominent N50°–60°W, N20°–40°W, N50°–60°E, and N20°–30°E and less prominent N–S, E–W, and ENE trends were common. The prominence of these trends varied through time. The NW and NE trends showed relatively equal abundances in the Precambrian and the Cambrian whereas the prominence of the NW trends prevailed from the Carboniferous to the Holocene. Lineaments in all formations were near vertical and on average, about 65% showed as strike-slip, 22% as reverse, and 13% as normal faulting styles. Statistics from the detected linear features and the reference geological data reveal the relative severity of five dominant tectonic regimes: Precambrian compression followed by extension at its end, Cretaceous compression, Eocene compression, Miocene extension, and finally Holocene compression. Auto-detected lineaments and the severity of the characterized tectonic periods correspond well with reference data on the geologic structure, geodynamic framework, and the gravity anomaly. Furthermore, the recent significance of the broad structural zones was confirmed by the foci of the earthquake epicenters along and at the intra-plate intersections of the broad lineament zones and at the plate boundaries. The spatial distribution of trends with varying styles of faulting distinguished four main tectonic provinces of marked geodynamics variances. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]