Gerd Winterleitner

• BSc, MSc, PhD
• Fraunhofer IEG

We integrated geological and 2D basin modelling to investigate the tectonostratigraphic evolution of the East Beni Suef Basin (EBSB) of north central Egypt and its implications for the Upper Cretaceous petroleum system. Two intersecting seismic sections and three exploration wells were used for this study. The geological model defines the structura...

Although distally steepened carbonate ramps have been studied by numerous researchers, the processes that control the development of these carbonate systems, including tectonics, differential carbonate production along the ramp profile, or antecedent physiography of the slopes, are an ongoing discussion. We use a stratigraphic forward model to test...

Forward stratigraphic modelling is a fast-developing modelling approach, used to test conceptual models, and predict stratigraphic architecture and depositional facies from basin to reservoir scales. Published subsurface applications demonstrate its added value by integrating multidisciplinary data as well as geological concepts into its constraint...

Forward stratigraphic models quantify geological processes over time to reproduce the stratigraphic architecture of a sedimentary body. Due to the great number of interacting input parameters and their uncertainties, their individual impact on the stratigraphy can be obscured. A sensitivity analysis of such models can identify key factors in the st...

The Beni Suef Basin, a rift basin in north-central Egypt, was formed in response to the NeoTethys and Atlantic oceans opening and the associated tectonic motion between Africa and Eurasia during the Early Cretaceous. It is bisected by the Nile Valley into the East and West of the Nile Provinces (EON and WON) and comprises a mixed siliciclastic-carb...

This study deals with the East Beni Suef Basin (Eastern Desert, Egypt) and aims to evaluate the source-generative potential, reconstruct the burial and thermal history, examine the most influential parameters on thermal maturity modeling, and improve on the models already published for the West Beni Suef to ultimately formulate a complete picture o...

The geometry of carbonate platforms reflects the interaction of several factors. However, the impact of carbonate producing organisms has been poorly investigated so far. This study applies stratigraphic forward modelling (SFM) and sensitivity analysis to examine, referenced to the Miocene Llucmajor platform, the effect on platform geometry of chan...

Stratigraphic forward modelling (SFM) is a method of sedimentary system analysis which allows for the systematic investigation of the origin and evolution of observed sedimentary patterns and geometries through time. SFM has been successfully applied to improve subsurface reservoir exploration through its ability to test multiple scenarios to predi...

The sensitivity of sedimentary systems to environmental changes is key in understanding the cyclic response of the sedimentary architecture to changing parameters. The changes observed in the preserved stratigraphic architecture in a basin indicate the environmental changes dominant during the evolution of a given sedimentary system. Stratigraphic...

Carbonate platform stratigraphy is driven by the interaction between physical changes during basin formation and ecological evolution of biota. Ecological accommodation depends on a range of environmental parameters , most notably water depth and wave energy. Less constrained is the relationship between platform stratigraphy and parameters like nut...

The lateral and vertical temperature distribution in Oman is so far only poorly understood, particularly in the area between Muscat and the Batinah coast, which is the area of this study and which is composed of Cenozoic sediments developed as part of a foreland basin of the Makran Thrust Zone. Temperature logs (T-logs) were run and physical rock p...

Aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) as a complement to fluctuating renewable energy systems is a reliable technology to guarantee continuous energy supply for heating and air conditioning. We investigated a high-temperature (HT) mono-well system ( c . 100°C), where the well screens are separated vertically within the aquifer, as an alternative to...

The lateral and vertical temperature distribution in Oman is so far only poorly understood, particularly in the area between Muscat and the Batinah coast, which is the area of this study and which is composed of Cenozoic sediments developed as part of a foreland basin of the Makran Thrust Zone. Temperature logs (T-logs) were run and physical rock p...

The aim of the GeoSolCool research programme between the German Research Centre for Geoscience (GFZ) and The Research Council of Oman (TRC) is the development of an innovative and sustainable cooling system in combination with an aquifer thermal energy storage system in northern Oman. An integral part of this project is the design of a subsurface a...

We conducted a geoscientific feasibility study for the development of a high-temperature thermal aquifer energy storage system (HT-ATES) outside the capital of Muscat, northern Oman. The aquifer storage is part of a solar-geothermal cooling project for the sustainable and continuous cooling of office buildings. The main concept is that excess solar...

Reservoir modelling workflows traditionally rely heavily on geostatistical concepts to predict a given parameter at an unsampled location. This enables geologists and reservoir modellers to characterise and develop models of subsurface hydrocarbon reservoirs based on sparse data sets. This approach works readily in siliciclastic environments where...

A collaborative research programme between the German Research Centre for Geoscience, Potsdam (GFZ) and The Research Council of Oman (TRC) is underway, which aims to develop and implement an innovative concept of a sustainable thermally driven cooling system in combination with a HT-ATES in northern Oman. The system will use an absorption chiller f...

Thermally driven cooling is a strong option for the energy system in the sun-belt on Earth, for example on the Arabian Peninsula. The energy for a sustainable cold supply can be developed from geothermal sources. An efficient absorption chiller nominally requires water of at least 90°C. The potential of low-enthalpy geothermal reservoirs in Oman is...

Outstanding exposures of Ediacaran-aged thrombolite-stromatolite bioherms and biostromes crop out in the Nama Basin, SW Namibia. Fieldwork, dovetailed with remote sensing and a terrestrial laser scanning (LiDAR) survey, allow the fracture network of this succession to be characterized, and the relative age of fracture sets and families to be determ...

This research project presents an integrated study of selected aspects of Neoproterozoic carbonate sedimentology in Namibia from a petroleum point of view. In recent years petroleum companies started to explore Neoproterozoic frontier petroleum plays due to the global steady increase for the demand of oil and gas. However, despite an enormous resea...

In this study, we describe and interpret a reservoir analogue model constructed from a Neoproterozoic thrombolite-stromatolite reef system. Due to the increasing significance of these systems as possible hydrocarbon reservoirs, a better understanding of their internal structure is required. A new frontier in approaching this problem is the developm...