Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Science - Department of Geology

A huge amount of the Late Createous oil shale was dumped as trash out from El-Beida phosphorite mine in Quseir-Safaga area, Red Sea, Egypt. Core, dumped, weathered and surface-exposed samples were collected from the oil shales that represent the most productive horizon for organic carbon. These oil shales representing the contact between the Duwi and the overlying Dakhla formations. The present study concerns the potential of the Late Cretaceous oil shale and characterize the organic constituents, inorganic composition, and petrographic investigation of the most unweathered, weathered, and shortterm weathered oil shales samples in El-Beida mine area. The samples were subjected to petrographic investigation (lithofacies and kerogen), inorganic composition (major, trace metals and rare earth elements (REE)), and organic geochemical assessment (TOC%, Rock-Eval pyrolysis, lipid biomarkers inventories, and oil yield). Petrographically, three main lithofacies was recognized; phosphorite, shale, and carbonate. The partial to complete filling of foraminiferal tests with secondary pyrite, which strongly suggests an anaerobic bacterial effect. Organic petrography shows organic matter maturity level which is in the immature stage to marginally mature at the beginning of the generation stage of thermal maturity. The deposition of these oil shales occurred in marine environment under reducing condition

Issued also as CD