Abstract
The North Sinai Offshore Basin (NSOB), located along the southern margin of the Eastern Mediterranean Basin (EMB), represents a strategically important yet relatively underexplored hydrocarbon province situated between the prolific Nile Delta and Levant basins. This study reconstructs the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the NSOB through the integration of regional two-dimensional seismic reflection data, well information, seismic stratigraphy, structural interpretation, and seismic attribute analysis to evaluate the controls of tectonic inheritance on basin evolution, sediment routing, and hydrocarbon prospectivity. The results demonstrate that the basin architecture was established during Permian–Triassic to Early Jurassic Neo-Tethyan rifting, which generated a network of basement-involved normal faults, horsts, grabens, and half-grabens that governed subsequent sediment accumulation. Jurassic–Early Cretaceous thermal subsidence promoted passive-margin development and widespread carbonate-platform deposition, whereas Late Cretaceous–Eocene Syrian Arc compression reactivated inherited extensional faults to produce inversion anticlines and structural culminations that significantly modified basin morphology. Oligocene–Miocene extensional reactivation associated with Red Sea and Gulf of Suez opening further compartmentalized the basin, creating accommodation space for deep-water depositional systems, including submarine channels, channel–levee complexes, basin-floor fans, and mass-transport deposits. Seismic attribute analyses reveal that these depositional elements are strongly controlled by long-lived basement structures, highlighting the persistent influence of structural inheritance on sediment dispersal and reservoir distribution. The Late Miocene Messinian evaporite succession forms a regionally extensive seal that preserves pre-existing structural and stratigraphic traps, enhancing hydrocarbon retention. This integrated tectono-stratigraphic framework demonstrates that repeated structural reactivation, rather than independent tectonic episodes, governed the long-term evolution of the NSOB. The study provides new insights into the evolution of structurally inherited passive-margin basins and establishes a predictive exploration model for identifying prospective structural and stratigraphic hydrocarbon plays across the Eastern Mediterranean Basin.