Abstract: Geologic Appraisal of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources in Gulf of Mexico

Edward W. Scott, Robert S. Pike, Richard B. Powers, Barbara T. Vietti

The U.S. Geological Survey has completed a new assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas resources of the western Gulf of Mexico. The area covers that part of the Gulf of Mexico, commonly referred to as the clastic province, which extends from a boundary east of the Mississippi delta westward and southward to the United States-Mexico border, excluding the offshore eastern carbonate province. This study provides one of the pilot areas for the Interagency Oil and Gas Supply Project.

Comprehensive resource appraisals are based upon the compilation and analysis of: (1) detailed geologic and geophysical data by stratigraphic units; (2) the geologic and tectonic setting of the entire Gulf; (3) the results of oil and gas in-place field studies, including size and depths of occurrence; and (4) finding rates for oil and gas by field-size categories and geologic age of the reservoirs.

The results of the resource appraisal studies are reported for the western Gulf of Mexico on the assessments of the undiscovered oil and gas resources by major stratigraphic units or depth intervals; the distributions by size and number of the undiscovered oil and gas fields for each of such units; the distributions by depth of occurrence of the undiscovered resources; and the projected finding rates.

The results of these assessments are reported in graphic form as probability and frequency distributions for the subprovinces or zones as defined by water depths within the Gulf: (1) 0 to 200 m; (2) 200 to 1,000 m; and (3) 1,000 to 2,500 m.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90961©1978 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma