BEBOUT, DON G., Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

ABSTRACT: Natural Gas Reservoirs and Plays, Central and Eastern Gulf Coast

Gulf Coast natural gas reservoirs of south Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida (Central and Eastern Gulf Coast) have produced 152 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas. Louisiana claims the greatest share of this volume with cumulative production of 131 Tcf. To better delineate gas-producing trends, major reservoirs that have produced more than 10 billion cubic feet (Bcf) have been identified and organized into 32 plays based on geologic age, lithology, and depositional environment. The Atlas of Major Central-and Eastern Gulf Coast Gas Reservoirs, published in 1992, provides documentation for these plays and was a collaborative effort of the Gas Research Institute; Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin; Geological Survey of Alabama; Arkans s Geological Commission; Louisiana Geological Survey; and Mississippi Office of Geology.

Total cumulative production from 1,357 major reservoirs is 59Tcf; however, this figure includes Louisiana production (49 Tcf) only from 1965 to 1990 because production data prior to 1965 are not readily available. Tertiary reservoirs have produced the most gas with 31 Tcf (52%), followed by Cretaceous with 20 Tcf (34%), Jurassic with 7 Tcf(12%), and Pennsylvanian/Mississippian plan with Tcf (2%). Seventy-eight percent of the production from the Central and Eastern Gulf Coast is from sandstone reservoirs, reflecting the dominance of production from Tertiary reservoirs.

Organization of these major gas reservoirs into geological based plays provides important insight into extension of productive trends and application of new resource technology to more efficient field development and further exploration in the Central and Eastern Gulf Coast.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90987©1993 AAPG Annual Convention, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 25-28, 1993.