Production-Based Plays as an Exploration Tool in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

E. C. Batchelder, G. L. Lore

The Minerals Management Service, United States Department of the Interior, has described more than 100 plays in the northern Gulf of Mexico encompassing 1,086 fields and over 9,500 productive sands. This play delineation effort is jointly funded by the Department of Energy, the Gas Research Institute, and the Minerals Management Service. Plays are defined by a combination of production, chronostratigraphy, lithostratigraphy, and structural style. Cumulative production from these plays as of December 1993 is 9.01 billion barrels of oil and 107.7 trillion cubic feet of gas, with 2.14 billion barrels of oil and 29.1 trillion cubic feet of gas remaining as recoverable reserves.

The play maps target areas for future exploration in two ways. The first is to identify conceptual deep-sea fan plays located downdip from plays established in sediments of shallow-water depositional environments. Two examples of conceptual plays are lower Miocene deep-sea fans in the Matagorda Island/Mustang Island areas located downdip from strand plain production, and upper Pleistocene deep-sea fans in the Garden Banks area located downdip from incised valley fill production. The second is to emphasize areas for both future exploration and infill potential around and within established plays. An example of extension potential of an established play is possible lower Pleistocene oil in the southeastern High Island area.

Examples are shown of how extensive data sets developed within the play framework can provide valuable quantitative information to assess the possible number and size of undiscovered accumulations and potential total quantities of undiscovered hydrocarbon resources in a particular play of exploration interest.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91020©1995 AAPG Annual Convention, Houston, Texas, May 5-8, 1995