Print this pageMahogany Field, a 
Subsalt
Legend: A Tale of Technology,
Timing and Tenacity, Offshore Gulf of Mexico
CAMP, WAYNE K., and DONN MCGUIRE
Mahogany field is destined to become a future legend due to its distinction
as the first commercial field in the subsalt play of the Gulf of Mexico. The
Mahogany discovery follows nearly a decade of subsalt drilling in which no
commercial discoveries had been chronicled. The impact of the Mahogany discovery
can already be measured by the rejuvenated exploration activity in the outer
continental shelf. Since the Mahogany discovery in 1993, fifteen subsalt wildcat
wells have been drilled by ten different operators resulting in four new subsalt
discoveries. Drilling activity in the play remains high with eleven rigs active
through the first half of 1996.
New technological advances in subsalt 3D seismic depth imaging, combined with
improved understanding of deep-water sand depositional models and salt
tectonics, was instrumental to the discovery of Mahogany field. Drilling results
from Mahogany led to improvements in subsalt drilling techniques, new seismic
acquisition and processing methods, new formation evaluation procedures, and
better understanding of subsalt reservoirs and trapping styles. The potential
for future subsalt successes has inspired new research in salt tectonic
modeling, subsalt hydrocarbon maturation and migration, deep-water reservoir
description and prediction, and 3D seismic attribute analysis.
This new technology is being applied to development drilling strategies at
Mahogany field, and for exploration in the Gulf of Mexico subsalt
play and other
plays throughout the world.