Dyman, T.S.1, S.M. Condon1, R.R. Charpentier1, T.A.
Cook1, R.A. Crovelli1, T.R. Klett1, M.D. Lewan1,
R.M. Pollastro1, C.J. Schenk1, J.W. Schmoker1
(1) U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO
ABSTRACT: Assessment of Undiscovered Petroleum Resources: Cretaceous Travis Peak and Hosston Formations, Jurassic Smackover Interior Salt Basins Total Petroleum System, Louisiana-Mississippi Salt Basins Province, Northern Gulf Coast Region
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of the undiscovered
oil and gas potential of the Lower Cretaceous Travis Peak and Hosston Formations in the
East Texas Basin and Louisiana-Mississippi Salt Basins Provinces of the northern Gulf
Coast Region as part of a national oil and gas assessment effort. The assessment was based
on the general geologic elements used to define a total petroleum system (TPS) and its
contained assessment units, which include hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock
maturation, and hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence
stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and
timing). Using this geologic framework, the USGS defined the Jurassic Smackover Interior
Salt Basins TPS and three assessment units (AU)—Travis Peak-Hosston Gas and Oil AU,
Travis Peak-Hosston Updip Oil AU, and Travis Peak-Hosston Hypothetical Updip Oil AU. A
fourth AU, Hosston Hypothetical Slope-Basin Gas, was not quantitatively assessed because
of a lack of geological data.
The USGS assessed undiscovered conventional oil and gas for each of the AUs, resulting in
estimated means of 1,136 billion cubic feet of non-associated gas and associated gas in
oil fields, 29 million barrels of oil, and 22 million barrels of natural gas liquids for
the totals in the Jurassic Smackover Interior Salt Basins TPS of these two provinces. All
of the estimated undiscovered resources are conventional. The Travis Peak-Hosston Gas and
Oil AU contains 1,085 billion cubic feet of gas, representing about 95 percent of the
total mean undiscovered gas resource (1,136 billion cubic feet) estimated for the Travis
Peak and Hosston Formations in these two provinces.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90026©2004 AAPG Annual Meeting, Dallas, Texas, April 18-21, 2004.