--> Abstract: USGS Assessment of Undiscovered Conventional Oil and Gas Resources, Middle-Upper Eocene Claiborne Group, Gulf of Mexico Onshore and State Waters, Usa, by Paul Hackley; #90078 (2008)

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USGS Assessment of Undiscovered Conventional Oil and Gas Resources, Middle-Upper Eocene Claiborne Group, Gulf of Mexico Onshore and State Waters, Usa

Paul Hackley
U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA

The Middle-Upper Eocene Claiborne Group was assessed for undiscovered, technically recoverable conventional hydrocarbon resources as part of the 2007 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment of Tertiary strata of the United States Gulf of Mexico onshore and State waters. Total estimated mean undiscovered conventional resources are 52 million barrels of oil, 19.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 1.2 billion barrels of natural gas liquids. Source rocks for oil accumulations probably are downdip organic-rich facies of the Paleocene-Eocene Wilcox Group and Sparta Sand (Eocene, Lower Claiborne Group); gas accumulations may be sourced from the Jurassic Smackover Formation, Cretaceous Eagle Ford Formation, or the Wilcox-Sparta interval. Primary Claiborne reservoir formations are the Queen City Sand, Cook Mountain, Sparta Sand, Yegua, and the Cockfield.

A geologic model, supported by spatial analysis of petroleum geology data including discovered reservoir depth, thickness, temperature, porosity-permeability, and pressure, was used to divide the Claiborne into seven assessment units (AUs). The AUs include: (1) Lower Claiborne Stable Shelf Gas and Oil, (2) Lower Claiborne Expanded Fault Zone Gas, (3) Lower Claiborne Slope and Basin Floor Gas, (4) Lower Claiborne Cane River, (5) Upper Claiborne Stable Shelf Gas and Oil, (6) Upper Claiborne Expanded Fault Zone Gas, and (7) Upper Claiborne Slope and Basin Floor Gas.

The great bulk of undiscovered resources in the Claiborne are non-associated gas and condensate contained in deep (mostly >12,000 ft), overpressured, structurally-complex, relatively unexplored, outer shelf or slope and basin floor reservoirs. Continuing development of these downdip objectives is expected to be the primary focus of exploration and production activity for the onshore Middle-Upper Eocene strata in the Gulf Coast in the coming decades.

 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90078©2008 AAPG Annual Convention, San Antonio, Texas