Source Rocks Maturity and Generation Processes Estimation in Cuban Exclusive Economic Zone in the Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

Abstract

In the Cuban Exclusive Economic Zone in the Gulf of Mexico (CEEZ-GoM) four exploration wells have been drilled. These wells were dried since they did not discover any commercial hydrocarbon accumulation, besides, the low measured temperatures in the wellbores add some risk to maturity and oil expelled of source rocks. The goal of the present paper is establishing some criteria which demonstrate or not the occurrence of these processes in CEEZ-GoM. Many geological and oil data known from Cuban oil fields and the GoM mega basin were integrated. Through the compilation of geochemical data an oil-oil correlation was established for the complete on- and offshore basins and also some models (geological, geochemical, petrophysics and thermal) were conceived for basin modeling. It could be also possible to determine what levels of source rocks are spread in each scenario within CEEZ-GoM; and source rock maturity trends were proposed. The most important results were the presence of the four source rocks levels identified in the Cuban oil fields (Early-Middle Jurassic, Late Jurassic Oxfordian, Late Jurassic Kimmeridgian-Lower Cretaceous, and Aptian-Turonian), being the Late Jurassic source rocks the most spread and important in order of generation potential. Temperature and thermal maturity (Ro) data recorded in recent exploration wells indicate that heat flows was higher in past geologic times and proper to mature enough the source rocks. Sedimentary thickness of Cretaceous and Paleogene has a mandatory impact on source rock maturity, having different behavior for each geological scenario.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90260 © 2016 AAPG/SEG International Conference & Exhibition, Cancun, Mexico, September 6-9, 2016