Targeted Infill Drilling at Stratton Field Using 3-D Seismic

John R. Suydam, Dale T. Reitz

Stratton field is located on the Vicksburg flexure Trend in Nueces and Kleberg Counties, South Texas. It has produced over 2.8 TCF of gas since 1937 from Frio fluvial/deltaic sandstones and Vicksburg shallow marine sandstones. The field is a combination stratigraphic and faulted structural trap, and contains numerous highly compartmentalized sandstone reservoirs. Continuous infield drilling is required to keep the field producing, and 3-D seismic has been used to select the best locations for these wells.

In 1992, the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology shot an eight square mile survey in the southern end of the field, and the resulting structural interpretation presented many more fault traps that were not apparent in the 2-D seismic interpretation. All the new wells drilled within the survey have encountered untapped compartments enclosed by fault traps. Formation tops and fault cuts in the new wells generally have been very accurate when compared to their positions predicted by seismic and geology. The result has been a continuous drilling program accessing these fault blocks to develop new reserves. Future work will identify fluvial objectives in the shallower, unfaulted part of the field and locate untested stratigraphic traps.

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