Summary

This paper presents nine major deep water fields in the Green Canyon and Mississippi Canyon areas of northeastern Gulf of Mexico (Fig. 1). The work is an outcome of a regional sequence stratigraphic and structural study where approximately 10,000 line miles of 2-D seismic data, 200 wells, 100 paleo reports (including 50 nanno fossil reports) and numerous velocity control points were integrated. The fields presented are: Popeye, Vancouver, Enchilada, Mars, Mensa, Cognac, Lena, Ram Powell and Tahoe, all located in the Green Canyon - Mississippi Canyon producing trend. The structural and sequence stratigraphic framework, trapping types and facies distribution of these fields are discussed in this paper. The producing sands of the fields vary in age from Plio- Pleistocene (4.2 m.y.-1.4 m.y.) in the west to Plio-Miocene (3.0 m.y.-10.5 m.y.) in the east. Generally, the hydrocarbon plays vary from 4-way - dip closures, salt flank plays and horst block plays in the west to structural, stratigraphic pinch-outs and mini basin synclinal plays to the east. The reservoir rocks are predominantly deposited in the lowstand slope fan systems tracts associated with channel-levee complexes. Restricted basin floor fans and some prograding wedge sand facies also constitute reservoir rocks for some fields.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90928©1999 AAPG Annual Convention, San Antonio, Texas