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Jose Antonio Escalera1,
Alfredo E. Guzmán1,
Ricardo Martínex-Sierra1,
Genaro Ziga1
(1) Pemex Exploración y Producción, Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Abstract: Revitalization of the Burgos gas basin, northeast México
The Burgos Tertiary gas basin located in northeast México, covers 50,000 km , in the states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo León. Petróleos Mexicanos discovered its first field in 2945 reaching a maximum production of 650 MMCFD in 1970, since then a reduction in activity and the field's steep decline brought output down to 183 MMCFD in late 1993.
To revert this tendency and with the strategic need to evaluate the remnant potential of the basin thus helping satisfy the increased demand for gas in northeast México, Pemex Exploration and Production undertook in 1994-1995 the evaluation of the remnant potential of the basin, the appraisal of undeveloped fields, the feasibility for optimization of developed fields and of drilling and completion practices, applying team work concepts and leading edge technology.
Results allowed the reactivation of the basin through new ways of contracting services, integral field and initial characterization studies, and by focusing the exploratory effort on the best plays such as the Frío, Vicksburg, Wilcox, Queen city and Lobo. To support this effort seismic acquisition of more than 8,000 km2 of 3D and 5,000 km of 2D was undertaken. By late 1999, with 30 exploratory and 350 development wells, 2.8 TCF's of new reserves have been found and production has increased to 1040 BCFD.
Recent studies set the probable resources, at around 26 TCF's, which compared to the 79 TCF's produced in the TRRC District IV, give confidence to the effort of Pemex Exploration and Production which has the goal to reach 1400 BCFD in 2004.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90914©2000 AAPG Annual Convention, New Orleans, Louisiana