The Highest Flow Rate in the World: History of Discovery and Extension of the Golden Lane Trend, Tampico Misantla Basin, Mexico.

Abstract

Abstract

The hundred years history of the Golden Lane is one of how changing concepts and technical innovation have led to increased reserves and production. Nearly 2 billion barrels of oil and 1.3 Tcf of gas have been produced to date

Early drilling by the private oil companies in the 1910's close to surface seeps discovered the ”Old Golden Lane“, thought to be a trend of anticlines in which Cretaceous rudist reefs produced oil at prolific rates. Later torsion balance gravity and refraction seismic surveys failed to locate the extension of the trend until rudimentary reflection seismic in the late 1940's led Pemex to discover fields in the trend as it extended deeper to the south, the “New Golden Lane”.

In the 1960's, marine seismic and offshore drilling capabilities led to the exploration of the trend offshore which discovered that instead of a “Lane”, the fields formed an oval, like a studded belt. Hence the Mexican name “Faja de Oro” more appropriately describes their distribution. The fields were by then interpreted to be eroded remnants of rudist reefs that grew on the margins of a giant atoll enclosing a carbonate-evaporite lagoon on top of a basement high, the Tuxpan Platform. The oil is typed to the Upper Jurassic source rock which flanks the platform.

More recent 3D seismic has defined small outliers to the offshore fields, but no more large fields have been found, suggesting that this a mature play. But with Round 1 underway and Rounds 2 to 4 planned for the next few years, will new players bring fresh concepts and new technologies to invest and unlock the remaining estimated 138 MMbls of oil and 377 Bcf of gas reserves in the Golden Lane?

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