Deepwater Subsalt-Suprasalt Middle to Lower Slope Sands & Reservoirs of the US Gulf of Mexico: The Evolution Of An Exciting Giant Field Concept

Transcription

1 Deepwater Subsalt-Suprasalt Middle to Lower Slope Sands & Reservoirs of the US Gulf of Mexico: The Evolution Of An Exciting Giant Field Concept Dwight Clint Moore & Bill Lefler with Rich Heaney, Mike Neese, & Tom Uphoff GCAGS 2015 Houston, Texas September 21, 2015

2 Objectives Highlight depositional systems of reservoir sands in the ancestral middle and lower Miocene slope section of the Central LA GOM Describe these Conger-Mahogany-Hickory Miocene slope sands as proven highly productive reservoirs, with further potential in surrounding mini-basins Demonstrate that the Miocene ancestral middle and lower slope is NOT a bypass zone, but is a broad, widespread area of sand-filled confined mini-basins with amalgamated fans and channels as reservoir sands

3 Subsalt Miocene Slope Sand Production EUR 400+ MMboe were discovered in the 1990s Conger >250 MMBoe Discovered 1 St Prod Hickory >55+ MMBoe Discovered 1 St Prod Mahogany >50+ MMBoe Discovered 1 St Prod Monazite Enchilada Tanzanite Mahogany Agate Teak Tarantula Hickory Tanzanite >20 MMBoe Discovered 1 St Prod Conger Enchilada >30 MMBoe Discovered 1 St Prod GSPE Lease Blocks Previous Sub- Discoveries Oil and Gas-Producing Field Tarantula >15 MMBoe Discovered 1 St Prod

4 Conger-Mahogany-Hickory Play Area ST GI VR SMI EI SS EW GB GC

5 Middle & Lower Slope Miocene Sand Area ST GI VR SMI EI SS EW GB GC

6 Conger-Mahogany-Hickory Play Area North 5,000 10, ' 10,000' 15,000' Ultra-Deep Gas North Lafitte Target Zone Shelf Plio-Pleistocene Supra Shelf Plio-Pleistocene Supra- Shelf Miocene North North North Mahogany Hickory Lafitte Tahiti Lafitte Lafitte Jack ' 10,000' 15,000' Deepwater ' 10,000' 10,000' Plio-Pleistocene Plio-Pleistocene Plio-Pleistocene 5000' Supra Supra Supra Target Target Target Zone Zone Zone 15,000' 15,000' 0 Shelf Shelf Shelf South North North South South South Mahogany Mahogany Mahogany Mahogany Mahogany Hickory Hickory Hickory Lafitte Tahiti Tahiti Jack Lafitte Tahiti Jack Jack Hickory Hickory Tahiti J Deepwater Deepwater Deepwater Shelf ' 10,000' 15,000' Deepwater Miocene & Lower Tertiary Mahogany Hickory Conger Tahiti Jack Deepwater Target Zone 0 Plio-Pleistocene 5000' Supra 10,000' 15,000' Target Zone Shelf Plio-Pleistocene Supra South Deepwater Deep Sal 15,000 20,000 20,000' 25,000' 30,000' 25,000 30,000 Upper Miocene Lower Miocene Lower Miocene Upper Miocene Lower Tertiary 20,000' 25,000' 30,000' 20,000' 20,000' Proven & Potential Section 20,000' UpperMiocene Upper Miocene Miocene Miocene Upper Miocene Upper Miocene Upper Miocene 25,000' 25,000' 25,000' Lower Miocene Lower Miocene Lower Miocene Lower Lower Miocene Lower Lower Miocene Miocene Miocene 30,000' 30,000' Lower Tertiary 30,000' Lower Tertiary Lower Tertiary Lower Tertiary 25,000' Lower Miocene Lower Miocene Lower Miocene Lower Miocene Lower Lower Miocene Miocene Lower Tertiary 30,000' Upper Lower Tertiary Lower Tertiary Lower Tertiary Lower Tertiary 20,000' Upper Upper Miocene Upper Miocene Upper Miocene Upper Miocene Upper Miocene Miocene Miocene Lower Miocene Lower Lower Miocene Lower Tertiary Lower Tertiary Upper Miocene Uppe Sa 35,000 Moore & Lefler

7 Highly Productive Slope and Basin Floor Sands Slope Sand Miocene Producing Fields UM UM Miocene Subsalt Pay Sands Slope Fans + Basin Floor Fans UM MM UM UM MM MM LM LM UM MM LM Upper Miocene Middle Miocene Lower Miocene Basin Floor Sand Miocene Producing Fields LM Moore 2014

8 POROSITY % Porosity vs Depth (BML) for Miocene Slope Sands Trend Line Above 22,000 you can expect >25% Porosities DEPTH BML ft Lefler 2014

9 Heaney 2014 Dynamic & Sediment Model

10 Bathymetry of Modern Sea Floor * An Analog for sediment fed Intraslope Basins *Modified from Diegel et al., 1995, Prather, 1998

11 Delta, Slope, & Basin Floor Prograde Seaward Moore 2014

12 15+ Sequences - Lowstand Sand Potential mya Sequences Primary Zones Sub Epoch

13 15+ Successive Lowstand Cycles in Miocene Moore 2014

14 Lowstand Deltas Feed the -Supported Extended-Slope Creating Confined Mini-Basins with Amalgamated Fans & Channels Moore 2014

15 15+ Sequences - Lowstand Sand Potential mya Sequences Primary Zones Sub Epoch The 6+ LSTs of the Tortonian Stage MYA

16 Bathymetry of Upper Miocene Tortonian Stage OUTER SHELF TORTONIAN PALEOENVIRONMENTS* Locations for Cross Sections A-A and B-B SHELF MARGIN DELTAS SHELF MARGIN DELTAS UPPER BATHYAL SHELF EDGE MIDDLE BATHYAL A HICKORY B LOWER BATHYAL EI385 TANZANITE MAHOGANY TARANTULA GARDEN BANKS AREA B AREA OF DETAIL CONGER FIELD GREEN CANYON AREA ABYSSAL PLAIN TIGER TAHITI CRESTED BUTTE ASPEN KNOTTY HD DBL MTN Lefler 2015 A TONGA * Interpretation based upon BOEM Public Data

17 Bathymetry of Upper Miocene Tortonian Showing Lower Slope Mini Basins as Primary Basins * FILL AND SPILL LOWER SLOPE MINIBASINS LOWER BATHYAL SALT-SUPPORTED RIDGES/SHEETS AREA OF DETAIL Lefler 2015 GARDEN BANKS AREA GREEN CANYON AREA ABYSSAL PLAIN Primary Basin *Interpretation based upon 3D Seismic Isopach mapping

18 A A MIDDLE BATHYAL NORTH-SOUTH STRUCTURAL SECTION LOWER BATHYAL TOE OF SLOPE ABYSSAL PLAIN MESSINIAN PLIOCENE TORTONIAN PLIOCENE SALT OLIG EOCENE Lefler 2015

19 WEST-EAST STRATIGRAPHIC SECTION B Showing 3 Major Tortonian Lowstand Episodes B CONGER FIELD EI 385 MAHOGANY FIELD TARANTULA FIELD HICKORY FIELD STRATIGRAPHIC DATUM TOP TORTONIAN 7.1 MY LST 100+ GAS PAY 200+ OIL PAY CATINASTER MEXICANUS 7.83MY HST 100+ OIL PAY#A14 8.4MY LST DISCOASTER BOLLII 9.21MY LST MINIBASIN TOP SERRAVALLIAM 11.6MY SALT DOME GLOBOROTALIA MAYERI 10.5MY LST DISCOASTER KUGLERI 11.58MY SALT RIDGE Lefler 2015

20 Heaney 2014 Dynamic & Sediment Model

21 Trap Styles result from & Sand Dynamics Heaney 2014

22 Conclusions Lower slope sands are extensively deposited across the Miocene ancestral slope, and are most commonly found as amalgamated fans and channels in confined mini-basins Lower Slope Miocene sands have produced well in Conger- Mahogany-Tanzanite-Hickory reservoirs to date (350+ MMBOE produced 400+ MMBOE EUR) GOM Miocene ancestral lower slope is NOT a bypass zone, but consists of widespread sand-filled confined mini-basins with sizeable untested field potential

23 Geological & Geophysical Advantages Confined Mini-basin Fan Sands Continuous Reservoirs Excellent Porosities 25% to 30+% Key Fields Conger, Mahogany Deep, Hickory, Tarantula, Aspen Proven Petroleum System Reservoirs, Traps, Seals, Sources Advanced Seismic Processing (RTM+) Clarifes Sub- Images Economic Advantages Water Depths: Modern Drilling Technology below Mostly Jack-up Rig Access - $70K/day - $20-40MM per wildcat Mostly Conventional Platforms - $40-50 MM per platform Extensive Existing Platform-Pipeline Infrastructure across area

24 Acknowledgements The Authors would like to thank all their fellow members of the GulfSlope Energy Geoscience team, especially Sheila Wilkins Bruce. We also gratefully acknowledge Petroleum Geo-Services ASA (PGS) for their permission to display their geophysical data in this presentation.