Giant Oil Fields of the Gulf Coast Area

Abstract

ABSTRACT The 135 giant fields in the Gulf Coast area contain 29% of the total giant field reserves in the United States. Their cumulative production is 32% of the giant field cumulative total and 20% of the United States cumulative production. Ninety of the fields are in the onshore Gulf Coast area with 53% of the reserves, 33 are offshore with 22% of the reserves, 11 are in East Texas with 24% of the reserves and one is in Florida with 1% of the reserves. In 107 of the giant fields the primary producing interval is Cenozoic in age with 66% of the reserves and in 28 giant fields with 34% of the reserves it is Mesozoic in age. In 126 giant fields the lithology of the primary producing intervals are clastics with 94% of the reserves, in six of the fields the primary lithologies are carbonates with 5% of the reserves and in three giant fields it is mixed clastics and carbonates. Over 50 of the giant oil fields are in salt domes. The most prevalent types of giant fields in the Gulf Coastal area are onshore traps with primary producing intervals of clastics lithologies of Cenozoic age.