Oil Accumulations along Abo Reefing, Southeastern New Mexico: ABSTRACT

Abstract

During Abo (lower Leonard) time, clastic deposition in the Delaware basin was separated from the lagoonal deposits on the Northwest shelf by a transgressive barrier reef. A lithologic study within the Abo reveals facies changes from shelf to reef to basin. Shelf, or back-reef deposits, consist of interbedded green shale and light gray to tan, fine crystalline, anhydritic dolomite. The interfingering of shelf and reef dolomites forms an effective permeability barrier to the migration of fluids back-reef. The Abo reef is a clean white to light tan, anhydritic, fine to coarse crystalline dolomite exhibiting secondary porosity development due to fracturing and solution activity. Interconnecting vertical fractures and vugs give the reef excellent reservoir characteri tics which would otherwise be absent in the tight reef matrix. Basin deposits (fore-reef) include black to dark brown argillaceous and cherty dolomites and limestones interbedded with fine-grained sandstones. Fore-reef deposits are called Bone Spring formation and are believed to be Abo equivalent. Hydrocarbons are trapped where porosity has been well developed in relatively high structural areas along the reef. At present there have been four fields discovered along the Abo reef trend in New Mexico: (1) Lovington Abo, (2) Empire Abo, (3) Corbin Abo, and (4) Turner Abo. The latter three are currently being developed. The size and reserves of these fields are dependent on the following factors: (1) thickness of reef above water, (2) structural configuration of the reef, and (3) quality of the reef pay. In the Corbin and Turner Abo fields, oil is trapped along the crest of an elongate reef ridge, one or two locations wide. The productive limits are defined by their respective water tables. The reef in Empire and Lovington is characterized by the same steep dip toward the basin (10 #176;-30°) but has a gentle slope toward the shelf; thus, the productive limits are wider (3-6 locations wide) and production is limited shelfward by an effective permeability barrier. A successful exploratory procedure has been to estimate a well's proximity to the reef crest by defining its relative stratigraphic position through correlation with areas of close control which traverse the reef. The intermediate drilling depth (4,000-8,500 feet) and high reserves (average 500,000 barrels per location) account for the acceleration of activity along the Abo reef trend. End_of_Article - Last_Page 420------------