Paleogeomorphic Mapping: Aid to Identifying Stratigraphic Traps in Delaware Basin and Northwest Shelf of New Mexico: ABSTRACT

Abstract

The Permian basin of southeastern New Mexico and west Texas has historically been one of the most productive areas for the discovery and exploitation of hydrocarbons in North America. Exploration methods in this area have included various methods of subsurface mapping, primarily structural mapping, often used in conjunction with seismic interpretation. These techniques have accounted for all the oil discovered to date in the Permian basin. Because most of the easily discovered oil has been found, the old techniques may have reached their limit of usefulness. A technique developed by Scholten is amplified and applied to identifying the so-called subtle trap in the Delaware basin and Northwest shelf of New Mexico. The technique uses well-log-derived mapping intervals to identify paleostructures into which hydrocarbons migrated simultaneously with or immediately after formation of the structures. Regionally thin areas in the mapping have been identified as ancient geologic structures into which hydrocarbons migrated simultaneously with or immediately after formation of the structures. Regionally thin areas in the mapping have been identified as ancient geologic structures into which hydrocarbons have migrated. This study found a greater than 85% correlation between one or more pay horizons per map interval and economic production in several distinctmore » geologic provinces in which the technique was used. Several examples from various fields in southeastern New Mexico include different pay horizons, both shallow and deep, in clastic and carbonate rocks. Observations are also made on the regional geology and stratigraphy of the southeastern New Mexico area.« less