Source rock evaluation in the central-western flank of the Tampico Misantla Basin, Mexico

Abstract

Source rock evaluation is performed in a prospective block on the western-central flank of the Tampico Misantla Basin (TMB), Mexico, analyzing the Agua Nueva, Pimienta and Taman formations. The rock samples are drilling cores and cuttings obtained from legacy wells in an area delimited geographically on the west by the Sierra Madre Oriental. The area is located within the unconventional land region designated by Mexico's Ministry of Energy (SENER). Pyrolysis analyses on 167 samples were performed using the HAWK℠ instrument. The results of these source rock assessments indicate that most of the samples are classified in the oil to gas condensate window, with low Total Organic Content (TOC) -dominated by non-generative organic carbon- and low Hydrogen Index (HI). A few wells showing higher S1/TOC ratio are recommended for further investigation. There is a general trend of increasing thermal maturity from southern to central-western Tampico Misantla Basin. The geochemical results were integrated with previously published data, thus enhancing our interpretations and providing additional insight on the thermal maturity and the phase of hydrocarbons of the Jurassic–Cretaceous source rock intervals in the region.