Present and Future of the Salina del Istmo Basin and Its Offshore Extention into the Gulf of Mexico

Arturo Soto-Cuervo¹, Vicente Ortega-Gonzalez², and Guillermo Mora-Oropeza¹. (1) Activo Litoral de Tabasco, Pemex Exploracion y Produccion, Interior del Campo PEMEX Calle 33 Col. Burocratas, Ciudad del Carmen, Camp, Mexico, asotoc@pep.pemex.com, (2) Activo Litoral de Tabasco, PEMEX Exploracion y Produccion, Interior del Campo PEMEX Calle 33 Colonia Burócratas, Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico

Onshore and offshore the Salina del Istmo Basin includes the following areas: the shallow salt area, the Comalcalco and Pescadores salt withdraw-basins, and the Agua Dulce, Marbella and Catemaco fold belts.

Three plays are present through the basin:

1. Neogene sandstones in structural and combined traps above salt 2. Paleogene sandstones in structural and combined traps beneath salt. 3. Mesozoic carbonates in fold and fault- structures beneath salt.

Onshore, 48 fields have been discovered in the Neogene sandstones with accumulative production of more than 2000 mmbpce. Offshore 6 fields have been discovered with original reserves of 80 mmbpce.

The second and third plays are in the initial stage of exploration. At the present, they seem to offer attractive traps to explore in the short and middle term by applying new concepts and technologies

More than 300 leads have been delineated in these three plays with an important resource volume of hydrocarbon with an average exploratory risk of 1:5.

Those traps located near the coast offer the best possibilities for development in the short term, due to they are close to the facilities of the onshore giants fields of this basin.

Mexican Basins: Present and Future (AMGP)
2004 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition Technical Program