Atlas of Petroleum Fields and Discoveries, Central Mississippi Canyon and Atwater Valley, Northeastern Deep Gulf of Mexico

Paul Weimer, Jay Austin, Veit Matt, Renaud Bouroullec, John Roesink, Todd Lapinski, John Martin, and Sarah Melton. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Campus Box 399, Boulder, CO 80309-0399, phone: 303-492-3809, fax: 303-492-7121, paul@emarc.colorado.edu

Fifty fields and discoveries in central Mississippi Canyon and Atwater Valley are systematically characterized with 2-D seismic profiles, wireline logs, and summaries of their production characteristics. The complex multi-level allochthonous salt system created the traps for all of the fields, which consist of structural or combined structural-stratigraphic traps. Traps include salt flanks (e. g. Mars, Ursa), turtle structures (e. g. Mensa, Thunder Horse, Blind Faith), foldbelt structures (e. g. Neptune, Bass Lite, Champlin), stratigraphic lapout against salt or foldbelt structures (e. g. Coulomb, Merganser, Jubilee), and faulted anticlinal salt traps (Aconcagua, Horn Mountain). Reservoirs are all in Neogene turbidite systems, and consist primarily of sheets (amalgamated and layered)(e. g. Mars, Ursa, Mensa), channel-fill (e.g. Fourier, Coulomb, Hershel, Nakika, East Antsey), and thin beds of overbank (many fields). Development facilities include fixed platforms, SPARs (e.g. Horn Mountain), tension leg platforms (e. g. Mars), and satellite development with extensive use of subsea tiebacks (e. g. Nakika, Canyon Express, Mensa-101 km long tieback to West Delta 143).

Evolution of the Gulf of Mexico (AAPG/SEPM)
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