Fluid Mapping Offshore Texas [Gulf of Mexico - Fluid Mapping]

PGS Reservoir and FIT (Fluid Inclusions Technology) conducted a six-week program to analyze about 24,000 cuttings samples from 179 offshore wells. Fluid inclusions within the cuttings were analyzed with four quadruple mass spectrometers for hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon volatile compositions. Wells were selected from field and wildcat locations to address the following questions:
 

• What is the liquids potential for offshore Texas?
• Can deeper gas/condensate accumulations be geochemically detected from analysis of shallow cuttings?

Additionally, data was analyzed to establish specific prospects for bypassed and near-miss pays.

The report consists of:

• Maps illustrating the locations of 39 oil and gas leads defined as a result of this study.
• Maps of gas, condensate and oil prospectivity in regional depth slices, on the basis of Fluid Inclusion Stratigraphy (FIS) data.
• Maps illustrating other relevant FIS chemical data in regional depth slices.
• An interpretation of FIS data for each well as pertains to evidence for petroleum migration though the penetrated interval, evidence for proximal pay and evidence for fluid compartment boundaries (e.g., pressure seals).
• Photomicroscopic documentation of petroleum inclusions for type wells.
• Data report for each well, consisting of chemical depth logs and individual mass spectra for each sample analyzed.
• Complete FIS data (mass spectrometer responses for masses 2-180 for each sample) in ASCII and Excel format on compact disk.
• Maps of historical production (for reference).

FIT (Fluid Inclusions Technology) developed this new and rapid drill cuttings evaluation process. When used over a wide area, this technique can reveal a great deal about fluid migration patterns in subsurface reservoirs and may provide a road map to untapped oil and gas reserves.

FIT tests the fluids physically trapped in the rocks (drill cuttings or cores). The pockets of fluids, ranging in size from submicronic to 20-30 microns, tell the story of fluid migrations in subsurface formations. The key is to process a large number of these samples in a short amount of time.

Proposed New Studies

• Offshore Louisiana Shelf (~ 500 wells)
• LA-TX Deep Water (~ 150 wells)