wells drilledin
as discovery
rhenumberilnil*11".*,
ico for oil and gas in 1984was lesr
numberdr'red-in1e83
Statistics
from the New Mexico Oil Conser,
vision indicate that 7,794 wells were completed in 1984,down 4.0lVo from the 1,859
wells completedin 1983and down 37Vofuom
the record 2,867wells completedin 1981.In
the Permian Basin, southeist New Mexico,
1,154wells were completed in 1984, down
from 1,178 completions in 1983;759 wells
were completedas oil producers, 180 were
completedas gas producers, and 215 were
plugged and abandoned,resulting in a success rate of 82Vo.In the San Juan Basin,
northwestNew Mexico,640wells were completed in 1984,down from 691 completions
in 1982;224 wells were oil producers, 337
were gas producers, and 79 were plugged
and abandoned,resulting in a successrate
of.85Vo.In addition, 45 wells were drilled to
further develop the Bravo Dome carbon
dioxide gas field, and a high level of exploration and drilling activity continued in the
TucumcariBasin.Significantexploratory wells
were drilled in the not-yet-productiveRaton,
Albuquerque, Acoma, Espanola, and PedregosaBasinsand in Lincoln and Dofra Ana
Counties (Fig. 1).
Total footage of hole drilled in 1984was
9,776,000ft, up from 9,441,000ft drilled in
1983.The averagedepth of wells drilled in
1984was 5,M9 ft,400 ft more than the averagedepth of wells drilled the previous year.
The location of significant wildcat wells
drilled in 1984is sh6wn in Fig. 1. Table 1
summarizes the significant wildcat discoveries, and Table2 summarizes the significant
wildcat dry holes. For purposes of this report, a significantwildcatdiscooery
is defined
as 1) a well in which commercial-amounts
of
oil or gas were discovered in a formation
more than 5 mi from the limits of previously
discoveredpools with commercial produition from that formation, or 2) a well that
had an unusually high initial potential (more
than 1,000bbls oil per day or 10,000fP gas
per day) and is 1-5 mi from the limits-of
[eW
in 1984
MeXiCO
Resources,
Socorro,
NM
byRonald
F.Broadhead,
Petroleum
Geologist,
NowMexico
Bureau
of MinesandMineral
Table 1). Kinney (1957,p.26-27) preserrted
stratigraphicchartsof oil- and gas-producing
rock units in southeastNew Mexico.
The DelawareBasin,the deep-marinepart
of the PermianBasin,yielded severalsignificant wildcat discoveries.Oil was discovered
in two wellsin Pennsylvanianrocks.The Sun
No. L StateO (6) had an initial potential of
296bbIsof oil per day (BOPD) from the Cisco
Series.The H. L. Brown, Jr. No. 1 State 32
(8), a workover of an abandonedMorrowan
(Pennsylvanian)gas well, had an initial potential of 182BOPD from the Canyon Series.
Oil was found in the Cities ServiceNo. 1
StateDW (10)in the Bone Spring Formation
(Permian),and this well had an unusually
high initial potential of 1,026BOPD and 25
bbls of water per dav GWPD). The Bone
Spring usually irroduc-es
iess than 200BOPD
from individual wells. Oil was discoveredin
Siluro-Devonian rocks in the Getty Oil Co.
No. 1 Bunker Hill State(3), and the well had
an initial potentialof 87BOPD and 73BWPD.
Gaswas found in the Amoco ProductionCo.
No. L Federal DH (5) in the Strawn Series
(Pennsylvanian).
Development drilling in the Delaware Basin was almost exclusivelyfor oil in 1984;the
slack gas market was the major factor that
dampened development of gas reservoirs.
Major targets for oil drilling were sandstones
and limestonesof the Bone Spring Formation (Permian)and sandstonesof the Delaware Mountain Group (Permian).
SeveralBone Spring and DelawareMountain oil pools have been discoveredin the
last 5 yrs, and developmentwells drilled in
thosepools are usually successful;wells with
initial potentials of 100-300 BOPD are corn-
;;il[
uptittl)
-l
:sPo
-bPs
I
Lunt
f__-_r
I
_.j_
I
Socorao
through potential petroleum reservoirs. Table 3 lists significantwildcat wells that were
being drilled, were not completed, or were
held "tight" at the end of 1984.
All numbers in parenthesesthat follow ref"t_tg ,u location in Fig. 1 and a description
in Table7, 2, or 3.
I O Om i
O
SoutheastNew Mexico
Drilling activity in 1984 was high in the
three geologic subdivisions of the Permian
Basin:the DelawareBasin,the Central Basin
platform, and the Northwest shelf. Drilling
activity was alsohigh on the Rooseveltuplift.
The Permian Basin yielded several significant oil and gas discoveriesin 1984(Fig. 1;
a
50
IOO
l 5 Ok m
I
ATrons-Pecos Resources No I Lotigo Ronch Block A
BYoies Petroteum Corp No I T-4 Cotile Co
CNewkirk oil pool
!
DWest Pecos
I
slope
Abo
gos
O oitwett
n^
e D r y n o t ew i t ho i l s h o w
O S i g n i f r c o nw
t itdcot welts
I
il
drilling, not completed. or
"tigf,t" ot end of t9g4
pool
FIGURE l-Significant oil and gas discoveriesand wildcat dry holes drilled in New
Mexico in 1984. Major geologic features are taken from Kelley (1978),Kottlowski
and Stewart (1970),Meyer (1966),Molenaar (7977),Roberts etalr.(7976),Thompson
and Jacka(1981),and Woodward et al. (1978).
Ner.tMexico Geology May 1985
TABLE l-Significant wildcat discoveries in New Mexico in 7984;the term formation is used in an
informal sense.BOPD, barrels of oil per day; BWPD, barrels of water per dav; MCFGPD, thousand
ff of gas per day; owwo, old well woiked over.
Northwest New Mexico
In 1984, 640 wells were completed in
northwest New Mexico;691wells were comNumber
Location
opsdq
producing
completion
Toral
Fohation
oil gavity
(s€ction-tomshiF
pleted in 1983.Almost all of the wells drilled
producing
wetl number,
dae
dlprh
ar
inte*at
tnirial
ta"-'g*""'
_on _
.
Fit. 1
(mo/yr)
rante, county)
(ft)
and lease
(fr)
total depth
formatioi
pot€nrial
e-pD
were in the SanJuanBasin,which is the only
1
26-45-20E,
Yates Peholeum Cory.
1/84
3,900 Precambrian
Abo
2,512
170MCFGPD
productivebasinin this part of the state.The
Chaves
No.2 ExperaMa
(Pernian)
2,56e
FederatXP
diminished rate of drilling in 1983and 1984
2
13-12S31E,
Ensech Exploration
4184
12,060
was causedby a decreasedmarket for gas,
Devonian
Morowaf,
10,9042,003MCFGPD
Chavds
No. 1 State13
(Pennsylvanian) 10,945
which is the primary petroleum product of
3
33-15931E,
Getty Oil Co.
984
73,5n
Devoilan
D€vonian
13,53887 BOPD +
5l
the San Juan Basin.
Chaves
No. 1 Bunker Hill State
13,566
73 BWPD
4
Most drilling for oil was concentrated in
11-75-33E,
YatesPetroleumCorp6184
10,016 Precambrian
wolfcampian
8,238
70 BOPD +
40
R@*v€lt
No. I Smiih 4 (owwo)
(Permian)
8,256
160BWPD
the Gallup and Dakota Sandstones(Creta5
11-185-278,
Amoco Production Co.
10/84
11,915
EllenburSer
Strawn
9,29s
9,293MCFGPD
ceous)in SanJuan and Rio Arriba Counties.
Eddy
No.1 FederalDH
(ordodcian)
(Pennsylvanian) 9,308
In many wells, Gallup and Dakota oil is com5
12-195 28E,
Sun Exploration &
1/84
11,465 Mississippian
Cisco
9,s26295 BOPD
Eddy
ProductionCo.
(Pennsylvanian) 9,546
mingled with oil produced from Graneros
No. 1 StateO
Shale,GreenhornLimestone,and the lower
7
19 119358,
YatesPetroleumCorp.
1l/84
10,625 Pennsylvanian
Permian10,37337 BOPD +
Lea
No. 1 Lone Siar StateAAI
Pennsylvanian
10,395
120BWPD
and upper parts of Mancos Shale (all Cre(owwo)
taceous).Many recently completed Gallup
8
32 15932E,
H. L. Brown, Jr
3t84
13,380
Devonian
Canyon
10,498182BOPD
Lea
No. 1 State 32 (owwo)
wells are located in southwest Rio Arriba
lPennsylvanian) 10,508
9
16-15SJZE,
Newmont Oil
2J81
12,1.68
Atokan
Pennsylvanian 11,23120 BOPD +
46
County and southeastSan]uan County along
Lea
No. I State15
(Pennsylvanian)
11,426
10 BWPD
the main northwest trend of Gallup produc10
12-18!33E,
Cities Servrce
4lU
77,094 Wolfcampian
Bone Spring
8,803
1,026BOPD +
40
Lea
No. 1 StareDW
(permian)
tion. The main Gallup trend producesoil from
(Permian)
8,883
2s BWPD
11
29-265-34E,
Gulf Oil Corp.
8184
15,562
Atokan
northwest-trendingbar-shapedsandstones.
Atokan
15,4011,143MCFGPD
Lea
No. 1 Wilson Fed€ralC
(Pennsylvanian) (Pennsylvanian) 15,424
Many wells northeastof the main trend pro12
3-20N-4W
Gary Williams Oil
6lU
5,003
Cretaceous
Gallup
4,493-1,52,
40 BOPD
duceoil from sandstonesthat are lesspermeSandoval
ProducerInc.
(Cietaceous) 4,589-4,840
No. 9 Penistaja3
ableand porous than sandstonesin the main
13
9J2N-5W
SovereignOil
4lu
3,181
Lewis
PicturedClitrs
2,826
891MCFGPD
Gallup trend (Reese, 7977). Significant oil
No. 1 Soverei8n32-5
SanJuan
(Cetaceous)
(Cretaceous)
3,020
discoveries in the Gallup were made in the
14
12-23N-10W,
Dutan Produdion Co.
2J81
1,690
Chacra
Pictured Clifs
96566 MCFGPD
San Juan
No. I Witty
(Cretaceous)
(Crctaceous)
970
Dugan ProductionCo. No. 1 McDougall(15),
15
17-23N 10W,
Dutan ProductionCo.
1lU
5,512
Dakora
4,160
Gallup
20 BOPD
40
which was drilled southwest of the main
SanJuan
No. 1 McDougall
(Creraceous)
(Creiac€ous)
4,423
Gallup trend, and in the Gary Williams Oil
ProducerNo. 9 Penistala3 (12).
mon. Improved artificial-fracturing tech- ervoirs of the San Andres and Grayburg ForDevelopmentdrilling for gas was limited
niques using a methanol-foam system have mations,but not until waterflood operations mostly to the Dakota, Chacra, Point Lookminimized formation damage to the clay- are no longer capable of producini; oil eco- out, and Pictured Cliffs Sandstones and to
bearing sandstonesof the Delaware Moun- nomically.Taberand Martin (1983)summa- shallow (<1,500ft) low-volume reservoirsin
tain Group and have resulted in increased rized the carbon dioxide flooding process.
the Fruitland Formation. The Basin Dakota
production. Becauseof this increasedproThe Northwest shelf was drilled activelv. gaspool in SanJuanand Rio Arriba Counties
duction, drilling for oil in Delawaresand res- and several significant wildcat discoveries continued to be developed intensely. Stone
ervoirs has boomed (Mickey, 1983).Mickey were made. Oil was found in the Newmont et al. (1983)discussed the stratigraphy of
(1984)reported on development of the Ava- Oil No. L State 16 (9) in the Atokan Series, Cretaceousrocks in the San Juan Basin.
lon Delaware pool. Other major targets for which had an initial potential of 20 BOPD
The Gulf Oil Corp. No. 1 Gallo Canyon
developmentdrilling of oil in'the D6laware and 10 BWPD; oil gravity was 46" APL Oil Federal-StateDeep Unit (18) was spudded
Basinare the shallow (lessthan 6,000ft) San alsowas found in the YatesPetroleumCorp. in 1983and was completed and abandoned
Andres, Grayburg, and Queen Formations No. l Smith ZJ (\inWolfcampian rocks.Gas in 1984.The well is significant becauseit was
(Permian)and the moderately deep (8,000- was found in the YatesPetroleumCorp. No. drilled to a total depth of 12,500ft and prob12,000 ft) upper Pennsylvanian and Wolf- 2Experunza FederalXP (1) in Abo (Permian) ably penetrated Paleozoic or Precambrian
campian (Permian)reservoirs.A few devel- "tight" gas sands in the northwest part of rocks.Only about 25 wildcat wells have been
oPment oil wells were completed in the t h e N o r t h w e s t s h e l f . T h i s d i s c o v e r y e x - tested in the Paleozoic section in the New
Penrose zone (Permian) and in Devonian tended Abo production
northwest from the Mexico part of the San Juan Basin because
-slope
reservoirs. The only major targets of gas west Pecos
Abo pool (Fig. 1, D) in most wells stop in shallowerCretaceouspay
drilling were the deep (11,000-15,000f0 northwest Chaves County. Scott et al. (1983) zones.Paleozoicproduction is limited to nine
Morrowan and Atokan (Pennsylvanian)res- and Broadhead(1984a)reported on the pe- smallfieldsin the northwest part of the Basin
ervoirs. Hills (1984)discussedthe relation- holeum geology of the "tight" Abo gas sands. where the Paleozoicreservoirs are Devonian,
ship of hydrocarbon generation to
The south flank of the Rooseveltuplift was M i s s i s s i p p i a n , a n d P e n n s y l v a n i a n . A l sedimentation and tectonicsin the Delaware dritled actively, but no significant wildcat
though no shows were reported from the
Basin.
discoverieswere made. Development drill- Gallo Canyon (Paleozoic)section,oil was re4 nign level of development drilling also ing was done mainly for oil in Pennsylvanian coveredin the Entrada Sandstone(Jurassic)
took place in the Central Basin platform, but
rocks and in the FusselmanFormation (Sil- through casing perforations fuom 7,434 to
no significantwildcat discoverieswere made uro-Devonian). Pitt (1,973)reported on the 7,435ft. The little known stratigraphy of Pain this mature, densely drilled area. Devel- hydrocarbon potential of pre-Pennsylvanian leozoicrocks in the San fuan Basin has been
opment drilling was done mostly for oil in rocks in Roosevelt County.
summarizedbyArmstrong and Mamet (1977),
the San Andres, Grayburg, and Queen ForElsewherein southeas[New Mexico. ex- jentgen (1977), and Baars and Stevenson
mations and in the Blinebry, Tubb, and Drin- ploratory drilling was done in Lincoln County (1e77).
kard zonesof the YesoFormation (Permian). on the late Paleozoic-age
Pedernaluplift (29The Albuquerque Basinwas the site of conSeveralSan Andres and Grayburg pools will
32). Those explorator| wells were'used to tinued activity in 1984.The C. R. Robinson
produce oil with the aid of waterflood op- test the Abo and Yeso Formations, but no No. 1 Baca (17) was drilled on the Hubbell
erations, which continued to be developed discoverieswere made. The YatesPetroleum Bench, a shallow fault block; Pennsylvanian
in southeastNew Mexico. Eventuallv, carbon Corp. No. 1 Dog Canyon Federal YF (45), rocksbetween1,830and 1,850ft were tested,
dioxide flooding will be used in enhanced- alsolocatedon the Pedernaluplilt, was drilled
and a small oil show was reported. In the
oil-recovery operations from carbonate res- "tight."
deeper, central part of the basin, the Utex
May 1985 New Meilco Geology
TABLE 2-Significant wildcat discoveries in New Mexico rn 1984; the term formation is used in an
informal sense.D&A. drv and abandoned;TA. temporarilv abandoned.
Number
on
Fig. 1
Location
(section-township.ante,
county)
Operator,
well number,
and lease
1-10N-18,
Bernalillo
Utex Oil No. 1
Westland Development
3-5N 4E,
Valencia
C. R. Robinson
No. 1 Baca
26-23N-6W
Sandoval
Completion
date
(mo/yr)
Culf Oil Corp.
No. 1 Gallo Canyon
Federal-State Deep
Unit
Total
depth
(f0
Fomation
at
total depth
17,500
Cretaceous
Comments
Deep test in Albuquerque
Basin; no reported shows
2,36D
Pennsylvanian
Reported oil show in
Pennsylvanian throu8h
perforations fiom 1,830
1,850 ft
1,2,500
Paleozoic or
Precambrian
D&A
Recovered oil from
Entrada Sandstone
(Jurassic) through
perforations fuom 7,3437,442 ft
17-29N-27E,
Colfax
Austra-TexOil
No. 1-Y Phelps Dodge
4,295
Morrison
(Jurassic)
D&A
Recovered oil from
Entrada Sandstone
(Jurassic) through
perforations from 7,3437,M2 tt
32 11N-27E,
Quay
YatesPetroleum Corp.
No. 2 T-4 Cattle Co.
7,033
Precambrian
D&A
Offset to 1983 gas and oil
discovery
31-11N-27E,
Quay
YatesPetroleum Corp.
No.3T4CattleCo.
4,973
Pennsylvanian
D&A
Offset to 1983 gas and oil
discovery
D&A
Oil show in core ftom
Pennsylvanian
19 9N-24E,
Cuadalupe
Co2-in-Action
No. 1 Hicks
7,275
Pennsylvanian
10-9N-29E,
Quay
Baker & Taylor
No. l State
8,698
Precambrian
26-7N 30E,
euay
Gulf Oil Corp.
No. 1 Caton
8,510
Pennsylvanian
3 4N-31E,
DeSana Corp.
No. 1 Allmand
7,160
Granite wash
(Pennsylvanian?)
No reported
shows
14-7N-348,
Pennzoil
No. l Stanfield
7,525
Granite
(Precambrian)
No reported
shows
3-13N-15E,
San Miguel
Midas Minerals
No. 1 Midas
1,900
Pennsylvanian
or Permian
Swabbed oil-cut water
4,000
Abo
(Permian)
26-1N-22E'
De Baca
Diamond Shamrock
No. 1 Y Fields 26
11/84
No reported
shows
No reported shows
Oil show in core of lower
Yeso from 1,260-1,,290 ft
12-lll7f.
Lincoln
YdtesPetroleumCorp.
No. 1 Inexco StateYP
3,990
Precambrian
Tested Abo (Permian)
with no reported shows
24-25 lgE,
Lincoln
YatesPetroleum Corp.
No. 1 Chisum state YN
4,058
Precambrian
Tested Abo (Permian)
with no reported shows
23-3S-14E,
Lincoln
\ates PetroleumCorp.
No. 1 Bonita Federal ZC
2,10I
Precambrian
No reported
shows
from the Morrison Formation (jurassic)and
the Dakota Sandstone (Cretaceous)at the
cunentlyinactive Wagon Mound field in Mora
Countv (Brooksand Clark, 1978).
Some of the wells were drilled as a result
of Pennsylvaniangasand oil discoveriesmade
Resourcesin 1982(Fig. 1, A)
by Trans-Pecos
and by Yates Petroleum Corp. in 1983 (Fig.
1, B) in the Tucumcari Basin. In 1984, the
YatesPetroleumCorp. No. 2 T-4 Cattle Co.
(20)was abandonedat a total depth of 7,033
ft in Precambrianrocks;Pennsylvanianrocks
were tested without reported Detroleumrecovery.The YatesPetroleumCbrp. No. 3 T4 Cattle Co. (21) was abandoned at a total
depth of 4,973ft in Pennsylvanianrocks;these
rocks were tested but results were not released.The CO,-in-Action No. 1 Hicks (22)
was abandoned at a total depth of 7,275lt
after an oil show was encountered in a core
of Pennsylvanian rocks. The DeSana Corp.
No. l Allmand (25)was abandonedat7,'1,60
ft in reported granite wash. Other wells drilled
previously in west Curry County have had
gasshowsin the SanAndresFormation (Permian). Pitt and Scott(1981)discussedporosity zonation in the San Andres Formation of
east-centralNew Mexico.
Four significant tests drilled in the Tucumcari Basin were not completed or held "tight"
at the end of 1984.The YatesPetroleumCorp.
No. 1 T-4 Filly's Tooth (37) was drilled to a
total depth of 7,700ft. The Baker and Taylor
No. 1 Reilly Minerals (38)was scheduledto
be drilled io 7,500 ft. The Trans-PecosResourcesNo. 1 Latigo RanchBlock D (39)was
drilled "tight" to a total depth of 7,836ft and
attempts were made to complete that well in
Pennsylvanianrocks.The McClellanOil Corp.
No. 2 Burner Fee (40)was drilled to 6,100ft
and reportedly encounteredshows of oil and
gasnin rocks that are probably Pennsylva-
Trans-PecosResourcesinitiated a gas-enhancedoil-recoverypilot project at the TransPecosNo. 1 Latigo RanchBlockA (Fig. 1, A);
13-23S-4W
11,948
ExxonCorp.
Precambrian
No reported shows
Dofia Ana
No. 1 Mason Draw
in 1982,a small gas discovery was made in
Federal Unit
Pennsylvanian rocks in a depth interval of
6,658-6,764ft. The object of the enhancedrecoveryproject is to recoveroil from PennOil No. 1 Westland Development (16) was tives are Pennsylvanianrocks. Black (1984a) sylvanian rocks in a depth interval of 5,165abandonedat a total depth of 17,500ft, but discussedseismicallydefined Laramide-age 6,203ft by injecting gas into the reservoir.
it was held "tight" at the end of 1.984;prin- folds and thrust faults in the subsurface of
Rio Petro Limited continued efforts to reciple objectives were probably Upper Cre- the EspafiolaBasin. Black (1984b)discussed cover heavy oil from Santa Rosa Sandstone
taceoussandstones.This well was drilled 3 the present status of petroleum exploration (Triassic)at the Newkirk oil pool (Fig. 1, C).
mi south of the Shell No. 1 West Mesa Fed- in the EspafiolaBasin.
Rio Petro is operating two pilot steamflood
Elsewherein northwest New Mexico, two projects, the O'Connell Ranch and the T-4
eral, which was drilled to a total depth of
t9,375 ft and abandoned in L982 after en- wells were drilled in the Acoma Basin. The Ranchpilots, in an attempt to recoverthe oil.
counteringgood shows of gasin Upper Cre- Joe SalazarNo. 1 State (35) was scheduled Neither pilot project has produced commertaceous sandstones.Deep wells drilled in to be drilled to 2,900 ft to test the Entrada cial quantities of oil yet. Martin (1984)reprevious years have encounteredpromising Sandstone(Jurassic),but was not completed ported on engineering aspectsof the two
shows of gasin the Albuquerque Basin (Black, at the end of 7984.The Samedan Oil No. 1 pilot projects and McKallip (1984)reported
1982). Kelley (1977) and Black (1982) dis- Laguna Federal (36) was drilled to a total on the subsurface geology of the Newkirk
cussed the geology of the Albuquerque Ba- depth of 5,450 ft and held "tight" at the end pool. Broadhead (1984b)discussedthe peof 1984.
sin.
troleum geology of the SantaRosaSandstone
YatesPetroleumCorp. announcedplans to
in northeastNew Mexico.
Northeast New Mexico
drill five wells in the Espanola Basin, which
Amoco Production Co. drilled two wells
SeveralDetroleum exDloration wells were (41,,42) to test the Pennsylvanian section in
continues to be an important exploration target. Three wells will be drilled to depths of drilled in northeastNew Mexico in 1984.Pe- the late Paleozoic-ageTaos trough. Casey
5,000-7,000ft; principle objectivesare Cre- troleum has not been produced in this area (1980)discussedupper Paleozoicsediments
taceoussandstones.Two wells will be drilled except for a brief period when marginally of the Taostrough.
E
to depths of 7,000-8,200ft; principle obiec- commercial amounts of gas were produced
l6-10S 15E,
Lincoln
Rio Petro Ltd.
No. 1-Y Nosker
I,256
Yeso
(Permian)
Completed
as water well
Nao Mexico Ceology May 7985
TABLE 3-Significant
wildcat wells that were drilling,
Mexico; owdd, old well drilled deeper.
Nunber
on
Fig. 1
Location
(section-townshiprange, county)
not completed , or "tight" at end of 1984 in New
Operatot,
well number,
and lease
Comments
31-14N-8,
Santa Fe
Chace Oil Co.
No. 1 Piion Unit
35 11N-8W,
Cibola
Joe Salazar
No. 1 State (owdd)
14-3N-12W
Catron
Samedan Oil
No. 1 Laguna Federal
Drilled 'tighf'to 5,450 ft; scheduled to be drilled to
Precambrian basement
72-10N)7E,
Quay
Yates Petroleurn Corp.
No. 1 T-4 Filly's Tooth
Pennsylvanian
7,700 ft
34-9N-25E,
Guadalupe
Baker & Taylor
No. 1 Reilly Minerals
Drilled to 3,200 ft to test Cretaceous rocks
Scheduled to be drilled to 2,900 ft to test Entrada
Sandstone (Jurassic)
test; drilled "tight"
Scheduled to be drilled
rocks
io total depth of
to 7,500 ft to test Pennsylvanian
25 10N-23E,
Guadalupe
Trans-Pecos Resources
No. 1 Latigo Ranch
Block D
31-11N-22E,
Guadalupe
McClellan Oil Corp.
No. 2 Burner Fee
Drilled "tight" to total depth of 6,100 ft; oil and gas
shows reported in Pennsylvanian rocks
Drilled
to total depth of 7,836 ft in Pennsylvanian
rocks
41
3-20N-17E,
Mora
Amoco Production Co.
No. 1 Salmon Ranch A
Pennsylvanian test; drilled "tight" to total depth of
10,200 ft
42
21.27N-'1.7E,
Mora
Amoco Produciion Co.
No. 1 Salmon Ranch B
Scheduled to be drilled to 10,200 ft to test
Pennsylvanian rocks
12-29N-21E,
Collax
Pema Energy
No. 3 Kaiser Steel
Drilled "tight" to 3,900 ft; tested Dakota Sandstone
(Cretaceous)
18-29N-22E,
Colfax
Perma Energy
No. 1 Kaiser-Edson
Drilled "tight" to 3,510 ft; tested Dakota Sandstone
(Cretaceous)
Otero
Yates Petroleum Corp.
No. 1 Dog Canyon
Federal YF
Drilled 'tight" to total depth of 9,000 ft; scheduled to
be drilled to Bliss Sandstone (Cambrian-Ordovician)
10-33S-20W
Hidalgo
Arco Oil & Gas Corp.
No. 1 Fitzpatrick
Scheduled to be drilled to 15,000 {t
Exploration and drilling continued in the
not-yet-productive Raton Basin. The AustraTex Oil No. l-Y Phelps Dodge (19) was abandoned at a total depth of 4,295 ft without any
reported shows of oil or gas. The Perma Energy No. 3 Kaiser Steel (43) was drilled "tight"
to 3,900 ft in the Dakota Sandstone (Cretaceous) and had a gas show in the Dakota.
The Perma Energy No. 1 Kaiser-Edson (44)
was drilled "tight" to a total depth of 3,510
ft. Promising shows of gas were encountered
in several wells drilled in previous years in
Cretaceous rocks (Speer,'1976), but commercial production has not been established.
Rose et al. (1984) discussed evidence for the
presence of an undiscovered basin-centered
gas accumulation in Cretaceous sandstones,
and Woodward (1984) discussed the occurrence of possible fractured reservoirs in the
basin. Exploration in the Raton Basin has been
concentrated on the Dakota and Trinidad
Sandstones (Cretaceous); deeper targets, the
Entrada Sandstone (/urassic), Triassic sandstones, and the Paleozoic section, remain
unevaluated.
The Bravo dome carbon dioxide gas field
continued to be developed and 45 we=llswere
completed. The main reservoir is the Tubb
sand (Permian). Carbon dioxide produced
from the Bravo dome will be used for enhanced oil recovery in the Permian Basin of
west Texas and southeast New Mexico; most
of it will be transported by the Bravo pipeline, which was iompleted last November.
May 1985
New Mexico Geology
The Sheep Mountain pipeline will transport
carbon dioxide to the Permian Basin from the
Bravo dome field and from the Sheep Mountain field in southeast Colorado (Broadhead.
198s).
Southwest New Mexico
Exploratorydrilling for oil and gas continued in southwest New Mexico in 1984.The
Exxon No. 1 Mason Draw FederalUnit (33)
was drilled about 1 mi east of outcrops of
epiclastic
ePrcrastlcTertiar
rertrary-age volcamc
volcanic rocks
rocks to a total depth of 77,948ft before it was abandoned
in reported Precambrianrocks. In late 1984,
Arco began drilling the Arco No. 1 Fitzpatrick (46),which will be used to test the Lower
Cretaceousand Paleozoic sections in the
PedregosaBasin.
Although there is no current petroleum
Productionin southwestNew Mexico, there
is potential for future production (Greenwood et al., 1,977;Thompson, 1980, 1981).
Promisingshows of both oil and gas have
beenencounteredpreviouslvin severalwells
(Thompson,1982).Many w'ellsd.illed in recent years were located on the assumption
that southwestNew Mexico is part of the
Laramide-age
Cordilleranoverthiustbelt, as
proposedby Corbitt and Woodward (7973),
Drewes (1978), and Woodward and DuChene (1981).More recent studies indicate
that thrust faulting in southwest New Mexico is of local extent only; maior Laramideagestructuralfeaturesarehigh-anglereverse
faults that form basement-cored
block uplifts
(Brown and Clemons, 1,983;Seager,1983).
Recentwork also has castdoubt on the presence of the Cordilleran overthrust belt in
southeastArizona(Dickinson, 1984).The welldocumented shelf-edgereefs of the PedregosaBasin(ThompsonandJacka,1981)have
notbeen drilled in the subsurfacewhere they
may contain excellentpetroleum reservoirs.
Effect of discoverieson oil
and gas production
In 1983,New Mexico was the seventhlargest producerof crude oil and the fourth largestproducer of natural gasin the United States
(Energy Information Administratia , 7984,
pp.20,24). Although productionof oil and
gas in New Mexico has been declining in
recentyears,oil production increasedin 1983
and 1984 and gas production increasedin
1984.Productionof crude oil and natural gas
liquids in 1983was 75.2 million bbls, an increaseof 5.97ofrom the 71.0million bbls produced in 1982.Oil production increasedby
approximately4% in 1984(New Mexico Oil
Conservation Division data). Production of
natural gas in 1983was 899 billion ft', a decreaseof 9.2Vofrom the 990 billion ft' produced in 1982.Gas production increasedby
approximately 7Voin \984 (New Mexico Oil
ConservationDivision data).In 1983,91%of
the state'soil and 567oof the state'sgas was
produced in the Permian Basin; 97o of the
state's oil a d 44% of the state's gas was
produced in the San Juan Basin. As of December31, 1983,New Mexico had reserves
of 857million bbls oil and 15.7trillion ft3gas.
The oil reservesinclude oil that can be recoveredby enhanced-recoverytechniques.
The incieasesin oil productironin 1983and
1984can be attributed to two factors. First,
new oil reservesdiscoveredand developed
in the last 5 yrs increasedthe amount of oil
availablefor production. Second,the market
for produced oil was good, so that any oil
produced could be sold. New Mexico's oil
production should remain stableor increase
by a few percent in 1985 becauseof good
demand for oil. Although the short-term price
of oil remainsin doubt, the generalconsensus is that oil prices will rise over the long
term (Wash,1985,p. 17),which provides exploration incentive. Most PermianBasin operators predict that drilling activity in 1985
will be similar to what it was in 1984(Drill
Bit, 1985).
Continued oil discoveriesin the Permian
and San Juan Basinswill encourageexploratory drilling and development and should
help prevent production declinesin the future. Oil play discoveriesin the Delaware
Mountain Group and the Bone Spring Formation (PermianBasin)in the last 5 yrs provide major new exploration targetsand add
new oil reseryesand production that will
supplantdecliningproductionfrom older oil
pools. Production declineswill be slowed in
the more distant future bv implementation
of carbon dioxide flooding of existing fields;
Foster(1980,p. 3) estimatedthat 4.6-11 million BOPD could be produced with carbon
dioxide flooding techniquesby 1990. Such
additionalproduction would replacewaning
production from older fields, but would not
reflectan increasein reserves.Significantincreasesin oil reservesmay be made by the
discovery of new fields in the not-yet-productive frontier areas, such as the Tucumcari, Espafrola,Albuquerque, Acoma, and
PedregosaBasins,or in the Paleozoicsection
of the San ]uan Basin.
The increasein gasproduction in 1984was
causedby an increaseddemand for gas,rather
than an increasedcapabilityto produce gas.
The large declines in gas production from
1981to 7982(lI.sE") and from 7982to 1,983
(9.2%)werc causedprimarily by a decreased
demand for New Mexico gas in California,
the chief consumer of the state's gas. The
future of gas production in New Mexico is
uncertain becauseof the unknown demand
for and price of gasin the future. A bad effect
of decreasedgasproduction in 1982and 1983
was that exploration decreasedmarkedly;
someof the produced gas reserveswere not
replacedby new discoveriesand reservesdeclined accordingly.Generally,only the very
best gas prospects, or those gas prospects
requiredto hold leases,will be drilled in 1985
(Drill Bit, 1985).
ACKNowLEDGMpNTS-Prentiss
Childs of the
New Mexico Oil ConservationDivision provided the well completionstatistics.Joe'Ramey and RichardStametsof the New Mexico
Oil ConservationDivision provided data on
the volume of oil and gas produced. David A.
Donaldsonof the New Meico Bureauof Geology provided the reservestatistics.Robert A.
Bieberman, Frank E. Kottlowski, and Sam
Thompson, III, reviewed the manuscript.
References
Armstrong, A. K., and Mamet, B. L.,1977, Biostratigraphy and paleogeography of the Mississippian System
in northern New Mexico and adjacent San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado: New Mexico Geoloeical Society, Guidebook to 28th Field Conference, pf.
777-727.
Baars, D. L., and Stevenson, G. M., 1977, Permian rocks
of the San Juan Basin: New Mexico Geological Society,
Guidebook to 28th Field Conference, pp. 133-138,
Black, B. 4.,1982, Oil and gas exploration in the Albuquerque Basin: New Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook to 33rd Field Conference, pp. 31,3-324.
Black, B. A.,7984a, Structural anomalies in ihe Espaflola
Basin: New Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook to
35th Field Conference, pp.59-62.
Black, B. A., 1,984b,Hydrocarbon potential of the Espaiola Basin-a
progress report: New Mexico Geological
Society, Guidebook to 35th Field Conference, pp.223-
226.
Broadhead, R. F., 1984a, Stratigraphically controlled gas
production from Abo red beds (Permian), east-central
New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral
Resources, Circular 183, 35 pp.
Broadhead, R. F., 1984b, Subsurface petroleum geology
of Santa Rosa Sandstone (Triassic), northeast New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Circular 193, 24 pp
Broadhead, R. F., 1985, Enhanced oil recoverv wiih carbon dioxide flooding in New Mexico: New M-exicoGeology, v. 7, no. 1, p. 10.
Brooks, B. J., and Clark, W. R., 1978, Wagon Mound
Dakota-Monison (gas); ln Fassett, J. E. (ed.), Oil and
gas fields of the Four Corners area: Four Comers Geological Society, pp. 553-555.
Brown, G. A., and Clemons, R. E., 1983, Florida Mountains section of southwest New Mexico overthrust belta reevaluation: New Mexico Geology, v. 5, no.2, pp.
2529.
Casey,J. M., 1980,Depositionalsystemsand paleogeographic evolution of the late Paleozoic Taos trough,
northern New Mexico; inPaleozoic paleogeographyof
the west-central United States: Rocky Mountain Associationof Geologists,pp. 181-195.
Corbitt,L. L., and Woodward,L. A., 1973,Tectonicframework of Cordilleran foldbelt in southwesternNew Mexico: American Association of Petroleum Geologists,
Bulletin, v. 57, pp. 2207221,6.
Dckinson, W. R., 1984, Reinterpretation of Lime Peak
thrust as a low-angle normal fault-implications for the
tectonicsof southeasternArizona: Geology, v. 72, pp.
610-51.3.
Drewes, H., 1978,The Cordilleran orogenic belt between
Nevada and Chihuahua: GeologicalSocietyofAmerica,
Bulletin, v. 89, pp. 647-657.
Drill Bit, 1985,Planning to hold the line: Drill Bit, v. 34,
no. 1, pp.19-29.
Energy Information Administration, 1984,U.S. crude oil,
natural gas, and natural gas liquids reserves, 1983annual report: Energy Information Administration, DOE/
EIA-0216(83),101pp.
Foster, R. W., 7980,Carbon dioxide sources and use for
enhanced oil recovery: New Mexico Petroleum Recovery ResearchCenter,Report 80-4,73 pp.
Greenwood,E., Kottlowski,F. E., and Thompson,S., III,
1977, Petroleum potential and stratigraphy of Pedregosa Basin-comparison with Permian and Orogrande
Basins:American Association of Petroleum Geologists,
Bulletin, v.51, pp. 1.448-1,469.
Hills,
lls, ].
ntation, tectonism, and hydroI. M., 1984.Sedimentatior
carbon generation in Delaware Basin, west Texasand
southeasternNew Mexico:American Associationof Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, v. 68, pp. 250-267.
Jentgen,R. W.,1977,Pennsylvanianrocksin the SanJuan
Basin, New Mexico and Colorado: New Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook to 28th Field Conference,
pp.129-132.
Keltey, V C., 7977, Geology of Albuquerque Basin, New
Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources,Memoir 33, 60 pp.
Kelley,V C.,1978,GeologyofEspaiolaBasin,NewMexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources,GeologicMap 48, scale1:125,000.
Kinney, E. E. (ed.), 1967,The oil and gas fields of southeasternNew Mexico: Roswell Geological Society, 7967
symposiumsupplement,195pp.
Kottlowski, F. E., and Stewart, W. 1., "1970,The WolfcampianJoyitauplift in central New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources,Memoir
23, pt. 1.,pp. 1-31.
Martin, F. D., 1,984,Steamflood pilots in the O'Connell
Ranchfield and the T-.1 Ranchfield: New Mexico Petroleum RecoveryResearchCenter, Report 8427, 2 pp.
McKallip, J. C., 1984, Newkirk field-the geology of a
shallow steamfloodproject in Guadalupe Counry New
Mexico:Unpublished M.S. thesis, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, 133 pp.
Meyer, R. F., 1,966,Geology of Pennsylvanian and Wolfcampian rocks in southeastNew Mexico: New Mexico
Bureauof Mines and Mineral Resources,Memoir 17,
723 pp.
Mickey, V, 1983,Methanol foam fracs open up Delaware:
Drill Bit, v. 32, no. 10, pp. 1.7-'1.8.
Mickey, V, 1984,Delaware oil play in Eddy County: Drill
Bit,v. 33, no.2, p.21..
Molenaar,C. M., 1,977
, Stratigraphyand depositionalhistory of Upper Cretaceousrocks of the San Juan Basin
area, with a note on economic resources:New Mexico
Geological Society, Guidebook to 28ih Field Conference, pp. 759-766.
Pitt, W. D., 1973,Hydrocarbon potential of pre-Pennsylvanian rocks in Roosevelt Countv. New Mexico: New
Mexico Bureauof Mines and Mineral Resources,Circular 130, 8 pp.
Pitt, W. D., and Scott, G. L.,7981,,Porosity zones of lower
part oI San Andres Formation, east-centralNew Mexico: New Mexico Bureau o{ Mines and Mineral Res o u r c e sC. i r c u l a r1 7 9 , 2 0p p .
Reese,V R., Dn, Oil and gas potential of the Gallup
Formation-a fourth stratigraphic producing interval
of the inner San Juan Basin: New Mexico Geological
Society,Guidebookto 28th Field Conference,supplement, pp.23-29.
Roberts,J. W., Barnes,J. J., and Wacker, H. J., 1,976,
SubsurfacePaleozoicstratigraphy of the northeastern
New Mexicobasin and arch complex:New Mexico Geological Society,Guidebook to 27th Field Conference,
pp.141-152.
Rose,P R., Everett,J. R., and Merin, L S.,1984,Possible
basin centered gas accumulation, Raton Basin, southern Colorado: Oil and Gas Journal, v. 82, no. 40, pp.
190-192, 194, 196-197.
Scott,G. L., Brannigan,J. P., and Mitchell, S. T., 1983,
PecosSlopeAbo field of Chaves County, New Mexico;
in Guidebook for field trip to the Abo red beds (Permian), central and south-central New Mexico: Roswell
Geological Society and New Mexico Bureau of Mines
and Mineral Resources,p. 73.
Seager,W. R., 1983,Laramide wrench faults, basementcored uplifts, and complementary basins in southern
New Mefco: New Mexico Geology, v 5, no. 4, pp. 6976.
Speer,W. R., 1975,Oil and gas exploration in the Raton
Basin: New Mexico Geological Society, Guidebook to
27th Field Conference, pp. 21.7-225.
Stone,W. J., LyIord, F. P, Frenzel,P F., Mizell, N. H.,
and Padgett,E. T.,1983, Hydrogeologyand water resourcesof San luan Basin, New Mexico: New Mexico
Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources,Hydrologic
Report 6, 70 pp.
Tabel J. J., and Martin, F. D., 1983,Technicalscreening
guides for the enhanced recovery of oil: Society of Petroleum Engineers, Paper SPE 12069.
Thompson,S., III, 1980,PedregosaBasin'smain exploration target is Pennsylvanian dolostone: Oil and Gas
Journal,v. 78, no. 42, pp. 202,207,210,215.
Thompson, S., III, 1981, Petroleum source rocks in exploration wells drilled to Paleozoicor Mesozoic units,
Hidalgo and Grani Counties, New Mexico: New Mexico Energy Institute, Report EMD 2-66-i306, L20 pp.
Thompson, 5., 1ll, 1982,Oil and gas exploration wells in
southwestern New Mexico; ln Drewes, H. (ed.), Cordilleran overthrust belt, Texasto Arizona: Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists,Guidebook to 1982Field
Conference,pp. 137-153.
Thompson. S., III, and Jacka, A. D., 1981.,Pennsylvanian
stratigraphy, pehography, and petroleum geology of
the Big Hatchet Peak section, Hidalgo County, New
Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources,Circular 176,125pp.
Wash, R., 1985,Climb Progressesslower than fall: Drill
Blt,v.34, no. 1, pp. 17-18.
Woodward, L. A., 1984, Potential for significant oil and
gas fracture reservoirs in Cretaceous rocks of Raton
Basin,New Mexico:American Associationof Petroleum
Geologists,Bulletin, v.68, pp. 628-636.
Woodward,L. A., Callender,J. F., Seager,W. R., Chapin,
C. E., Gries, J. C., Shaffer,W. L., and Zilinski, R. E.,
1978,Tectonic map of Rio Grande rift region in New
Mexjco, Chihuahua, and Texas;inHawley, J. W. (compiler), Guidebook to Rio Grande rift in New Mexico
ind Colorado: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources,Circular153,sheet2.
Woodward,L. A., and DuChene,H. R., 1981,Overthrust
belt of southwestern New Mexicecomparison with
Wyoming-Utah overthrustbelt: AmericanAssociation
of PetroleurnGeologists, Bulletin, v. 65, pp. 722-729
!
Neu Mexico Geology May 1.985