Geology of
The
Cantarell Oil
Field
Josh Wymer
Taylor Campsey
John Wiggins
Chris Smith
General Information
Location
~75 km Offshore Yucatan
Peninsula, Mexico
Bay of Campeche
Sureste Basin
Campeche-Sigsbee
Sub-Basin
Field History
Discovered by local fisherman
Rudesindo Cantarell in 1976, who
noticed oil seepage on ocean
surface
Production began in 1979
Operated by Pemex - Mexicos
State Owned Petroleum Company
Accounted for 63% of Mexicos total
oil production in 2004
Production History
14.7 billion barrels produced to date
Estimated 20.3 billion barrels of oil in place with
a value of of $954.3 billion (at $47.01 USD/bbl)
Peak production of 2.1 million bbl/d in 2004
Production of 600,000 bbl/d in 2011
In 1999, Pemex launched the largest nitrogen
based IOR project ever attempted to combat
decreasing production rates caused by
decreasing reservoir pressure
Production
Stratigraphic Cross-Section
\
Pliocene: Sandstone
Miocene: Sandstone
Oligocene: Sandstone
Eocene: Limestone/Sandy Shale
Paleocene: Sandy Shale
Upper Cretaceous: Conglomerate
Middle Cretaceous:
Limestone/Shale
Lower Cretaceous:
Limestone/Shale
Tithonian: Sandy Shale
Kimmeridgian: Limestone/Shale
Oxfordian: Limestone/Dolomite
Callovian: Coal
Petroleum System
Elements
Source Rock
Edzna
Formation
Tithonianepoch
(Late Jurassic)
~150 Ma
Calcareous Shale
Type I Organic
Matter
Deposited in an
anoxic marine
depositional
environment
Oxfordian
Limestone
Type II
Reservoir Rock
Late Cretaceous
Period (66-100
Ma)
Dolomitic
sedimentary
breccia
Deposited in a
paleo-shelf
failure
Value
Unit
8 %
2-3 md
656-984 ft
8910 ft
6930 ft
Seal Rock
Created from
anticline fold
Akal block:
Paleocene
Epoch (60 Ma)
Shale
Sihil block:
Oxfordian Epoch
(157-164 Ma)
Limestone/
Dolomite
Overburden Rocks
Layers of
Miocene rocks
(5.3 - 23 Ma)
Pliocene/Pleis
tocene (0.1 5.3 Ma)
Thickness
ranges from
3000-6500 ft.
Trap Formation
The Cantarell structure was formed
during three key episodes of
deformation associated with wrench
tectonics:
Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous
extensional period
Normal faults displacing Tithonian (source),
Kimmeridgian and Lower Cretaceous
(reservoir) units
Trap Formation
The Cantarell field is characterized by
having a high structural relief and it
produces out of four fault-bounded
blocks:
Akal - allochthonous thrusting block
fold
WNW-ESE orientation
2. Cretaceous
Lower and Middle Cretaceous
basin environment
Upper Cretaceous slope
environment
3. Eocene
Submarine fan
Reservoir Rock
Seal Rock
Overburden Rock
Trap Formation
Gen/Migration/Accum
Preservation
Critical Moment
References
Aquino, Jose AL, Jose M. Ruiz, Marcos A. Flores, and Jesus H. Garcia. "The Sihil Field:
Another Giant below Cantarell, Offshore Campeche, Mexico." Search and Discovery.
AAPG, 2001. Web. 25 Apr. 2015.
Mitra, Shankar, Gerardo Correa Figueroa, Jesus Hernandez Garcia, and Antonio Murillo
Alvarado. "Three-dimensional Structural Model of the Cantarell and Sihil Structures,
Campeche Bay, Mexico. AAPG, 2005. Web. 25 Apr. 2015.
Daltaban, T.S. Lozada, A. Miguel, Villavicencio, Antonio, P., Torres, F. Marcos. Managing
Water and Gas Production Problems in the Cantarell: A Giant Carbonate Reservoir in Gulf
of Mexico, Paper SPR 117233 presented at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum
Exhibition and Conference held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, 3-6 November 2008
Guzman, Marcus S.P. 2013. Review of A Forgotten Technology with High Potential The
World Largest Nitrogen Based IOR Project in the Supergiant Field Cantarell, Mexico,
Paper SPE 171239 presented at SPE Russian Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
Technical Conference held in Moscow, Russia, October 2014
References contd
Talwani, Manik, Ph. D.Oil and Gas in Mexico: Geology, Production Rates and Reserves,
James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy Rice University. April 29, 2011.
http://bakerinstitute.org/files/537/
Maria A. Romero I., Jose Ruiz M., Luis M. Medrano M., Juan Duran G., Roberto Rojas R.,
Ismael Gutierrez M., Olfer Baltazar Ch. Revitalized Tithonian-Cretaceous Petroleum
System (!), Offshore Campeche, Mexico. AAPG Datapages/Archives. 50th Vol. The Gulf
Coast Association of Geological Societies, 2002: 663-67. Datapages, Inc. 24 Mar. 2015.
References contd