Linking
the Mexico and U.S. Gulf Coast: Geologic Framework and
Play Definition Research in the Laguna Madre-Tuxpan Area |
William
A. Ambrose, principal investigator; Khaled Fouad, Shinichi
Sakurai, L. Frank Brown, Jr.,
Edgar H. Guevara, Daniel D.
Schultz-Ela, Timothy F. Wawrzyniec, Suhas Talukdar, Dallas B. Dunlap,
Luis Sánchez-Barreda, Alfredo Guzmán, Mario Aranda, Ulises
Hernández, Ramon Cárdenas, Héctor Ruiz, Juan Alvarado,
Santiago Sarmiento, and Eduardo Macias (PEMEX)
|
This study, conducted
by Bureau and PEMEX teams in Poza Rica and Tampico, will define major
Miocene and Pliocene plays in the offshore Gulf of Mexico between the
Veracruz and 90 Plays in the Laguna Madre-Tuxpan study are defined from mappable geologic attributes. This study uses a threefold definition for plays based on (1) sequence-stratigraphic occurrence and age, (2) facies association, and (3) trap. Examples of Laguna Madre-Tuxpan plays defined in this study are the Upper Miocene Slope Channel/Levees and Upper Miocene Canyon, Stratigraphic Trap plays. Laguna Madre-Tuxpan plays are structurally and stratigraphically complex, affording us a unique opportunity to examine a complete coast-to-basin succession from valley fill to basin floor over a distance of less than 25 km. A dynamic, tectonically active setting, coupled with an abundant sediment supply, has resulted in a greatly telescoped system. Narrow shelf margins in the Laguna Madre-Tuxpan area represent an end member in the spectrum of shelf-margin types and should be of significant worldwide interest. |
For more infomation, please contact Bill Ambrose, principal investigator. Telephone 512-471-0258; e-mail willliam.ambrose@beg.utexas.edu. |
February
2003
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