Ninety-nine percent of total Gulf of Mexico production is from
Neogene-age reservoirs (Pleistocene, Pliocene and Miocene), but
several recently announced deepwater discoveries encountered large
potential reservoirs in Paleogene-age sands (Oligocene, Eocene and
Paleocene).
This older portion of the geologic section has been very lightly
tested in the Gulf, and these recent discoveries may open wide areas
of the Gulf to further drilling, according to the MMS report.
The Mississippi Fan and the Perdido foldbelts include reservoirs
of Paleogene age. Announced discoveries at Trident and Great White
in the Alaminos Canyon area and at St. Malo, Cascade and Chinook
in the Walker Ridge area provide evidence of productive Paleogene
reservoirs in a wide area of the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
Key questions remain to be answered regarding the extent and reducibility
of these older reservoirs, according to the report.