Main Pass 299, offshore, Louisiana: Producing oil, gas, and sulfur from the same reservoir

Conference · Fri Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1991 · AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States)

OSTI ID:6007417

Christensen, R J ^[1]; Green, L B ^[2]

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1. Freeport-McMoRan Oil and Gas Co., New Orleans, LA (United States)
2. Freeport Sulfur Co., New Orleans, LA (United States)

In 1989, a world class sulfur deposit and a new oil pool with a small gas cap were discovered together in the limestone caprock of a shallow piercement salt dome at Main Pass 299, Offshore, Louisiana. Twenty exploration wells were drilled to delineate the resource. The salt dome is roughly circular and relatively flat-topped with a diameter of 8,000 ft at the shallowest occurrence of salt at 1,775 ft subsea. Vugular limestone caprock occurs at 1,250 ft subsea and is up to 400 ft thick in the southeast quadrant of the dome. Porosity in the limestone averages 27% with permeability as high as 18 d. Below the limestone is dense anhydrite, up to 125 thick, and then diapiric salt. Native sulfur occurs up to 200 ft thick in the lower part of the limestone. Oil and gas occur in the upper part of the limestone with the G/O contact at 1,350 ft subsea and the O/W contact at 1,532 ft subsea. Proven recoverable reserves are currently estimated at 67 million long tons sulfur, 38 MMBO, and 8.5 BCFG. Sulfur, oil, and gas will be produced concurrently using a synergistic blending of Frasch sulfur mining techniques and oil and gas production technology. Using the Frasch method, seawater heated under pressure to 325{degree}F is injected into the limestone caprock where it melts in situ the elemental sulfur at 246{degree}F, which is produced, stored, and transported as a liquid. Hot water injection is anticipated to enhance oil production by maintaining reservoir pressure and lowering the viscosity of the 22 degree gravity oil. Four platform structures and from 22 to 44 wells, some with horizontal completions, are planned to produced the oil and gas at an initial rate of 50,000 BOPD and 13 MMCFPD.

• OSTI ID: 6007417
• Report Number(s): CONF-910403-; CODEN: AABUD
• Journal Information: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States), Vol. 75:3; Conference: Annual meeting of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), Dallas, TX (United States), 7-10 Apr 1991; ISSN 0149-1423
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
03 NATURAL GAS
LOUISIANA
NATURAL GAS FIELDS
OIL FIELDS
SULFUR ORES
NATURAL GAS
RESERVES
NATURAL GAS WELLS
FLUID INJECTION
PRODUCTION
OIL WELLS
PETROLEUM
ANHYDRITE
INJECTION WELLS
LIMESTONE
OFFSHORE SITES
PERMEABILITY
POROSITY
SALT DEPOSITS
THERMAL RECOVERY
CARBONATE ROCKS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FEDERAL REGION VI
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
MINERAL RESOURCES
MINERALS
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
NORTH AMERICA
ORES
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
RECOVERY
RESOURCES
ROCKS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SULFATE MINERALS
USA
WELLS
020200* - Petroleum- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
030200 - Natural Gas- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration