RESERVOIR QUALITY ANALYSIS OF LATE JURASSIC AND EARLY CRETACEOUS STRATA OF THE DESOTO CANYON SALT BASIN, NORTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO

Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata common to the Gulf Coast area lie within the Desoto Canyon Salt Basin, a submarine salt basin in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. The formation of the salt basin is attributed to two main factors: the Jurassic rifting associated with the opening of the Gulf of Mexico and the deposition of the Luann salt driving salt tectonic processes in the basin. It is believed that potentially good reservoir strata include the Norphlet and Paluxy Formations and the Fredericksburg-Washita Group. Strata from the late Jurassic and early Cretaceous are observed for reservoir potential. Well logs obtained from the BSEE are analyzed for their change in gamma ray response, resistivity, and porosity with change in depth. Although resistivity and gamma ray response trends were not always clear, the porosity trend is found to increase overall with depth within the Desoto Canyon Salt Basin, and thus the reservoir quality potential is higher in these deeper strata.