The Cretaceous Play Exploration Overview

Exploration for Cretaceous Deep-Water Reservoirs in the Circum-Caribbean Region: Historical Review and Expectations for the Future* Robert Erlich¹ and Francis Inniss¹ Search and Discovery Article #30353 (2014)** Posted August 18, 2014 *Adapted and expanded from oral presentation given at Geoscience Technology Workshop (GTW), Deep Horizon and Deep Water Frontier Exploration in Latin American and the Caribbean, Port of Spain, Trinidad, March 9-11, 2014, and given at Houston Geological Society dinner meeting, Houston, Texas, June 9, 2014 **AAPG©2014 Serial rights given by author. For all other rights contact author directly. 'PanAtlantic Exploration Company, Houston, TX, USA ([email protected]) Abstract Historical exploration efforts within the Circum-Caribbean region have not typically targeted Cretaceous reservoirs for a variety of technical and commercial reasons. The principal exceptions to this have been exploration efforts along the north coast of Cuba during the 1950's (sporadic since then), some wells on- and offshore Honduras and Nicaragua during the 1930's-1970's (three recent wells in the 2000's), and five wells in the Bahamas during the same time period. Renewed interest in Cretaceous reservoirs began in earnest during the mid-late 1980's, mainly as a byproduct of successful exploration in Eastern Venezuela's Furrial Trend, though these discoveries are concentrated principally within Neogene-Paleogene strata. Exploration for Cretaceous targets has focused almost exclusively on Trinidad since this time, and results have not been overwhelmingly positive, regardless of whether the objectives were located onshore or offshore. Further interest in the Cretaceous has been generated recently by the discovery of commercial accumulations in slope and basin floor fan/channel complexes, most commonly found along the Equatorial Atlantic margins of West Africa and South America (the "Transform Margin Play"). Despite these recent successes, Cretaceous reservoirs and traps continue to yield unpredictable drilling results, especially along the margins of northern South America.

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