Possible Extension of the 100 Year Old Casmalia Field, Santa Barbara County, California

Ramon Elias and Mark L. Wilson

Santa Maria Pacific, LLC has delineated a substantial oil reserve in the Sisquoc formation approximately 2.3 miles NW of the recognized productive limit of the Casmalia oil field in Santa Barbara County, California. The Sisquoc accumulation is an oil-saturated diatomite and is being developed for exploitation using a steam-fracture stimulation process. In the course of the discovery and delineation of the oil saturated diatomite, several wells were drilled into the underlying Monterey Formation, the principal reservoir in the Casmalia field. The Monterey in the new development area was found to be pressure depleted. Approval to use the zone for produced water disposal was obtained from the California State Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources. The occurrence of significant oil and gas shows and the swabbing of measurable volumes of oil from the zone suggests a much more extensive petroleum system for the Casmalia field than previously described in published accounts. Santa Maria Pacific, LLC now contemplates using the injection of produced water from the diatomite project to re-pressure the Monterey and provide primary recovery of the stranded dead oil using secondary recovery techniques. Successful economic recovery will significantly expand the limits of the Casmalia field.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90076©2008 AAPG Pacific Section, Bakersfield, California