Finding petroleum on the Roosevelt Arch, Roosevelt County, New Mexico

ENTZMINGER, DAVID J. Tom Brown, Inc. Midland, Texas, and MICHAEL MILLER, BP America Production Company, Houston, Texas

What does it take to find an oil and gas field in a place like the Roosevelt Arch (an extension of the Matador Arch in Texas) on the northern fringe of the Permian Basin? Let’s start by making sure we have a petroleum source or at least the potential to migrate the petroleum into the area. It means identifying the source(s), and then demonstrate how the petroleum might have moved through geologic time. Oil samples must be gathered and analyzed for the few fields in the area. Source rocks for the basin need to be collected to type the oils, both on the arch and in the Permian Basin. Hydrocarbon maturation models need to be made to identify the source kitchen. Potentiometric maps must be made to understand the potential migration pathway(s). By indentifying the oils, source rock, and pathways it is possible to gain insight on the type of oil(s) in an area; what the source rock was and how the petroleum might migrate through and area; and where the most likely places it could be trapped. Ultimately, it is these potential trap site(s) we as explorationist are most interested in discovering.