Abstract: Bay Marchand - Timbalier Bay - Caillou Island Salt Complex

By

Gordon Frey

This salt complex, more than 28 miles long and up to 12 miles wide, may be part of a much longer salt feature that extends both toward the east and west. The mother salt bed, of probable Late Triassic-Early Jurassic age, is presently buried to depths of 40,000 to 50,000 feet, whereas the tops of the individual domes along the trend rise to within 2,000 to 3,000 feet of the surface.

Production to date on this three-field complex has been in excess of 0.7 billion barrels of oil. Oil reserves are estimated to range from another 0.75 billion to 1 billion barrels. In addition, significant gas reserves are present.

Hydrocarbon accumulation occurs in sands of Pleistocene through Late Miocene age and ranges in depth from 1,000 feet to below 20,000 feet. A wide variety of traps is found, including supradomal arching, shale and salt truncations, stratigraphic traps, and those resulting from faults.

Production was established on this complex in 1933. The total hydrocarbon production for 1967 was approximately 97 million barrels

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