ABSTRACT

Oil exploration began in Florida in 1901; but no oil was found until 1943. In November of that year, Humble Oil and Refining Co., made an oil discovery near Sunniland, Florida. This field and the producing horizon was called Sunniland. No further discoveries were made in south Florida until 1954 when the Forty Mile field was discovered by Gulf Oil Co. Ten years later, the Sunoco Felda field was discovered by Sun Oil Co. in 1964, followed by West Sunoco Felda field in 1968. Since that time nine new fields have been discovered all from the same formation: but none as large as the Sunoco fields.

For some years now the rocks of the Sunniland Formation have been considered in the literature as reefal, but from the examination of numerous cores and thin-sections both from producing fields and wildcat wells, I interpret these rocks to be a barrier tidal-shoal bar, deposited well behind the main reef crest which lies further offshore at the edge of the Florida escarpment.