ABSTRACT

The 1984 discovery of thick Bolivina mexicana (Bol. mex.) gas sands at the Broussard Field initiated an intense exploration play. This activity and further evaluation of existing fields has centered in and around Lafayette, Louisiana.

Since 1984 drilling for Bol. mex. sands has resulted in the discovery of several new fields and extensions. Cumulative production from fields within the basin is 460 BCF gas and 21 million barrels of condensate through 1994.

The quest for these high yield reservoirs, which average over 200 feet in thickness in some fault blocks, continues unabated. There are four wells currently drilling near Lafayette with Bol. mex. sands as the main objective. One of the most exciting ventures is being drilled by Vastar in the city of Lafayette.

All the drilling wells are located in the Lafayette Bol. mex. basin which is a large depositional center of Oligocene Frio sands centering just west of Lafayette. Approximately 2000 feet thick, the basin is a sequence of alternating sands and shales deposited in a deep marine environment. It is flanked on the north by a large growth fault which forms the northern limit of the basin. Basinward, a series of additional growth faults strike south of and subparallel to the northern edge of the Bol. mex. basin. The production seems to be associated with structures along the strike of the growth faulting. The fields which produce from the Bol. mex. interval are Scott, Broussard, West Ridge, Duson-Ridge, North Broussard, Milton, Maurice, North Maurice and Perry Point.