Oil reserves of South America

Almaty 2015

Introduction

Oil is one of the most important mineral resources in the world. Practically, the global economy is depend of oil reserves. Unlike coal, over 80% of the world's oil reserves are concentrated in developing countries. Over 150 billion tons of oil reserves account for about 2/3 of the Gulf countries.

Oil Reserves of North America

The oil reserves of North America is estimated the 5% of the world oil reserves. The biggest oil-field: Cantarell Field (Mexico), Ku-Maloob-Zaap (Mexico), Prudhoe Bay (Alaska, USA), Pembina (Canada)

Cantarell Field or Cantarell Complex is an aging supergiant oil field in Mexico. It was discovered in 1976 after oil stains were noticed by a fisherman, Rudesindo Cantarell Jimenez, in 1961. It was placed on nitrogen injection in 2000, and production peaked at 2.1 million barrels per day (330,000 m3/d) in 2003. In terms of cumulative production to date, it is by far the largest oil field in Mexico, and one of the largest in the world. However, production has declined since 2003, falling to 408,000 barrels per day (64,900 m3/d) (April 2012), making it Mexico's second most productive oil field after Ku-Maloob-Zaap.

Ku-Maloob-Zaap is the most productive oil field in Mexico. Ku-Maloob-Zaap is made up of three relatively large fields Ku, Maloob and Zaap which are located to the immediate northwest of the Cantarell field.

Ku-Maloob-Zaap is located offshore in the Bay of Campeche, 105 kilometres (65 mi) from Ciudad del Carmen. It was discovered by PEMEX, Mexico's national oil company, in 1979.

Prudhoe Bay Oil Field is a large oil field on Alaska's North Slope. It is the largest oil field in both the United States and in North America, covering 213,543 acres (86,418 ha) and originally containing approximately 25 billion barrels (4.0×109 m3) of oil. The amount of recoverable oil in the field is more than double that of the next largest field in the United States, the East Texas oil field. The field is operated by BP; partners are ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips Alaska.

The Pembina oil field is one of the largest and most prolific conventional oil fields in the province of Alberta, Canada.

The mature field is centered on Drayton Valley and is named for the Pembina River, which crosses the region from southwest to northeast. It taps reservoirs in the Cretaceous formations of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin for oil and gas production. The main hydrocarbon-bearing unit is the Cardium Formation. Production also comes from the Viking Formation and sandstone beds of the Fernie Formation such as the Rock Creek Member.

Oil reserves of South America

The oil reserves of South America is estimated the 9% of the world oil reserves. Venezuela takes the first place in the world in terms of oil resources , about 18,1 % of world oil resources. The biggest oil fields: Bolivar Coastal Field (Venezuela), Lula Field (Brazil), The Boscán Oil Field (Venezuela).

Bolivar Coastal Field is the largest oil field in South America with its 6,000-7,000 wells and forest of related derricks, stretches thirty-five miles along the north-east coast of Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela.

Before 1900, Venezuela was known to possess commercial quantities of petroleum. One major find was the 'Zumaque 1' well in 1914, in the area of Mene Grande, Maracaibo Basin, about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Cabimas (Zulia State). Discovered in 1917, the Bolivar Coast Field produces from Miocene and Eocene sandstones across well platforms in the shallow lake. The blowout of the Barroso No. 2 well in Cabimas in 1922 marked the beginning of Venezuela's modern history as a major oil producer. The field is thought to have a total of approximately 30-32 billion barrels of oil. Portions of the oil field have already been fully depleted.

The Lula oil field (formerly Tupi oil field) is a large oil field located in the Santos Basin, 250 kilometres (160 mi) off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The field was nicknamed in honor of the Tupi people and later named after former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. It is considered to be the Western Hemisphere's largest oil discovery of the last 30 years

The Boscán Oil Field is located 40 km southwest of Maracaibo, Venezuela, and covers an area of about 660 square kilometers (240 square miles). The field produces a 10.5 degree API gravity crude oil from the Eocene Misoa Formation locally called the Boscán Formation. Current estimates of oil in place are greater than 25 billion barrels of oil.

The field was discovered in 1946 by Chevron with drilling of the Zulia 7F-1 well (renamed BN-257) which tested 730 barrels per day (116 m3/d). This well encountered reservoir section very close to the Boscán east bounding fault at about 5,900 feet (1,800 m) measured depth (MD). Production began in 1947.

Date: 2016-01-03; view: 948