The northern Gulf of Mexico federal offshore area easily qualifies as a super basin based upon estimated petroleum endowment of more than 100 BOE and cumulative production of 60 BOE. Like other super basins, it has multiple petroleum systems and stacked reservoirs. Examination of four key elements of these petroleum systems (reservoirs, source rocks, seals, and traps) yields important insights to the geologic processes that result in such an exceptional habitat for conventional hydrocarbons.The bulk of hydrocarbon resources in federal offshore waters is in Cenozoic sandstone reservoirs such as the Paleogene Wilcox reservoir of deep-water subsalt areas. Overall, Cenozoic sandstone reservoirs in both suprasalt and subsalt fields yield the highest flow rates and cumulative production volumes. Notable is the recent addition of the deep-water Jurassic Norphlet sandstone play, the newest and second largest by ultimately technically recoverable resources. Overall, Gulf of Mexico reservoirs are diverse, formed in paleoenvironments ranging from aeolian to deep water.Powering this super basin are three primary marine source rocks centered in the Oxfordian, Tithonian, and Cenomanian–Turonian Stages. These source rock intervals commonly act as top seals, but other Neogene and Mesozoic shales and even carbonate mudstones are also important trap-sealing elements, as proven by analytical work and downhole pressure measurements. The extensive salt distribution and relatively late Cenozoic burial delayed source rock maturation and migration until the culmination of trap formation in many areas.High rates of Cenozoic deposition on a mobile salt substrate also generated a myriad of salt tectonic structures, ranging from simple diapiric closures and extensional fault traps to complex subsalt configurations such as salt-cored compressional anticlines, salt-cutoff traps, and bucket weld traps. Exploration success in the past 20 yr is a direct result of improved seismic imaging around and below salt, as well as advances in drilling, completing, and producing wells and fields.

中文翻译：

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墨西哥湾北部近海超级盆地：储层，烃源岩，海豹，陷阱和成功案例

基于估计的石油federal赋超过100桶当量和累计产量60桶当量，墨西哥湾北部联邦近海地区很容易成为超级盆地。像其他超级盆地一样，它具有多个石油系统和堆积的油藏。对这些石油系统的四个关键要素（储层，烃源岩，海豹和圈闭）进行检查，可以为地质过程提供重要的见解，从而为常规碳氢化合物提供如此优越的栖息地。联邦海上水域的大部分碳氢化合物资源位于新生代砂岩油藏，例如深水盐下地区的古近纪Wilcox油藏。总体而言，超盐和盐下油田的新生代砂岩储层的流量和累积产量最高。值得注意的是，最近增加了深水侏罗纪Norphlet砂岩层，这是最新的和第二大的，最终归因于技术上可回收的资源。总体而言，墨西哥湾的储层是多种多样的，形成于从风成到深水的古环境中。为这个超级盆地提供动力的是三个主要的海洋烃源岩，它们集中在牛津阶，提通阶和切诺曼阶-突厥阶。这些烃源岩层段通常充当顶封，但其他新近纪和中生代页岩，甚至碳酸盐泥岩也是重要的圈闭要素，已通过分析工作和井下压力测量证明。广泛的盐分分布和相对较晚的新生代埋葬推迟了烃源岩的成熟和迁移，直到在许多地区形成圈闭。在移动的盐基质上的新生代沉积率很高，也产生了无数的盐构造结构，从简单的双底封闭和伸展断层陷阱到复杂的盐下构造，例如盐芯压缩背斜线，盐截留陷阱和桶形焊接陷阱。在过去的20年中，勘探成功是盐周围和盐下改善的地震成像以及钻探，完井和生产井及田的进步的直接结果。