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Baca Oil & Gas Overview
Work on the Baca Oil and Gas Project began in 1992 with the discovery of oil in 28 shallow drill holes situated on the western flank of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Lexam was drilling for gold and to everyone's surprise, found oil in an area where none was expected. In 1992, geologists believed that no rocks favorable for producing hydrocarbons were present in the basin.
The discovery of oil was the first indication that conventional wisdom was about to be proven wrong. Independent tests confirmed that the oil was naturally occurring crude oil that came from Cretaceous age sedimentary rocks. Subsequent drilling and geological mapping found outcrops and subsurface occurrences of Mancos Shale, Dakota Sandstone and rocks of the Morrison Formation, precisely the rocks that would be expected to be present based on the results of the oil analyses. These same rock formations are prolific producers of oil and gas in much of the Rocky Mountain region. |
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| The discovery of oil was the first indication
that conventional wisdom was about to be proven wrong. Independent
tests confirmed that the oil was naturally occurring crude
oil that came from Cretaceous age sedimentary rocks. Subsequent
drilling and geological mapping found outcrops and subsurface
occurrences of Mancos Shale, Dakota Sandstone and rocks of
the Morrison Formation, precisely the rocks that would be expected
to be present based on the results of the oil analyses. These
same rock formations are prolific producers of oil and gas
in much of the Rocky Mountain region. The hunt for oil and
gas in the San Luis Basin was renewed. |
Click on image to enlarge |
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| All of the surrounding basins that contain Cretaceous source and reservoir rocks at depths greater than 7,000 ft, produce large amounts of oil and gas. In the San Juan basin, for example, approximately 90 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 390 million barrels of oil have been discovered. Based on Lexam's accumulated data, more than 100 mi² of the sub-basin contains a 2,000 - 3,000 ft thick package of Cretaceous sediments at depths ranging from 7,000 to 17,000 ft. The burial history of the Cretaceous section and modeling of the temperature gradient places the prolific source rocks of the Mancos Shale well within the oil/gas generation window. Ultimately, the aerial extent of Cretaceous rocks within the sub-basin could be as much as 550 mi², making it an excellent target to explore for a significant basin-centered gas accumulation. |
Click on image to enlarge |
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