f Turbidite Reservoir Architecture in the Gulf of Mexico - Insights from Field Development

In 1983, when Shell began to explore the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, not much information was available to indicate whether the turbidite accumulations being discovered would be able to produce sufficient hydrocarbon volumes at high enough rates to justify the capital investments required for field development. Reservoir architecture and connectivity were primary concerns. Numerous studies of turbidite outcrops, shallow subsurface analogs, and producing turbidite fields were undertaken to gain insights into turbidite depositional modeIs th at could be used to predict reservoir quality and production performance.