Did the Chicxulub Area Contribute to Oil Reserves?

  • Thread starter Delta Force
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In summary: So, while the Chicxulub impact may have played a role in preserving certain petroleum-rich areas, it's not clear that it was the only factor at work.
  • #1
Delta Force
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Many petroleum rich areas are located within the Chicxulub impact effects radius, including Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana. Cantarell, a supergiant petroleum field, is located directly within the impact crater. Did Chicxulub play any role in creating and/or preserving proto-petroleum fields to the modern day (especially through the creation of caprock), or are the petroleum rich areas found nearby just a coincidence due to the large area within the effects radius?
 
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  • #2
Oil is collected in anti/-synclinal geologic features (in general) and the crater you mentioned is possibly contributed to the favorable geological conditions for trapping oil reserves.

But, the Chesapeake Bay is an even bigger, newer impact crater and there's as of yet not a particularly amazing amount of oil found there, so the correlation doesn't appear to be strong.
 
  • #3
Report by a petroleum Geologist for management readers, I think. This means its readable. The bottom line is the impact craters in some areas are of great interest for finding new petroleum reserves - in a limited way:
Seventeen confirmed impact structures occur in petroliferous areas of North America, nine of which are being exploited for commercial hydrocarbons
From: http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/volume-96/issue-19/in-this-issue/general-interest/north-american-impact-structures-hold-giant-field-potential.html [Broken]
Have a read. I think IDneon is on the right track. But not all craters or astroblemes have petroleum.
 
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  • #4
Delta Force said:
Many petroleum rich areas are located within the Chicxulub impact effects radius, including Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana. Cantarell, a supergiant petroleum field, is located directly within the impact crater. Did Chicxulub play any role in creating and/or preserving proto-petroleum fields to the modern day (especially through the creation of caprock), or are the petroleum rich areas found nearby just a coincidence due to the large area within the effects radius?
I had a research project out in the Gulf Of Mexico in 1984, since we were a research vessel,
we were out past the shelve, so as not to disruptthe crews actually making money.
The live plotter records like every 10th line, but is readable.
We recorded what many said was the largest salt dome they had ever seen,
it looked to be about 1000 feet high, and about 90 miles across.
It was also under about 5400 feet of water!
There is a massive formation under the Gulf of Mexico, weather it is a result of the
big impact off of Mexico would be difficult to say, but geophysical activity does
change the strata and allow traps to form.
 
  • #5
IDNeon said:
But, the Chesapeake Bay is an even bigger, newer impact crater
Is it? Wiki pages give half the diameter of Chicxulub.
 
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  • #6
I'd expect any impact event would create fractures in the crust (at least), and these would provide paths through which existing petroleum can percolate. If the cracks are disposed radially from the impact point, then fluids would preferentially move towards or away from their center, depending on pressure gradients. The presence of preferential paths of diffusion and convection is what generally leads to the formation of ore deposits of all kinds, so I wouldn't expect petroleum to be much different.
 

1. How was the Chicxulub area formed?

The Chicxulub area was formed approximately 66 million years ago when an asteroid, estimated to be about 10 kilometers in diameter, struck the Earth. This impact caused a massive crater to form in the Yucatan Peninsula, which is now known as the Chicxulub crater. The impact also led to significant changes in the Earth's climate and environment.

2. Is there evidence that the Chicxulub area has contributed to oil reserves?

Yes, there is strong evidence that the Chicxulub area has contributed to oil reserves. The Chicxulub crater is located in an area known as the Yucatan Platform, which is a geological region that is rich in oil and gas deposits. The impact of the asteroid created fractures and faults in the Earth's crust, allowing for oil to migrate and accumulate in these reservoirs.

3. How much oil has been extracted from the Chicxulub area?

It is difficult to determine the exact amount of oil that has been extracted from the Chicxulub area, as there are multiple oil fields and reservoirs in the region. However, it is estimated that the Yucatan Platform has produced over 50 billion barrels of oil since 1976.

4. Are there any other impacts of the Chicxulub impact on oil reserves?

Yes, the impact of the asteroid also created favorable conditions for the formation of hydrocarbons, which are the building blocks of oil and gas. This means that the Chicxulub impact may have not only contributed to existing oil reserves, but also played a role in the creation of new oil and gas deposits in the region.

5. Could the Chicxulub area have any potential for future oil discoveries?

There is potential for future oil discoveries in the Chicxulub area. The impact of the asteroid created a complex and fractured geological structure, which could potentially hold untapped oil and gas reserves. However, further exploration and research are needed to determine the extent of these potential reserves.

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