Funnel and Anticlinal-ring Structure Associated with Igneous Intrusions in the Mexican Oil Fields

Published in Petroleum Transactions, AIME, Volume 57, 1917, pages 1071–1088. Introduction For a number of years the senior author has been interested in the various geologic and engineering problems involved in the development of the petroliferous districts of northeaster Mexico, having in a previous paper endeavored to present a summarized statement of the information relating to the geology and soil resources of this region. Of the many interesting geologic phenomena, perhaps those which have been the object of most speculation relate to the igneous intrusions which, in place, have a controlling influence on the accumulation of oil in commercial quantities, a relationship which has been tentatively explained by various observers with as many interestingly different views. The authors of the present paper aim to record, in the course of a general discussion of the various viewpoints, some additional data, and present further tentative conclusions with a view to rounding out an up-to-date summary of the subject. The greater part of the area in question lies in the State of Vera Cruz, only a northwest fraction being in the State of San Luis Potosi. Vera Cruz is bounded on the north by the State of Tamaulipas, the northernmost of the Mexican States along the Gulf. The topography of the States of Tamaulipas and Vera Cruz and of Texas and Louisiana to the north, is controlled by the Gulf costal plain which in northern Vera Cruz has an average width of about 60 miles, the transitional topography between that of the rugged flanks of the Sierra and the lowlands of the coast being made up of a series of terraces and irregular hills and valleys. Geology and Structure The greater part of the mainland of Mexico is made up of Tertiary and later effusive rocks and of sedimentaries of Cretaceous age. T.P. 057–54