Bulletin 18—The Oil and Gas Resources of New Mexico

Compiled by R. L. Bates, 1942, 320 pp., 23 figs., 35 plates, 1 index. Supersedes Bulletin 9.

This bulletin brought together a large amount of information and has been widely used by those interested in oil and gas in the state. As the petroleum industry expanded tremendously in the years following this publication, resulting in the discovery of new oil pools and adding immensely to the store of information on the geology of the state, it became apparent that a new report on the state's oil and gas resources would be needed. In 1941 the writer was commissioned to prepare such a report.

The organization of the petroleum industry in NM is such that the bulk of the geologic information relating to oil and gas remains with the oil companies rather than with a state agency. Field offices of the USGS also have on file considerable geological information, mostly relating to oil lands owned by the Federal government. Other geologic data, chiefly on stratigraphy, have been accumulated in recent years by geologists from other states, who have done extensive field work in NM. Thus it was decided that, in order to be of maximum value, the new bulletin should be a compilation of papers from men in various fields rather than the work of a single author. The solicitation of contributions met with such favor that the present bulletin boasts 24 contributors. They include 10 oil-company geologists or engineers from the academic, Federal survey, or state survey fields. Of the last-mentioned group, five are present or recent members of the state Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources.

The purpose and scope of this bulletin remain the same as those of its predecessor: to present information dealing with the oil and gas resources and possibilities of NM. The general outline of the old bulletin has been retained. This includes a general discussion of the state's rock units, followed by treatment of the general geology and petroleum resources under five regional headings. The large amount of new data has made necessary a number of additions and changes of emphasis, and has in the main been responsible for the increase in size of this bulletin over Bulletin 9. Deletions and changes in order of subject matter have been found advisable in some places. Finally, although the greatest part of the report represents new contributions, in some sections the old bulletin has been extensively quoted.