carbon component of the production. After the initial discoveries, drilling 

 proceeded rapidly to determine the volume of the petroleum deposits. It 

 appears that these gas reserves will be drained in 15 to 20 years (Alabama 

 Coastal Area Board and U.S. Dept. of Commerce 1979). 



Chunchula Field produced 91,088 million m 3 (3,216,403 million ft 3 ) and 

 1,501,335 bbl of condensate from 27 wells in 1977. Hatter's Pond Field pro- 

 duced 127,247 million m 3 (4,493,177 million ft 3 ) and 1,287,989 bbl of conden- 

 sate from 11 wells in 1977 (Alabama Coastal Area Board and U.S. Dept. of 

 Commerce 1979). Chunchula Field had increased to 35 producing wells by 1982, 

 while the number of wells in Hatter's Pond Field increased to 12. Chunchu- 

 la's cumulative Droduction as of June 1982 was 17.9 million bbl of condensate 

 and 1.2 trillion m 3 (42.5 trillion ft 3 ) of gas. Hatter's Pond cumulative 

 production as of June 1982 was 12.2 million bbl of condensate and 1.3 

 trillion m 3 (47.4 trillion ft 3 ) of gas (Masingill and McAnnally 1980, Alabama 

 State Oil and Gas Board 1982). 



Chunchula and Hatter's Pond are the primary gas condensate producing 

 areas in Mobile and Baldwin Counties. Gas condensate exists in a gaseous 

 state underground, but is recovered as a liquid as a result of reduced 

 pressure or temperature when it reaches the surface (Friend et al . 1981). 

 This liquid is a light oil, much lighter than crude oil. 



Chunchula Field has one injection well and Hatter's Pond two injection 

 wells, which are used for the disposal of plant effluents and saltwater that 

 is produced with the hydrocarbons. These wells are regulated by both the 

 Alabama Water Improvement Commission, which regulates the disposal of plant 

 effluents, and the State Oil and Gas Board, which regulates disposal wells 

 associated with oil and gas operations (Alabama Coastal Area Board and U.S. 

 Dept. of Commerce 1981). Chunchula Field has a tertiary recovery system 

 which is expected to increase the recoverable reserves by 38.4 million bbl of 

 condensate, 3.8 million m 3 (134 billion ft 3 ) of gas, and 1,320 million liters 

 (349 million gallons) of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) (Hellmich 1980). 



Immediately to the east of the Chunchula Field, two new fields have been 

 designated: Cold Creek Field and South Cold Creek Field (Mobile quadrangle), 

 with 2 wells and 1 well, respectively. Unlike wells in adjacent Chunchula 

 Field, these wells produce oil rather than gas condensate. They produce from 

 the Smackover Formation at depths of about 5,639 m (18,500 ft) (0 'Neil and 

 Mettee 1982). Initial tests at Cold Creek indicate flow rates of 500 bbl of 

 oil and 9062 m 3 (320,000 ft 3 ) of gas per day. Similar tests at South Cold 

 Creek indicate flows of 298 bbl of oil and 6,967 m 3 (246,000 ft 3 ) of gas per 

 day (Masingill 1982a). 



Recent developments in coastal Alabama petroleum exploration include 

 several discoveries of gas in southern Baldwin County in 1979, gas in lower 

 Mobile Bay in 1979, and oil in northern Baldwin County near Blacksher in 

 1980. 



In southern Baldwin County, Foley Field (Pensacola auadrangle) produces 

 gas from Miocene (25 million to 10 million years before present) sand 

 deposits in the Pensacola Clay Formation at 396- to 549-m (1,300- to 1800-ft) 



110 



