MÉMOIRES DE LA SOCIÉTÉ «ÁLZATE.» TOME 34 



A SHORT NOTE ON THE OIL FÍELOS OF MÉXICO 



BY EZEQUIEL ORDOÑKZ, M. S. A. 

 (Meeting of August 3, 1914) 



I have real in the Transactions of the American Institute 

 of Mining Engineers (Vol. 48, 1914), an article written by 

 H. von Hofer relating to the "Origin of petroleum" in which 

 article the author supports his and Engler's views exprés- 

 sed before about the organic origin of petroleum. Von Hofer 

 pronounces strongly against the hypothesis of the volcanic 

 origin of hydrocarbons, as particularly advocated by Eugene 

 Coste. 



In Mr. Coste's articles, so well known by the public, he 

 refers incidentally to our Mexican oil occurrences, espe- 

 cially of the Gulf coast, among the proofs of the volcanic 

 origin of the oils. The idea comes from the fact that in 

 our Mexican oil fields of the East coast the majority of the 

 producing wells are located near volcanic necks, remnants 

 of small volcanoes mainly of the explosive type or near 

 certain gibbosities in shales, resembling mounds, some of 

 which are really -uplifts due to volcanic forces or to abor- 

 tive eruptions. 



The first attempt to make an explanation of the oil com- 

 ing up around volcanic necks in México, was expressed by 

 me in a small article published in 1905. Mem. Soc. Alza- 

 te (1), soon after the investigation ordered by the Mexican 



(1) «Sobre algunos ejemplos probables de tubos de erupción.» Mem. Soc. 

 Álzate. Vol. 22. 1905. 



