Events

Date: Wednesday, February 11th, 2026
Time: Wine served at 11:00 am  |  Lunch & Lecture starts @ 11:45 am to 1:00 pm
Venue: Petroleum Club of Houston, 1201 Louisiana St, Houston, TX 77002

More than 30 salt domes have been identified around Houston and its surrounding counties, forming part of the onshore Texas Salt Basin discovered between 1901 and 1935. These domes played a major role in Houston’s early economic growth, but as onshore production matured, exploration shifted offshore where advances in seismic imaging improved salt-body resolution and depth migration.

This study examines whether modern geophysical tools can revitalize mature onshore salt domes. Highly productive domes such as Humble, Barbers Hill, Pierce Junction, and Spindletop have each produced over 100–200 million barrels and continue to yield oil today, with traps formed in salt overhangs and along normal faults related to salt movement. In contrast, less productive domes including Hockley, Boling, Nash, and Damon Mound lack well-defined overhangs, stacked pay sands, and critical bed thinning, and many show evidence of breached traps and limited deep testing.

The study concludes that significant opportunity may remain in onshore Gulf Coast salt domes through acquisition of new seismic data or reprocessing legacy data using modern depth-migration techniques. Many domes remain underexplored at depth, and targeting deeper Miocene and Wilcox objectives could unlock new, economically viable oil resources.

*** 2026 Season Luncheon Pass Holders PLEASE RSVP at bottom of event page along with registration. Cost will be $0 but it lets us know you're coming. ***

**Early-bird registration ends Tuesday February 10th at NOON.
Late / walk-in registration tickets will be available for $65 for both members and general admission**