1995 National Oil and Gas Assessment Conventional Plays within the San Joaquin Basin Province

The fundamental geologic unit used in the 1995 National Oil and Gas Assessment was the play, which is defined as a set of known or postulated oil and or gas accumulations sharing similar geologic, geographic, and temporal properties, such as source rock, migration pathways, timing, trapping mechanism, and hydrocarbon type. The geographic limit of each play was defined and mapped by the geologist responsible for each province.

The play boundaries were defined geologically as the limits of the geologic elements that define the play, such as the limits of the reservoir rock, geologic structures, source rock, and seal lithologies. The only exceptions to this are plays that border the Federal-State water boundary. In these cases, the Federal-State water boundary forms part of the play boundary.