Petroleum System Mbo Basin
Transcript of Petroleum System Mbo Basin
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A U T H O R S
Alejandro Escalona Institute for Geo-physics, Jackson School of Geosciences, Uni-versity of Texas at Austin, 4412 SpicewoodSprings Road, Building 600, Austin, Texas,78759; [email protected]
Alejandro Escalona is a postdoctoral researcherat the Institute for Geophysics, University ofTexas at Austin. He received his Ph.D. in ge-ology at the University of Texas at Austin in2003, where he focused on the stratigraphicand structural evolution of the Maracaibo Basin,Venezuela. He is currently interpreting re-gional seismic and well data from offshoreVenezuela to link offshore and on-land Cenozoicdepocenters.
Paul Mann Institute for Geophysics, Jack-
son School of Geosciences, University of Texasat Austin, 4412 Spicewood Springs Road,Building 600, Austin, Texas, 78759;[email protected]
Paul Mann is a senior research scientist at theInstitute for Geophysics, University of Texasat Austin. He received his Ph.D. in geology atthe State University of New York in 1983 andhas published widely on the tectonics of strike-slip, rift, and collision-related sedimentary ba-sins. His current focus area of research is theinterplay of tectonics, sedimentation, and hydro-carbon occurrence in Venezuela and Trinidad.
A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S
We thank Petroleos de Venezuela, S. A., forproviding seismic and well data used in thisstudy. This work was supported by Grant40499-AC8 from the Donors of the PetroleumResearch Fund of the American ChemicalSociety to P. Mann. We thank S. Talukdar,D. Goddard, and R. Erlich for valuable re-
views. The authors acknowledge the financialsupport for publication costs provided by theUniversity of Texas at Austins Geology Founda-tion and the Jackson School of Geosciences.University of Texas, Institute for GeophysicsContribution 1775.
Editors Note
Color versions of figures may be seen in theonline version of this article.
An overview of the petroleumsystem of Maracaibo BasinAlejandro Escalona and Paul Mann
A B S T R A C T
The geologically complex Maracaibo Basin in northwestern Vene-
zuela is one of the most prolific hydrocarbon basins in the world.
Having a basinal area of 50,000 km2 (19,300 mi2), the basin has
produced more than 30 billion bbl of oil, with estimated re-
coverable oil reserves of more than 44 billion bbl. The central
elements of the petroleum system of the basin include (1) a world-
class source rock (Upper Cretaceous La Luna Formation), depos-
ited on a shelf-to-slope environment under anoxic conditions and
modified by intermittent oxygenated periods and tectonic events;(2) high-quality clastic reservoir rocks deposited in Eocene and
Miocene fluviodeltaic settings; (3) two main periods of rapid tec-
tonic subsidence responsible for two pulses of voluminous hydro-
carbon generation, first, during Paleogene CaribbeanSouth Ameri-
can oblique plate collision and, second, during the Neogene uplift
of the Sierra de Perija Merida Andes; and (4) lateral and vertical
migration of oil along strike-slip, normal, and inverted faults, as
well as a regional unconformity of late EoceneOligocene age.
The maturation, migration, and trapping of hydrocarbons were
closely controlled by the tectonic evolution of the Maracaibo Basin.
During the Paleogene, the development of a foredeep along thenortheastern margin of the basin and the strike-slip reactivation of
the rift-related Jurassic faults on the Maracaibo platform controlled
the early structural setting of the source and reservoir rocks. Hy-
drocarbons migrated updip from source rocks beneath the north-
northeastern margin of the basin along north-south strike-slip faults
and into overlying Eocene clastic reservoirs in the south-central parts
of the basin. The second period of the Maracaibo Basin petroleum
system developed during subaerial exposure of most of the Mara-
caibo Basin during Oligocene Miocene uplift of the adjacent Sierra
de Perija and Merida Andes. Uplift of mountain ranges surround-
ing the basin folded and depressed the interior of the basin to formthe extensive Maracaibo syncline. Because of the formation of the
Maracaibo syncline, oil generation began in the central and southern
parts of the synclinal basin and migrated northward. Hydrocarbons
migrated up the flanks of the Maracaibo syncline along reactivated
AAPG Bulletin, v. 90, no. 4 (April 2006), pp. 657678 657
Copyright#2006. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.
Manuscript received February 19, 2005; provisional acceptance April 21, 2005; revised manuscript
received September 28, 2005; final acceptance October 14, 2005.
DOI:10.1306/10140505038
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strike-slip faults and into Miocene rocks adjacent to
the uplifted mountain ranges. Escaping oil has formed
numerous surface seeps along the edges of the Mara-
caibo Basin.
INTRODUCTION
The Gulf Caribbean region currently contains 5% of
the total ultimate recoverable reserves of hydrocar-
bons on Earth (Horn, 2003) (Figure 1A). Venezuela
has the largest reserves of hydrocarbons of all the hy-
drocarbon regions of the western hemisphere, with
proved oil reserves of about 70 billion bbl oil and
proved gas reserves of 147 tcf (Figure 1) (U.S. Geo-
logical Survey, 2000; Audemard and Serrano, 2001).
These reserve estimates do not include the immense,
unconventional reserves of the Orinoco heavy oil belt,
with an estimated approximately 1200 billion bbl of
heavy and extra-heavy oil in place (Fiorillo, 1987;
U.S. Geological Survey, 2000).
The active tectonic setting of petroleum in Vene-
zuela is complex. Several tectonic belts that include
volcanic-arc, fore-arc, and back-arc basins are found off-
shore of the Venezuelan margin (Figure 2A). A west-to-
east younging pattern of thrusts and lateral ramp faults
and foreland basins onshore (Babb and Mann, 1999;Mann, 1999) (Figure2A) wereproduced by diachronous
oblique convergence between Caribbean arc terranes
and the South American continental margin from Late
Cretaceous (western area of Colombia) to the present
(eastern area of Trinidad) (Figure 2B). This ideal com-
bination of tectonic and stratigraphic events yielded
one of the most prolific petroleum systems in the world.
The 50,000-km2 (19,300-mi2) area of the Mara-
caibo Basin (Figure 3) is the most productive hydro-
carbon basin in the CaribbeanSouth America region
(Figure 1D). The ultimate total recoverable oil reserves
Figure 1. (A) Distribution of ultimate recoverable oil in the world; (B) distribution of recoverable oil in the world; (C) distribution ofgiant oil fields; and (D) ultimate oil reserves in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico (MMBOE). All data are from Horn (2003).
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Figure 2. (A) Topographic-bathymetric map showing six main tectonic belts observed along the northern margin of South America:1 = Venezuela basin; 2 = Leeward AntillesAves Ridge; 3 = Grenada-Bonaire-Falcon basins; 4 = Lesser Antilles arcCordillera de laCosta; 5 = Tobago-Carupano basins; 6 = Barbados accretionary prism Columbus basin Eastern Venezuela Basin Maracaibo Basin.(B) Inferred position of the leading edge of the Great arc of the Caribbean at 90 Ma = Late Cretaceous; 60 Ma = Paleocene; 50 Ma =Eocene; 35 Ma = Oligocene; 15 Ma = Miocene; 0 Ma = Holocene (modified from Lugo and Mann, 1995).
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are 44,188 billion bbl of hydrocarbon (Horn, 2003), and
total cumulative oil production is more than 30 billion
bbl of oil during its last 80 yr of commercial production
history (Talukdar and Marcano, 1994). The Maracaibo
Basin is considered a supergiant oil field because it con-
tains more than 10 giant oil fields, each with ultimately
recoverable hydrocarbons greater than 500 million bbl
(Halbouty, 2001; Mann et al., 2003).
The Maracaibo Basin is located in a triangular in-
termontane depression bounded by the Merida Andes
and Sierra de Perija (Figure 3). Eocene clastic rocks of
the basin are the most prolific reservoirs for light and
medium oil and account for 50% of the basins re-
serves (Talukdar and Marcano, 1994). Miocene clas-
tic rock reservoirs include 44% of known reservoirs,
whereas Paleocene, Cretaceous, and basement rocks
Figure 3. Oil fields, oil seeps, and major faults of the Maracaibo Basin. Most oil fields are located along major subsurface strike-slip faults, including the Icotea and Pueblo Viejo faults (map modified from Zambrano et al., 1971; location of oil and gas seeps are
from Link, 1952).
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include 6% of the known reservoirs (Talukdar and
Marcano, 1994). Eocene reservoirs are characterized by
complex stratigraphic and structural traps formed
during Eocene oblique convergence between the Ca-
ribbean and South American plates (Escalona, 2006;
Escalona and Mann, 2006a, b), Miocene reservoirs are
mainly found along the eastern edge (Bolivar Coast) of
the present-day Maracaibo syncline and are affectedmainly by east-west convergence (Taboada et al., 2000;
Guzman and Fisher, 2006) (Figure 3). Oil seeps fringing
the Maracaibo Basin are indicative of the prolific and
widespread petroleum system underlying the entire ba-
sin (Link, 1952) (Figure 3).
The main objective of this article is to provide an
overview of the petroleum system of the Maracaibo
Basin in the context of its tectonic history. In this article,
we summarize the most important tectonic events that
affected the generation, migration, and trapping of hy-
drocarbons and integrate relevant hydrocarbon and geo-chemical observations presented by previous workers.
GEOLOGIC SETTING
The sedimentary history of the Maracaibo Basin began
during the Late Jurassic, with the deposition of rift-
related rocks (La Quinta Formation) in structural lows
or half grabens controlled by linear, north-northeast
striking normal faults (Maze, 1984; Lugo and Mann,
1995). During the Early Cretaceous Paleocene, amixed clastic-carbonate platform developed across
the area of present-day Maracaibo Basin (Figure 1).
Thermal subsidence and tectonic quiescence of the
passive margin led to sediment accumulation and the
absence of deformation of the basin during this period
(Lugo and Mann, 1995). The few structures present in
the Maracaibo Basin during the Cretaceous formed by
tectonic uplift of the Western and Central Cordilleras
of Colombia (Figure 1). This uplift is responsible for an
increase in subsidence by the end of the Cretaceous
that resulted in deposition of thick marine shale of theColon Formation during the Maastrichtian (Lugo and
Mann, 1995; Parnaud et al., 1995). During the late
TuronianCampanian, the La Luna Formation was de-
posited in a shelf-slope setting under anoxic conditions.
The La Luna Formation became the main source rock
of northwestern South America (Renz, 1981; Bralower
and Lorente, 2003).
Late Paleocene and early to middle Eocene oblique
convergence between the Caribbean plate and the
northwestern margin of South America (Figure 2B)
produced a complex foreland wedge filled by clastic
sediments in the northeastern part of the Maracaibo
Basin (Stephan, 1977; Pindell and Barrett, 1990; Lugo
and Mann, 1995). The foreland basin was characterized
by an approximately 5-km (3.1-mi)-thick Eocene
wedge of fluvial-deltaic sedimentation (Misoa Forma-
tion), where the most prolific hydrocarbon reservoirs
of the Maracaibo Basin are concentrated. Paleogenecollision was characterized by northwest to southeast
migration of the depocenter through time over a lateral
distance of about 150 km (93 mi) (Stephan, 1985;
Lugo and Mann, 1995; Escalona and Mann, 2006a).
Isostatic rebound affected the central and eastern parts
of the Maracaibo Basin and produced the widespread
Eocene unconformity that exposed and subaerially
eroded the central and northeastern parts of the basin
until the end of the Oligocene (Escalona and Mann,
2003a, 2006a). Fluvial and shallow-marine sedimen-
tation continued in the south and southwest areas ofthe Maracaibo Basin (Erlich et al., 1997). The Eocene
unconformity represents the main seal above Eocene
reservoirs, but it is locally breached by faulting, allowing
the upward ascent of hydrocarbons into Miocene res-
ervoirs at the basin edges (Figures 3, 4).
The Miocene Holocene period is characterized by
the uplift and erosion of the Sierra de Perija and the
Merida Andes on the western and southeastern flanks
of the basin (Kohn et al., 1984; Shagam et al., 1984).
The formation of the north-south trending Maracaibo
syncline (Castillo, 2001; Mann et al., 2006) representsthe final stage of this uplift and convergence. The Mar-
acaibo syncline closely controls the present-day geo-
graphic configuration of the basin and the location of its
marginal oil seeps (Figure 3). The convergent structural
styles seen on seismic lines at deeper levels in the basin
are controlled by Oligocene and Miocene inversion of
Eocene rift-related structures in the central part of the
basin (Escalona and Mann, 2003b; Castillo and Mann,
2006; Duerto et al., 2006). Eocene inversion of rift-
related structures also caused faulting of lower Mio-
cene rocks overlying Eocene reservoir rocks. Followinga period of isostatic rebound during the Oligocene
(Escalona, 2003; Escalona and Mann, 2006a), a phase
of rapid MioceneHolocene subsidence began. Subsi-
dence was caused by the uplift of the bounding Sierra
de Perija and Merida Andes mountain ranges that is,
in turn, related to the convergence and subduction of
the Caribbean plate and collision of the Panama arc in
northwestern South America (Kellogg and Bonini,
1982; Taboada et al., 2000; Colmenares and Zoback,
2003; Cortes and Angelier, 2005).
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PETROLEUM SYSTEMS
Figure 3 shows the distribution of hydrocarbon res-
ervoirs in the Maracaibo Basin (Zambrano et al., 1971).
Most Eocene reservoir rocks are spatially aligned with
the north-southstrikingIcotea and Pueblo Viejo faults,
whereas most Miocene reservoirs rocks are clustered
along the eastern and northeastern margin of the present-day Lake Maracaibo (Figure 3). Ninety four percent of
hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Maracaibo Basin are found
within EoceneMiocene clastic rocks (Talukdar and
Marcano, 1994). Only 6% of reservoirs are found within
underlying CretaceousPaleocene carbonate rocks and
basement.
Figure 4 shows an east-west and a north-south
interpreted seismic line in the central Maracaibo Ba-
sin, summarizing the main elements of the Mara-
caibo petroleum system from Cretaceous source
rock to Eocene and Miocene reservoirs. The two in-terpreted seismic lines show the northeast thicken-
ing of the Eocene clastic wedge, the southwest thick-
ening of the MioceneHolocene clastic wedge, and
the main structural and stratigraphic controls of the
basin inherited from the north-northeaststriking fault
family.
Source Rocks
Hydrocarbon source rocks in the Maracaibo Basin areUpper Cretaceous marine carbonate rocks (calcare-
ous shales and argillaceous limestones) that make up
the La Luna Formation of CenomanianCampanian
age. Previous geochemical studies show that the La
Luna Formation is the source of 98% of the total
oil reserves found in the Maracaibo Basin (Zambrano
et al., 1971; Young et al., 1977; Renz, 1981; Talukdar
and Marcano, 1994). An additional 2% of the total oil
reserve was derived from nonmarine coals and shales
of the Paleocene Orocue Formation that are found in
the southwestern part of the basin (Talukdar andMarcano, 1994; Yurewicz et al.1998). Gonzalez de
Juana et al. (1980) proposed that Eocene and Mio-
cene terrestrial source rocks, now deeply buried in
the southern part of the basin, may act as additional
source rock to the La Luna Formation. Geochemical
analysis of Tertiary sedimentary rocks indicates no
significant hydrocarbon potential for Eocene and Mio-
cene shale, nor is there any evidence for oils corre-
lated to this type of source rocks (Talukdar and Mar-
cano, 1994; Tocco and Margarita, 1999).
Depositional Setting of Source Rocks of the La Luna Formation
The La Luna Formation has been the subject of many
previous studies since the beginning of the petroleum
exploration in the Maracaibo Basin in the early 20th
century. Previous studies that describe the deposi-
tional setting and composition of the La Luna Forma-
tion include the pioneering study of Renz (1981) and
more recent works by Perez-Infante et al. (1996), Er-lich et al. (1999a), Erlich et al. (2000), and a source
rock conference convened by SEPM and Petroleos de
Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) (Bralower andLorente, 2003).
Figure 5 shows a stratigraphic chart with the position
of the La Luna Formation in the Cretaceous sequences
of the Maracaibo Basin, its isopach, and its typical well-
log response.
The La Luna Formation was deposited over a pe-
riod of approximately 20 m.y., extending from the
upper Cenomanian to upper Campanian (Figure 5).
Its thickness ranges from 60 m (196 ft) beneath thesouthern part of the basin to 150 m (492 ft) beneath
the northern part of the basin (Renz, 1981; Lugo and
Mann, 1995; Bralower and Lorente, 2003) (Figure 5B).
The La Luna Formation was deposited in oxygen-
depleted bottom-water conditions in a shelf-to-slope
marine environment (Perez-Infante et al., 1996), in-
fluenced by episodic bottom currents, debris flows,
turbidites, faulting, and intermittent upwelling condi-
tions (Macsotay et al., 2003; Zapata et al., 2003).
Paleowater depth of the La Luna Formation is inter-
preted to have been more than 40 m (131 ft) in a deepshelf setting, ranging from below storm-wave base
(Macsotay et al., 2003) to a depth of several hundred
meters (Boesi and Goddard, 1991; Parra et al., 2003).
Figure 6 shows the paleogeographic reconstruc-
tions for the La Luna Formation in the Maracaibo
Basin during the Cenomanian Campanian (Erlich et al.,
1999a). The structural configuration of the basin dur-
ing the Late Cretaceous was possibly influenced by
uplift of the Central Cordillera of Colombia (Renz, 1981;
Erlich et al., 1999a; Macsotay et al., 2003) (Figure 6).
Renz (1981), using cross sections from outcrops alongthe mountain range bounding the Maracaibo Basin,
identified basement paleohighs (e.g., Merida arch)
and basins (e.g., Machiques, Uribante, and Barquisi-
meto) in the areas surrounding the Maracaibo Basin
(Figure 6A). These paleohighs produced the thickness
variations in Cretaceous passive-margin sediments, in-
cluding the La Luna Formation in the south and south-
western areas of the basin (Renz, 1981).
The most controversial of these geological features
is the Merida arch in the southern and central regions
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Figure
4.
(A)Interpretedeast-west
seismiclineintheMaracaiboBasin.
Th
esectionshowsthemainstructuralandstratigraphicfeaturesoftheMaracaib
oBasinanditspetroleum
systems(seeFigure3forlocation).Migrationpathsfrom
sourcetoreservo
irarelocalizedalongmajorfaultsinthebasin(e.g.,
Icoteafault,
PuebloViejo,andA,
B,andEfaults).
HydrocarbonreservoirsareconcentratedinstructuralhighsbeneaththeEoceneunconformityandintheMiocen
ealongthenorthandeasternflankso
ftheMaracaibosyncline.
(B)Interpretednorth-southseismiclineintheMaracaiboBasin(seeFigure3
forlocation).HydrocarbonreservoirsintheMioceneareconcentratedintheupdippartoftheMiocene
clasticwedge.
Eoceneturbiditesprov
idegoodexplorationtargetsnorthoft
heBurroNegrofault.
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of the present-day Maracaibo Basin (Dewey and
Pindell, 1986; Salvador, 1986). The existence and ori-
entation of the Merida arch is significant for petroleum
systems because its existence likely controlled the dis-
tribution and thickness of Cretaceous source rock be-
neath the Maracaibo Basin. Two proposed orientations
for the Merida arch follow:
1. An arch perpendicular to the trend of the present-
day Merida Andes: This postulated arch would
be parallel to other arches in the region like the
northwest-southeast striking Baul arch that out-
crops east of the Andes and separates the Barinas ba-
sin from the Guarico subbasin to the east (Figure 2).
Cross sections along the Merida Andes based on
outcrop mapping by Renz (1981) and Salvador
(1986) show thinning or absence of Lower Cre-
taceous rocks (Ro Negro, Apon, and Aguardiente
formations), overlain by a thin section of UpperCretaceous rocks (Maraca, La Luna, and Colon for-
mations). Isopach maps of Cretaceous rocks beneath
the central Maracaibo Basin show Cretaceous rocks
thinning 1020 m (3366 ft) in the south and cen-
tral areas of Lake Maracaibo (Gonzalez de Juana
et al., 1980; Lugo and Mann, 1995). Figure 5B shows
an isopach of the La Luna Formation from Lugo and
Mann (1995). The La Luna Formation thins approxi-
mately 10 m (33 ft) in the south-central part of
Lake Maracaibo (dashed in Figure 5B). This subtle
change in thickness is interpreted by Lugo andMann (1995) as the continuation of the Merida
arch in the south and central areas of the Maracaibo
Basin.
2. An arch parallel to the trend of the present-day Me-
rida Andes and not affecting the area of the Mara-
caibo Basin: This proposed arch formed the Turo-
nian uplift of the Cordillera Central of Colombia
(Macsotay et al., 2003). This tectonic event might
have produced partial tectonic inversion along pre-
Cretaceous rift-related faults, which followed the
present-day strike of the Merida Andes (Macsotayet al., 2003) and the trend of the Neogene right-
lateral Bocono strike-slip fault zone (Schubert, 1982;
Kellogg, 1984; Stephan, 1985; Dewey and Pindell,
1986; Audemard et al., 1999).
Small changes in thickness of passive-margin rocks
between 10 and 20 m (33 and 66 ft) in the south-
central areas of Maracaibo Lake might be attributed
to facies changes or depositional processes instead
of paleostructural relief above a northwest-southeast
striking arch. Integration of outcrop and subsurface
data in both flanks of the Merida Andes foothills and
in southern Lake Maracaibo is required to solve theextent and orientation of the Merida arch in the Mar-
acaibo Basin. Geologic data used for interpreting the
Merida arch have been limited to outcrops in the
Merida Andes (Renz, 1981; Salvador, 1986) or using
sparse wells and two-dimensional seismic lines in the
southern Maracaibo Basin (Audemard, 1991; Lugo,
1991).
A Santonian change in depositional environment to
more oxygenated and cooler waters in the La Luna
Formation (Tres Esquinas Member) suggests the ad-
vent of tectonic activity (Erlich et al., 2000; Bralowerand Lorente; 2003; Parra et al., 2003; Zapata et al.,
2003). Late Cretaceous tectonic activity was possibly
related to the reactivation of faults beneath the basin
or regional plate convergence in western Colombia
that caused abrupt changes in the paleotopography
and paleoclimate and ended passive-margin conditions.
An increase in upwelling and more oxygenation of
shelf waters of northern South America may be related
to (1) the migration of the South American plate to-
ward the Cretaceous intertropical convergence zone
(Villamil et al., 1999); (2) an increase in freshwater run-off produced by the emergent Central Cordillera of Co-
lombia (Erlich et al., 2003); and (3) the establishment
of wet-dry cycles and submersion of paleobathymetric
barriers for ocean circulation (Erlich et al., 2003).
La Luna Source Rocks and Hydrocarbon Characteristics
The La Luna Formation is considered a good to ex-
cellent, oil-prone source rock (Talukdar et al., 1986;
Talukdar and Marcano, 1994; Yurewicz et al., 1998).
Comparison of gas-chromatographic and biomarker
characteristics of oils and La Luna source rock extractsshows that the La Luna Formation is the source rock
for more than 98% of the oil accumulations in the Mara-
caibo Basin (Talukdar et al., 1986; Talukdar and Mar-
cano,1994; Yurewicz et al., 1998; Erlich et al., 1999b;
Figure 5. (A) Regional-stratigraphic chart of the Albian to Maastrichtian stages in four different areas of the Maracaibo Basin (I toIV) (modified from Erlich et al., 1999a; Castillo, 2001). (B) Location map showing locations I to IV of the stratigraphic chart and thetotal thickness in meters of the La Luna Formation from well logs (modified from Lugo and Mann, 1995). (C) Gamma-ray log of awell in the south Lake Maracaibo area showing a typical response from Albian to Maastrichtian (modified from Castillo, 2001).
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Figure 6. Paleogeographic maps from Albian to Campanian (modified from Erlich et al., 1999a).The Cenomanian to Turonian period represents a mixed carbonate-clastic platform in the Mara-caibo Basin areas. The middle to outer shelf depositional environment characterized the centralMaracaibo Basin from the Albian to Campanian.
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Tocco and Margarita, 1999; Gallango et al., 2002). The
La Luna source rocks contain oil-prone type II kerogen
and are rich in hydrogen content, with the bulk of the
organic matter derived from algae and bacteria (Perez-
Infante et al., 1996). The average original total organic
carbon (TOC) of La Luna source rocks in the Mara-
caibo Basin is 5.6% (Talukdar and Marcano, 1994).
Maximum TOC values are locally as high as 16.7%(Erlich et al., 1999b). In the southwestern area of the
basin, the average TOC is 4.3% (Catatumbo; Yurewicz
et al., 1998; Llanos et al., 2000). In the Sierra de Perija
area, TOC values range from 3.7 to 5.7% (Gallango
et al., 2002) (Figure 7). In the Merida Andes, TOC val-
ues range between 1.7 and 2% (Erlich et al., 1999b)
(Figure 7).
Oil quality variations in oils derived from La Luna
source rocks are controlled by thermal maturity and
in-reservoir alteration (Talukdar and Marcano, 1994).
Unaltered oils vary in oil quality (API) according totheir maturity: marginally mature oils range from
11 to 16j API; mature oils range from 20 to 39j API;
and highly mature oils range from 37 to 55jAPI. With
increasing maturity, API gravity and saturated hydro-
carbon content increase, whereas vanadium, sulfur, and
polar compounds decrease (Talukdar et al., 1986;
Talukdar and Marcano, 1994). Unaltered oils are wide-
ly distributed in the Maracaibo Basin. The oils mi-
grated into reservoirs during the Eocene and later
during the Miocene Holocene ( Talukdar and Mar-
cano, 1994).Oil alteration in reservoirs occurred mainly as a
result of biodegradation and oil-oil mixing (Talukdar
et al., 1986; Talukdar and Marcano, 1994). Altered
oils mostly occur in the central and northeastern res-
ervoirs of the Maracaibo Basin (Figure 2). Biodegra-
dation of oils in shallow Eocene reservoirs occurred
during the Oligocene and in shallow Miocene reser-
voirs during the late Miocene Holocene. Biodegraded
oils have low API (
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Figure 7. Distribution in percentages of hydrocarbon generated by La Luna Formation source rocks in the Maracaibo Basin basedon calculations by Horn (2002). Total organic carbon (TOC) values were taken from the following sources: Llanos et al. (2000), Erlichet al. (1999b), Yurewicz et al. (1998), and Gallango et al. (2002). Distribution of oil seeps from Cretaceous and Paleocene sourcerocks is taken from Link (1952).
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Reservoir Rocks
Reservoir rocks in the Maracaibo Basin are found
throughout the stratigraphic section and range from
fractured basement metamorphic rocks to shallow, un-
consolidated, Miocene rocks. Structural traps are con-
trolled by a variety of features, including normal faults,
inverted faults on the flexed continental plate (Hardingand Tuminas, 1989; Escalona and Mann, 2003b), folds
in the foreland basin, and subsurface strike-slip faults
forming north-south anticlines (Escalona and Mann,
2003b). All trap types were charged with hydrocarbons
from underlying Cretaceous source rocks of the La
Luna Formation (Zambrano et al., 1971; Gonzalez de
Juana et al., 1980; Talukdar and Marcano, 1994; Erlich
et al., 1999a). Stratigraphic traps are found in hetero-
geneous, mixed fluvial, and tidal-dominated deltaic
systems defining regressive-transgressive cycles on the
Eocene Maracaibo shelf and nearshore to fluvial Mio-cene sandstone rocks (Guzman and Fisher, 2006).
Major reservoir facies are stacked distributary channels
and tidal bars (Maguregui, 1990; Ambrose et al., 1995;
Escalona, 2003). Hydrocarbon reservoirs can be clas-
sified in three main types:
1. Sub-Eocene reservoirs (Figures 9, 10): These reser-
voirs are located in deeply buried Cretaceous lime-
stone and Paleocene sandstone in central and south-
ern Maracaibo Basin (Figure 9A, D) andin less deeply
buried Cretaceous limestone and basement rocksin northwestern areas of the basin (Figure 10H).
Reservoirs include fractured rocks (basement and
Cretaceous limestone) associated with the reactiva-
tion of north-south strike-slip, northwest-southeast
striking normal faults (Figure 10B, D) and thrusts
(Figure 9A, C) related to the uplift of the Merida
Andes (Castillo and Mann, 2006).
2. Eocene reservoirs (Figures 10, 11): These are the
most prolific reservoir rocks in the Maracaibo Basin.
They are characterized by structural traps associated
with anticlines formed by strike-slip reactivationof north-northeaststriking faults (e.g., Icotea and
Pueblo Viejo faults and their related northwest-
southeast normal faults; Escalona and Mann, 2003b).
Traps also formed in fluvial-deltaic (tide-influenced)
sandstone facies traps truncated by the Eocene un-
conformity (cf. Figures 10E, H; 11K, L). The most
productive Eocene reservoirs are located in the cen-
tral and northeastern regions of the Maracaibo Basin.
3. Miocene reservoirs (Figure 11I, L): These form the
second most prolific reservoirs in the Maracaibo
Basin. The reservoirs are mainly fluvial sandstone
facies located in anticlines of early Miocene age (re-
activation of Eocene structures, Figure 11J, L) and
stratigraphic wedges beneath the Eocene unconfor-
mity (Figure 11I).These productions occur along the
northeastern shore of the Maracaibo Lake, near the
trace of the Burro Negro fault (Figures 3, 8). Where
no structural or stratigraphic traps existed, oil es-caped to the surface and formed seeps that outline
the edges of the Maracaibo Basin (Figures 3, 8).
Migration and Trapping
The petroleum system evolution of the Maracaibo Ba-
sin is summarized in four schematic cross sections in
Figure 12. Hydrocarbon migration and trapping oc-
curred in two main, tectonically controlled phases as
previously proposed by Zambrano et al. (1971), Gon-
zalez de Juana et al. (1980), Talukdar et al. (1986),and Talukdar and Marcano (1994).
1. Carbonate platform phase (Late Cretaceous
Paleocene) (Figure 12A): During this phase, the La
Luna Formation source rock was deposited on a
shallow, passive-margin, shelf-to-slope environment.
It thickness ranges from 40 to 150 m (131 to 492 ft)
(Figure 5B). Carbonate thickness variations were
controlled by minor basement relief of underlying
pre-Cretaceous structures like the Merida arch.
2. Foreland phase (early Eocene) (Figure 12B): Obliquecollision between the Caribbean and South Ameri-
can plates formed an asymmetric wedge of fluvial-
deltaic Eocene rocks that were deposited in a foreland
basin (Lugo and Mann, 1995; Escalona and Mann,
2006a). Cretaceous source rocks were buried to
depths of 5 km (3.1 mi) in the north-northeastern
part of the Maracaibo Basin and reached the oil win-
dow. A pull-apart basin controlled by reactivated Ju-
rassic north-northeaststriking faults formed in the
central Maracaibo Basin (Icotea subbasin; Escalona
and Mann, 2003b). Strike-slip faults provided ver-tical pathways for hydrocarbon migration from Cre-
taceous source rocks (La Luna Formation) to Eocene
reservoir sands.
The deeply buried Icotea pull-apart basin provides an
alternative setting for hydrocarbon generation above
deeply buried Cretaceous rocks (Figures 4; 12B, C)
(Escalona and Mann, 2003b). Vertical displacement
of major strike-slip faults bounding pull-aparts al-
lowed juxtaposition of Cretaceous source rocks and
Eocene reservoir rocks (Figure 4). Anticlinal traps
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670 An Overview of the Petroleum System of Maracaibo Basin
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formed during creation of the pull-apart basin are
sealed by the Eocene unconformity (Escalona and
Mann, 2003b). The regional north-northeast dip of
the basin contributed to updip oil migration toward
the central areas of the Maracaibo Basin, where
higher quality fluvial and deltaic reservoir facies
are present (Escalona, 2003; Escalona and Mann,
2006). Trapping beneath the Eocene unconformityin the south-central Maracaibo Basin also occurs in
fluvial-dominatedreservoirs of Eoceneage (Escalona
and Mann, 2006b) (Figures 4B, 10).
3. Isostatic rebound phase (late Eocene Oligocene)
(Figure 12C): During the Oligocene, most of the
Maracaibo Basin was subaerially exposed and eroded
by isostatic rebound that followed the end of the
convergence foreland basin phase. This period of re-
bound and erosion lasted approximately 20 m.y. in
the central parts of the basin and is characterized by
the loss of hydrocarbons to the surface (Talukdarand Marcano, 1994). Furthermore, biodegradation
of oils occurred because of the invasion of meteoric
waters into shallowly buried Eocene reservoirs
(Bockmeulen et al., 1983; Talukdar and Marcano,
1994) (Figure 12C).
4. Maracaibo syncline phase (Miocene Holocene)
(Figure 12D): This phase of basin development was
characterized by uplift of the Sierra de Perija and the
Merida Andes, the formation of the north-south
trending Maracaibo syncline (Castillo and Mann,
2006), and early Miocene inversion of Eocene struc-tures in the central part of the basin. In contrast to
the Eocene, the Neogene depocenter was located in
the southern Maracaibo Basin, where continental
facies pinch out to the east-northeast to form major
stratigraphic traps (Figures 3, 4, 11).
The migration of depocenters from the northeast-
ern basin during the Eocene to the south-southeastern
basin in the MioceneHolocene contributed to a sec-
ond pulse of maturation of Cretaceous source rocks of
theLa Luna Formation in thecentral and southern partsof the Maracaibo Basin (Figure 8). This new period of
oil generation charged reservoirs of Eocene and Mio-
cene age. For reservoir rocks younger than Eocene, hy-
drocarbon migration occurred along fault zones that
breached the Eocene unconformity (Figure 12). These
diverse migration paths allowed east-northeast up-
dip migration from the deep part of the basin to Mio-
cene reservoirs (Figures 4, 12D). In Miocene reservoir
rocks, hydrocarbons are mainly trapped by (1) inverted
structures (Figures 4, 11I, L; 12D); (2) stratigraphic
wedges to the northeast (Guzman and Fisher, 2006)
(Figures 4, 11); and(3) seeps to the east, west, and southof the Maracaibo syncline (Zambrano et al., 1971;
Gonzalez de Juana et al., 1980) (Figures 3, 8).
CONCLUSIONS
The complex interplay of deformation, burial, and
sedimentation in the Maracaibo Basin during the Cre-
taceous and Tertiary combined to make the basin one
of the most effective and prolific petroleum systems on
Earth. Deposition and distribution of ideal source andreservoir rocks were stratigraphically and structurally
controlled by multiple tectonic events that led to hydro-
carbon generation, migration, and accumulation. The
main conclusions of this review include the following:
1. Geochemical analysis reveals that more than 98% of
the oil accumulation of the Maracaibo Basin was
sourced by the CenomanianCampanian La Luna
Formation. The La Luna Formation was deposited
under anoxic conditions with intermittent tectonic
and depositional events, including reworking by bot-tom currents, and entry of turbidites and debris flows
into the basin.
2. Three main tectonic phases of deformation are re-
sponsible for the multiphase evolution of the pe-
troleum system in the Maracaibo Basin: Phase 1: Paleogene oblique collision between the
Caribbean and northwestern South America: The
Maracaibo passive margin during the Paleocene
early Eocene created an ideal mechanism for the
rapid burial and maturation of the source rock,
the La Luna Formation in the northeastern areaof the Maracaibo Basin (Figures 7, 8, 12). The
Paleogene foreland basin and a major right-lateral
ramp fault (Burro Negro fault)controlled the initial
generation and migration event of hydrocarbons
Figure 8. Burial histories of wells in the Maracaibo Basin based on data compiled by Horn (2002) from the following sources:(A) Sanchez (1993), (B) Delgado (1993), (C) Molina (1992), (D) Molina (1993), (E) Ramirez and Marcano (1992), and (FH) Lugo andMann (1995). The percentage of hydrocarbon generation using Lopatins (1971) equations for a type II kerogen source rock basinis based on calculations by Horn (2002) for each well location. Shaded areas represent main periods of tectonic subsidence.
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Figure
9.
Examplesoffoursub-Eoc
enehydrocarbonreservoirsintheMar
acaiboBasin.
Thesereservoirsarelocatedindeeplyburiedandfracturedmetamorphicbasementrocks
andinCretaceousand
Paleocenes
edimentaryrocks(>5-km
[>3.1-mi]depth).Theinsetmap
in
theupperrightcorner(modified
from
PDVSA
pamphlets,
1995and
1996,
unpublisheddata)providestheloca
tionofthesections.
672 An Overview of the Petroleum System of Maracaibo Basin
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Figure
10.
ExamplesofEocenehydrocarbonreservoirsintheMaracaiboBasin.
Eoceneclasticrocksarethemos
tprolificreservoirsintheMaracaiboBasinandareconcentrated
mainlyinthecentralandnortheaster
nareasofthebasinalongnorth-northe
aststrikingfaults.
Theinsetmapintheupperrightcorner(modifiedfrom
PD
VSApamphlets,
1995and
1996,unpublisheddata)providesth
elocationofthesections.
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Figure
11.
ExamplesofMiocene
Holocenehydrocarbonreservoirsint
heMaracaiboBasin.
Thesereservoirs
arelocatedmainlyinthenorthandnortheastern
areasofthe
MaracaiboBasin.
Themostprolificre
servoirsarelocatedalongthenortheas
terncoastlineofthepresent-dayLakeMaracaibo(BolivarCoast)andalongthetraceoftheBurroNegro
faultzone.
Theinsetmapintheupperrightcorner(modifiedfrom
PDVSApamphlets,
1995and1996,unpublis
heddata)providesthelocationofthe
sections.
674 An Overview of the Petroleum System of Maracaibo Basin
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in the Maracaibo Basin. The source rock entered
the oil window in the northeastern part of the
basin adjacent to the Burro Negro fault zone
(Figures 7, 8). The fault was the approximate
southern boundary of the Paleogene depocenter
and fold-thrust belt located north of the fault.
Hydrocarbons migrated updip and southward
into the platform using strike-slip and normal
Figure 12. Summaryof four main tectonicphases controllingthe petroleum systemof the Maracaibo Basin:(A) carbonate platformphase; (B) foreland basin
phase; (C) isostatic re-bound phase; and (D)Maracaibo synclinephase.
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faults as pathways. Hydrocarbons were trapped
in reservoir facies located within different struc-
tural highs. The La Luna Formation source rock
in the northen part of the basin is presently in
an overmature stage because of its deep (>5 km;
>3.1 mi) burial (Figures 7, 8). Phase 2: Late EoceneOligocene isostatic rebound:
Isostatic rebound was related to the release of con-vergent stresses as the collision progressed east-
ward and southeastward of the Maracaibo Ba-
sin. Hydrocarbons trapped during this period
in near-surface settings may have undergone
biodegradation. Phase 3: Uplift of the Sierra de Perija and Merida
Andes: This regional uplift is the main tectonic
mechanism responsible for the inversion of the
basin depocenter and creation of the second ma-
ture area of the La Luna source rock in the south-
ern part of the basin (Figure 7). The main clasticdepocenter tilted from the northeast to the south-
southwest during the Miocene to Holocene. The
La Luna Formation source rock entered the oil
window across the entire Maracaibo Basin. East-
west convergence formed the Maracaibo syn-
cline, reactivated major strike-slip faults as reverse
faults that breached the Eocene unconformity
(Figure 12D). The hydrocarbons used fault
breaches in the Eocene unconformity to migrate
updip from Eocene to Miocene reservoirs along
the flanks of the basin (Figure 4). The La Lunasource rocks in the south-central areas of the basin
are still in the mature to early mature stage and,
therefore, still have significant remaining hydro-
carbon generation potential (Figures 7, 8).
3. The Maracaibo Basin has a promising hydrocarbon
discovery potential in the mostly undrilled deeper
structural and stratigraphic traps of the central and
eastern basin (e.g., Icotea and Pueblo Viejo sub-
basins) (Figure 4A). More than 14 billion bbl of me-
dium to light oil of ultimate recoverable reserves
are predicted to be produced from these areas (U.S.Geological Survey, 2000).
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