Hydrocarbon potential of lower Magdalena basin

Conference · Wed Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1989 · AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (USA)

OSTI ID:5537764

Torres, E; Valderrama, R ^[1]

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1. Univ. of South Carolina, Columbia (USA)

The Lower Magdalena basin complex of Colombia has an areal extent of more than 87,000 km{sup 2}. The geologic setting of the different subbasins of the Lower Magdalena presents attractive play concepts for the generation, entrapment, and production of hydrocarbons. The sedimentary sequence within the basin attains a thickness in excess of 12,200 m, with the preponderance of this section being of Tertiary age. This major thickness of section contains good source and reservoir rocks and seals and an abundance of structural and stratigraphic traps, which make the basin attractive for new interpretation and evaluation. The Plato, San Jorge, and Sinu subbasins lie within the Lower Magdalena complex. Each of these presents different geological conditions, thereby offering a variety of play concepts for hydrocarbon exploration. Previous exploration in the Lower Magdalena has resulted in the discovery of 10 small to moderate-size fields, which have produced nearly 200 million bbl of oil. The density of exploration drilling within the basin is one well/435 km{sup 2}, thereby allowing the opportunity for more discoveries to be realized. The existence of a thick Tertiary section with excellent source beds and a tectonic history that allows for both structural and stratigraphic traps presents an excellent opportunity for the application of modern exploration techniques to reevaluate the potential of a basin that has not been thoroughly evaluated due to complex exploration problems.

• OSTI ID: 5537764
• Report Number(s): CONF-890404--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (USA) Journal Volume: 73:3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020200* -- Petroleum-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
CENOZOIC ERA
COLOMBIA
EXPLORATION
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOLOGIC TRAPS
LATIN AMERICA
MINERAL RESOURCES
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
RESOURCES
SEDIMENTARY BASINS
SOURCE ROCKS
SOUTH AMERICA
TECTONICS
TERTIARY PERIOD