Habitat of petroleum in the Paleozoic basins of Brazil: A look back, a comparison, a look forward

Conference · Fri Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1991 · AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States)

OSTI ID:7078906

Meister, E M; Campos, J N.P.; Filho, C B; Brazil, I R; Neves, C A.O.; Goes, A M.O.; Milani, E J ^[1]

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1. Petrobras, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

It took almost a century of intermittent petroleum exploration in Brazil's vast Paleozoic basins before continuous production of about 5000 bbl per day of light oil, together with gas, could be established in one of them. Proved volumes of oil equivalent in place so far discovered in Paleozoic reservoirs amount to only 0.6% of the domestic total, but hopes of substantial new finds are great. In the Rio Urucu field of Solimoes basin (Upper Amazon), hydrocarbons are being produced from Early Carboniferous Monte Alegre formation sandstones roofed by evaporites and carbonates of the Carboniferous Itaituba formation which were intruded by thick Juro-Triassic igneous sills and folded during a Cretaceous reactivation event into the present-day shape of gentle anticlinal trends controlled by reverse faulting. The widespread occurrence of igneous intrusions and extrusions in the Solimoes, Amazonas, Parnaiba, and Parana basins is a major problem met by explorationists throughout the years but can be faced with presently available technology, seismic and other. Further investigations in these four basins are needed in order to better define details of basin architecture, configuration of basement, location of the oil kitchens, main carrier beds, windows in the dyke walls through which hydrocarbons could find their way to the traps, etc. Examples from the various basins, along with a comparison to some successful exploration cases in the USA, suggest that the habitat of other commercial oil and gas in the Paleozoic basins of Brazil may be localized in the deeper basinal positions - like in the Rio Urucu trend - but also in the shallow flank areas, where igneous rocks tend to be scarcer and exploration baroquely started.

• OSTI ID: 7078906
• Report Number(s): CONF-910403-; CODEN: AABUD
• Journal Information: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States), Vol. 75:3; Conference: Annual meeting of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), Dallas, TX (United States), 7-10 Apr 1991; ISSN 0149-1423
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
58 GEOSCIENCES
BRAZIL
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
EXPLORATION
PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD
DIKES
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
IGNEOUS ROCKS
JURASSIC PERIOD
RESOURCE POTENTIAL
SEDIMENTARY BASINS
TRIASSIC PERIOD
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOLOGY
LATIN AMERICA
MESOZOIC ERA
MINERAL RESOURCES
PALEOZOIC ERA
RESOURCES
ROCKS
SOUTH AMERICA
020200* - Petroleum- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
580000 - Geosciences