The Recognition of a Duplex with Imbricate Thrusting in the Furrial-Tejero Trend, North Monagas Area, Venezuela

Richard E. Bischke, Miguel Morales, Beatriz A. Ascanio, David C. Metzner, and Peter Verrall

Two and three dimensional seismic surveys taken across the El Furrial-Carito-Tejero fields of the North Monagas Area, Venezuela, support the existence of several large southeast verging thrust plates that involve the Oligocene-Cretaceous reservoir sequence. The shallow thrust plate is folded by a deeper plate. These plates moved parallel with and terminate in the west at the Urica Fault. Well data, when integrated with seismic data, indicate that most of the wells drilled in the fields bottomed in an upper plate. Some wells penetrated a lower second plate and additional thrusting may exist below the lower plate. The seismic interpretation is supported by structural and fault surface maps, well correlations, dipmeter analysis and by a series of balanced cross sections constructed across and along the duplex. Our reinterpretation, using advanced structural methods, indicates that the North Monagas Area contains considerable additional hydrocarbon potential.

AAPG Search and Discover Article #91019©1996 AAPG Convention and Exhibition 19-22 May 1996, San Diego, California