Print this page4-D Evaluation of Oil Generation, Migration and Entrapment in the Pisco Basin, Offshore Peru
Angel F. Callejon1, Peter A. Emmet2, Robert G.
Hickman3, Glenn W. Granata4, Tarek Y. Ghazi5,
Rolando Bolaños Zapana6, and Maurice Slot7
1 Platte River
Associates, Inc, Houston, TX
2 Brazos Valley G&G Services, Cypress,
3 Structural Solutions, Sugar Land, TX
4 Granata Geological Consulting, Houston, TX
5 Gaffney, Cline & Associates, Inc, Houston, TX
6 Perupetro SA, Lima, Peru
7 In-Depth Solutions, Nichols Hills,
A multi-discipline team, under the sponsorship of Perupetro SA, undertook a comprehensive reinterpretation of the hydrocarbon prospectivity of the offshore basins in Peru. From north to south, the study included the Tumbes-Progresso, Talara, Trujillo, Salaverry and Pisco basins. The main focus was to delineate basin geometry and evolution, while tracing a robust tectono-stratigraphic correlation scheme across a region 1500 km in strike length. Kinematic reconstructions of key dip lines, thermal maturation models, a regional velocity model and depth conversion were essential in building this new framework. The focus of this paper is on the geological evolution of the petroleum systems identified in the Pisco basin.
A new regional correlation scheme suggests the presence of a thick Cretaceous section in several depocenters that may accommodate an early Cretaceous source rock. The evolution of the petroleum system through geological time allowed the explorationists to characterize the timing between oil expulsion and the location of the structural and stratigraphic plays in the basin.
The results, after modeling oil generation using a kinetic approach based on analogous source rocks in South America, suggest that a Tertiary source rock is not viable in most of the studied plays. However, a Cretaceous Muerto Formation is definitely a feasible active source rock for the area, which opens new exploratory opportunities in an area traditionally considered to be a cold barren basin. Fluid flow of hydrocarbons and a probabilistic estimation of the volumes of hydrocarbons expelled and available for entrapment highlight areas of interest in this undrilled basin.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90039©2005 AAPG Calgary, Alberta, June 16-19, 2005