Structure,
Stratigraphy, and Gas Potential of the Northwestern
Contreras, David R.1, Paul
Mann1, Alejandro Escalona1, Miguel Nuñez2 (1)
Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
(2) PDVSA E & P, Maracaibo, Estado Zulia, Venezuela
The supergiant
The Icotea and Urdaneta Eocene
strike-slip faults of the basin center extend into the study area and exhibit
positive flower structures. Subsidence analysis of well data show that the main
pulse of subsidence occurred in late Paleocene to early Eocene time and reveals
that Cretaceous carbonate platform (and the La Luna source rock) was buried to
depths of up to 4000 meters. Burial histories indicate that the source is in
the gas window or is overmature. The presence of a few producing gas wells over
the top of the flower structures in the area supports the gas window
calculation and opens opportunity for exploration along the main faults.
AAPG Search and Discover Article #90063©2007 AAPG Annual Convention, Long Beach, California