3-D Thermokinematic Modelling of the Colombian Eastern Cordillera: Refining the Timing of Oil Generation and Expulsion using Multiple Thermocronometers

Mora, Andres R.; Quintero, Isaid; Styron, Richard; Raghib, Michael; Parra, Mauricio; Ketcham, Richard A.

The Colombian Eastern Cordillera of Colombia is a place where multiple shaly units with source rock potential have been deposited since the Early Cretaceous. Traditionally the generation and migration models for the region have only considered the Turonian shales coeval with the organic rich La Luna Formation as the main source rock. Precise 3-D time temperature conditions combined with a kinematic structural evolution of the basin are required in order to understand when the different potential source rock intervals entered the oil window, and compare that with the presence and absence of traps in the adjacent foreland basins. Ecopetrol-ICP has acquired an unprecedented amount of thermochronometric data over the past several years (e.g. more than 3000 individual He ages, more than 600 AFT and ZFT analyses) and hundreds of vitrinite reflectance data. Here we present the results of 3-D thermokinematic modeling supported on that data, using public domain and new in-house software tools. The modeling supports the presence of multiple generation and expulsion episodes starting in the Late Cretaceous. This information increases the potential to find further oil resources in the Llanos foreland basin, east of the Eastern Cordillera kitchens.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90163©2013AAPG 2013 Annual Convention and Exhibition, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, May 19-22, 2013