Two Swiss Brothers in South America: Daniel and Eduard Truempy and their impact on the (Petroleum) Geology of Colombia and Respectively Argentina

Truempy, Daniel M.
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Daniel Truempy (1893 - 1971) has been the founding father of a geological dynasty of which the presenter (his grandson) is for the moment the last representative. He had a brilliant career as an oil explorer, first with Shell and later with the French Petroleum Institute. In Shell, he made his first passes in Northern Morocco before moving on to Comodoro Rivadavia in Argentina, Tampico in Mexico, Miri in Sarawak and, after a brief stint in Brazil, to Colombia where he was caught by World War II and thus stayed there until 1946.

Eduard Truempy (1903 – 1966) was Daniel’s younger brother, who also studied geology and then also embarked on the path of Petroleum Geology. After a brief stint in Romania, he joined YPF in 1931 to work as an Explorer in the foothills of Salta and Jujuy Provinces, based in the then flourishing Campamento Vespucio, where he became President of the local football club. In 1935 he was transferred to Mendoza Province, where he played a significant role in the development of the Cuyo Basin Petroleum Province. Like his brother Daniel in Colombia, he got caught by World War II and thus extended his stay in Argentina until 1946.

As persons, the two brothers were very different characters. What united them however were superb geological skills.

In the following we will address the impact of the Truempy brothers on the petroleum geological development of the Middle Magdalena Valley in Colombia and of the Cuyo Basin in Argentina.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90166©2013 AAPG International Conference & Exhibition, Cartagena, Colombia, 8-11 September 2013