Abstract: Evolution and Hydrocarbon Potential of Offshore Pinar del Rio Area, Southern Gulf of Mexico

Rafael Tenreyro-Perez, Juan G. Lopez-Rivera, Jose Fernandez-Carmona, Jose O. Lopez-Quintero

The evolution of Southeast Gulf of Mexico comprises three main periods: pre-orogenic, syn-orogenic and post-orogenic. During pre-orogenic time, from Lower Jurassic to Campanian, the stages are the rift of Pangaea and the thermal subsidence (or drift). In drift stage two domains interacted in the space; the carbonate platforms (Bahamas, Yucatan, Organos and others, and the deepwater basins. These fluctuations were dictated by the differential subsidence and horizontal displacements of basement blocks as well as by the eustatic movements of the ocean. The Organos platform, for example, was entirely drowned since Upper Jurassic and the sedimentation continued in deepwater environment. The collision between Great Antilles Volcanic Arc and the continental margins since Upper C etaceous modeled the Cuban orogen. Here, the southern facies thrusted over the northern section with simultaneous strike-slip movements. The interaction suddenly ceased in Eocene.

The source rock levels are considerably more frequent in the deepwater domain than in the platforms. The Lower and Upper Jurassic as well as Lower and Middle Cretaceous horizons contain very high levels of organic matter. The offshore seismic shows the transition from the thrusted belt to the foreland basin with a typical triangle zone configuration. Reservoirs are expected in the Cretaceous section covered by seals conformed by early foreland basin sediments of Upper Cretaceous-Paleocene age. Foothill structures has a great potential for hydrocarbon exploration.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90950©1996 AAPG GCAGS 46th Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas