Summary

In northwestern Venezuela, the early Maracaibo-Falcon passive platform records the sedimentation of upper Cretaceous source rocks. Late Paleocene-early Eocene emplacement of the Lain Nappes due to the arrival of the Caribbean plate and the subsequent initiation of a regional foredeep is recorded in early and middle Eocene elastic deposits. Ultimately, continued tectonic interaction between the Caribbean and South American plates divided the Maracaibo-Falcon platform into separate basins.

The Falcon basin, like the rest of northern South America, generated hydrocarbons from rich Cretaceous source rocks. Lower and middle Eocene clastic deposits include coastal marine sandstones that could serve as reservoirs for these hydrocarbons. Tectonic activity from plate interaction produced structures from late Eocene through the Pliocene.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90937©1998 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, Salt Lake City, Utah