--> Abstract: The Petroleum System of the Santos Basin: A Giant Gas and Condensate Province, by M. R. Mello, J. M. Moldowan, J.M. J.M. Macedo, and R. Tscherny; #90039 (2005)

Datapages, Inc.Print this page

The Petroleum System of the Santos Basin: A Giant Gas and Condensate Province

M. R. Mello1, J. M. Moldowan2, J.M. J.M. Macedo3, and R. Tscherny4
1 HRT & Petroleum, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2 Biomarker Technology, Sebastopol-Ca 95472, CA
3 Insight Geologia do Petroleo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
4 Integrated Exploration Systems, Aachen, Germany

Hydrocarbon exploration in offshore shallow and deep-water areas of the Santos Basin has been thriving over the last two years. Such an expansion is the result of the discovery of around 14.7 tcf of humid gas and 500 Mboe of light oil and condensate in sandstone reservoirs ranging in age from Maastrichtian to Albian. Although, most oil and gas accumulations are suggested to be sourced from the lacustrine black shales of the rift sequence, up to now, no rift source rock has been recovered. Therefore, the presence and location of the active pods of generation of the rift petroleum systems is considered the main uncertainty regarding evaluation of the exploration risk in the Basin. In this context the prediction and characterization of generative hydrocarbon source rocks to charge potential pre and post-salt traps is imperative. This paper shows examples of the application of several predictive high resolution gas and oil geochemical and 3D basin modeling tools as fully integrated models applied in the identification and mapping of the hydrocarbon source pods of the rift sequence in the Santos Basin. The HRG technologies, ranging from age-related/ depositional environmental molecular geochemistry, diamondoid determination of oil cracking, compound specific isotope analyses of biomarkers (CSIA-B) and of diamondoids (CSIA-D), are of fundamental importance to evaluate and predict the hydrocarbon potential in the rift sequence. When the HRGT data are integrated with 3D Petroleum Systems Modeling in a petroleum systems context, these techniques are powerful tools for regional as well as prospect-scale evaluations of hydrocarbon charge and accumulation risk.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90039©2005 AAPG Calgary, Alberta, June 16-19, 2005