Proposal for High-Grading the Barinas-Apure Basin of Venezuela Using Airborne Transient Pulse (A-EM) Surveys

LeSchack, Leonard A.
[email protected]

The Barinas-Apure Basin of Venezuela, appears to be a good candidate for cost-effective exploration and evaluation of hydrocarbon potential by means of Airborne Transient Pulse (A-EM) Surveys and follow-on Surface Geochemically-based Exploration.

Callejon and von der Dick, (2002) in their paper, 'Numerical Identification of Microseeps in Surface soil Gases of Western Venezuela, and its Significance for Hydrocarbon Exploration,' sets the stage for an aggressive, potentially highly cost-effective exploration program in the Barinas-Apure Basin region of Venezuela. LeSchack (2012) showed that Airborne Transient Pulse Surveys Identify Subtle Stratigraphic FDD Channel Sand Reservoirs in Australia, Namibia and South Africa, Leonard A. LeSchack, #40905 (2012).

Using Airborne Transient Pulse (E-EM) surveys, followed by geochemical analyses of soil samples strategically gathered to ascertain that live hydrocarbons are microseeping vertically upwards from promising Airborne Transient Pulse (A-EM) anomalies, the present author outlined a methodology that worked for identifying on-shore reservoirs for clients in Namibia and South Africa and suggested that the Fluvial Dominated Deltaic (FDD) reservoir i.e., Channel Sands, are likely found on continental land masses around the world. The Callejon and von der Dick (2002) paper, discusses in detail the observed geologic section and description and age of the rocks that are the setting of the Barinas-Apure Basin in Venezuela, a basin which already produces oil. The present author, after examining the Barinas-Apure geology, and the patterns of known producing areas, as well as their observed geochemical leads, has compared it with the geology and type of 'Muddy Sands' fields discussed in (Dolson, etal, 1991) and believes that there are sufficient similarities, so that Table 1 in the Dolson etal paper, which lists numerous fields, their geology, reservoir, type of trap and environment, as well as their production, can be compared with the geology as presented in Callejon and von der Dick (2002) and similarities can be found, such that the LeSchack (2012) methodology could be applicable at Barinas.

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