Giants in the Lowlands and Foothills: A History of Exploration in the Llanos Basin, Colombia

Abstract

Abstract

The exploration history of the Llanos basin is closely related to the history of the oil industry in Colombia. Exploration started in the 1940s with the San Martín wells. However, the basin was a minor oil producer until the 1980s. In that decade the discovery of Caño Limón, Cusiana, Apiay and other oil fields in the Llanos basin turned Colombia into a net oil exporter. By the 1990s the oil industry became responsible for about 3% of the total national GDP, while before 1985 oil was never more than 1% of national GDP. Peak production rates in Cusiana and other Llanos basin fields favored the first Colombian oil peak in 1998, followed by a steep production decline. During the first decade of the 2000s, new play concepts such as stratigraphic traps in the southern Llanos prompted new discoveries. These findings, the nearly $100 USD/barrel oil prices and a more efficient development of previous heavy oil discoveries made the Llanos basin the main Colombian basin favoring a second and larger peak in oil production during the 2000s. Because of that peak, the oil industry is currently responsible for more than 5% of national GDP. Heavy oil fields like Rubiales or Chichimene are the main producers today. In addition, new evolutionary concepts have been instrumental for more recent exploration. First, they aided the prediction of novel oil findings such as Akacias or Hurón. Second, they provided a comprehensive understanding of the fact that the Llanos basin and adjacent foothills have a high remaining exploration potential, related to giant light and heavy oil accumulations. Finally, and for the first time, we clearly understand why the Llanos heavy oil accumulations have a very different origin compared with the heavy oil accumulations in the foreland basins of Ecuador and Venezuela.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90260 © 2016 AAPG/SEG International Conference & Exhibition, Cancun, Mexico, September 6-9, 2016