CHABOUDY JR, LOUIS R., SUSAN E. PALMER-KOLEMAN, DOUGLAS J. MCGUIRE, VICTOR H.VEGA, and JOSHUA H. ROSENFELD, Amoco Production Company, Houston, TX; and JUAN CARLOS ROBLES SILVA,* Amoco Colombia Petroleum Company, Bogota, Colombia

Abstract: Petroleum Potential of the Catatumbo Basin, Colombia

The Maracaibo Basin of Venezuela is one of the world's most prolific hydrocarbon provinces (35 BBOE cum.). The basin extends into northeastern Colombia where it is known as the Catatumbo Basin. This area contains several structurally and stratigraphically trapped oil accumulations in Tertiary fluvio-deltaic deposits and fractured Cretaceous carbonates and clastics (500 MMBOE cum.). The southwestern edge of the Catatumbo Basin is a north-trending transpressional fault zone (Catatumbo Flexure) which juxtaposes the basin to the east with the basement-cored Santander Massif to the west.

The authors believe that the Catatumbo Basin holds significant undiscovered petroleum in fractured reservoirs analogous to those which trap significant amounts of petroleum down regional dip within the basin. The fetch area is underlain by at least two world-class Upper Cretaceous source units; the La Luna Fm. (oils identified in Upper Cretaceous/Tertiary reservoirs and Tertiary seeps near the Catatumbo Fault), and the Cogollo Fm. (oils found only in fractured Lower to Upper Cretaceous reservoirs).

Structural complexities, rich source rock, and numerous analogous producing fields make the Catatumbo Basin a prime target for oil exploration.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90923@1999 International Conference and Exhibition, Birmingham, England