Neuquén Basin

The Neuquén Basin of Argentina is a major hydrocarbon province, where production began in 1918. Major plays occur in its Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous post-rift section. Discoveries during the 1990’s within the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic syn-rift section of the Neuquén Basin prompted a re-examination of the early part of the basin's history as additional targets were sought. Understanding the early depositional systems and the origin and controls on rifting were felt to be key to the risk evaluation of this new play and prompted CASP activities in the region. Unconventional exploration activity currently dominates within the basin.

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Regional Expertise

Several fieldwork campaigns in collaboration with the Centro de Investigaciones Geologicas (La Plata, Argentina) were carried out from 1997 to 2000 in the southern Neuquén Basin, where exposures of the early rift section are exceptional. Focus was placed on the sedimentology and tectonics of syn-rift sedimentary and volcanic deposits. A new tectonostratigraphic model of depocentre evolution was established. This predicts the distribution of facies in relation to tectonic and volcanic events and has implications for exploration in the deeply buried depocentres of the basin.

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