Cuenca Talara Petroleum System Paperaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
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[Image modified from NASA photograph STS056-075-015, April 1993, available at URL
<http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/efs/geon.htm/>]
The Talara Basin Province of Northwestern Peru:
Cretaceous-Tertiary Total Petroleum System
By Debra Higley
Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not
imply endorsement by the U.S. Government
Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners
to reporduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report
iii
Foreword
This report was prepared as part of the World Energy Project of the U.S. Geological Survey. For
this project, the world was divided into 8 regions and 937 geologic provinces (Klett and others,
1997). Of these, portions of 128 geologic provinces were assessed for undiscovered petroleum
resources. The petroleum geology of these provinces is described in a series of reports like the
one presented here. The primary documentation for these assessments is located in U.S. Geo-
logical Survey World Energy Assessment Team (2000). The petroleum geology of these priority
and boutique provinces is described in the contained series of reports. Province names, codes,
and boundaries, oil and gas fields, and a geologic map of South America are shown in Schenk
and others (1999).
The purpose of the World Energy Project is to assess the quantities of oil, gas, and natural gas
liquids that have the potential to be added to reserves within the next 30 years. These volumes
either reside in undiscovered fields whose sizes exceed the stated minimum-field-size cutoff
value for the assessment unit (variable, but must be at least 1 million barrels of oil equivalent
(MMBOE)) or occur as reserve growth of fields already discovered. One MMBO is equivalent
to 6 billion cubic feet of gas (BCFG). Field growth (increase through time of estimated recover-
able resources) may result from discovery of new productive facies or formations within the
field, production of a greater percentage of original-oil-in-place through improved secondary or
tertiary recovery methods, and perhaps a recalculation of reserves that were originally under-
estimated. Hypothetical assessment units are described to explore the potentials of possible
new or underevaluated petroleum plays and formations. Analogs from other areas of the world
are used to determine environments of deposition of source and reservoir rocks, to describe the
burial history of the area, and to assess possible reservoir properties of formations within the
hypothetical assessment unit.
The total petroleum system (TPS) constitutes the basic geologic unit of the oil and gas assess-
ment and includes all genetically related petroleum that occurs in shows and accumulations
(discovered and undiscovered) that (1) has been generated by a pod or by closely related pods
of mature source rock, and (2) exists within a limited mappable geologic space, along with the
other essential mappable geologic/geochemical elements (source, reservoir, seal, and overbur-
den rocks) that control the fundamental processes of generation, expulsion, migration, entrap-
ment, and preservation of petroleum (modified from Magoon and Dow, 1994). The minimum
petroleum system is that part of a total petroleum system that encompasses discovered shows
and accumulations, along with the geologic space in which the various essential elements have
been proved by these discoveries.
Graphical depiction of the elements of a total petroleum system and contained assessment units
is provided in the form of events charts that show the times of (1) deposition of essential rock
units; (2) trap formation; (3) generation, migration, and accumulation of hydrocarbons; and (4)
preservation of hydrocarbons.
iv
A numeric code identifies each region, province, total petroleum system, and assessment unit;
these codes are uniform throughout the project and will identify the same type of entity in any
of the publications. The codes for the regions and provinces are listed in U.S. Geological Survey
World Assessment Team (2000). The code is as follows:
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Oil and gas reserves quoted in this report are derived from Petroconsultants’ Petroleum Explora-
tion and Production database (Petroconsultants, 1996) and other area reports from Petrocon-
sultants, Inc., unless otherwise noted. Figure(s) in this report that show boundaries of the total
petroleum system(s), assessment units, and pods of active source rocks were compiled using
geographic information system (GIS) and graphics software. Political boundaries and carto-
graphic representations were derived, with permission, from Environmental Systems Research
Institute’s ArcWorld 1:3-million digital coverage (1992), have no political significance, and are
displayed for general reference only. Center points of oil and gas fields, shown on these figures,
are reproduced, with permission, from Petroconsultants (1996). The primary source of geochem-
ical data for this report is the GeoMark (1998) database.
v
Contents
Foreword ...................................................................................................................................... iii
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ 1
Introduction........................................................................................................................................... 1
Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................ 2
Province Geology ......................................................................................................................... 2
Structural and Depositional History ....................................................................................... 2
Exploration History................................................................................................................ 8
Petroleum Occurrence ................................................................................................................ 12
Hydrocarbon Source Rocks ................................................................................................ 12
Maturation and Migration .................................................................................................... 14
Reservoir Rocks ................................................................................................................. 15
Traps and Seals .................................................................................................................. 18
Conclusions ................................................................................................................................ 18
Selected References .................................................................................................................. 19
Figures
1. The Talara Basin province (6081) and adjoining provinces, northwestern Peru .................... 2
2. North-south stratigraphic cross section across the Talara and
southern Progreso Basins .............................................................................................. 3
3. Simplified geologic map of the Talara and Progreso Basin provinces
and surrounding area...................................................................................................... 4
4. Stratigraphic column of the Talara and southern Progreso Basin provinces ........................ 5
5. Total petroleum system events chart for the Cretaceous-Paleogene
Assessment Unit 60810101, Talara Basin province ......................................................... 6
6. Diagrammatic north-south regional cross section across the
northwestern Talara Basin province ................................................................................ 7
7. Mean estimate of size distributions of undiscovered oil and gas fields
in the Talara Basin province .......................................................................................... 10
8. Discovery thirds of known and grown oil field size versus the number
of oil fields in the Talara Basin province.......................................................................... 10
9. Discovery thirds of known recoverable oil and gas versus the number
of fields for the Talara Basin province ............................................................................ 11
10. History of field discoveries and volumes of known oil-field size
across the Talara Basin province................................................................................... 11
11. Cumulative number of new-field wildcat wells and
associated completion dates ........................................................................................ 11
12. Field discovery date versus depths of all reservoir intervals ............................................ 11
13. API gravity of oil fields in the Talara (6081) and Progreso (6083) provinces......................... 12
vi
14. API gravity and weight percent sulfur of oils from selected fields
across the Talara and Progreso Basin provinces, Ecuador and Peru ....................................... 13
15. The ratio of nickel and vanadium in oils from the Talara and
Progreso Basin provinces ..................................................................................................... 13
16. Distribution of 13C isotopes for saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons,
Talara and Progreso Basin provinces .................................................................................... 14
17. Depositional models for the Eocene Mogollon and Clavel (Pariñas)
Formations, northern Talara Basin province............................................................................ 16
18. Fluvio-deltaic depositional model of the basal Salina Formation,
northern Talara Basin province .............................................................................................. 17
Tables
1. Background statistics for oil and gas fields in the Talara Basin province, 6081 .............................. 8
2. Assessment results summary for the Cretaceous-Tertiary
Total Petroleum System (608101), Cretaceous-Paleogene Basin
Assessment Unit (60810101) ................................................................................................................ 9
The Talara Basin Province of Northwestern Peru:
Cretaceous-Tertiary Total Petroleum System
By Debra Higley
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Figure 1 (facing column and above). The Talara Basin prov- ince (6081)
and adjoining provinces, northwestern Peru. Shown are the common
boundaries of the basin, the Cretaceous- Tertiary (608101) Total
Petroleum System, and the Cretaceous- Paleogene Basin (60810101)
assessment unit. Minimum extent of 60810101 is approximated by 1,000-
m (3,000-ft) water depth. Map projection is Robinson. Central
meridian is 0°.
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Acknowledgments
Dan Spancers, a petroleum geologist from Denver, pro-
vided essential information on oil and gas exploration and
development in Peru and Ecuador. This document benefited
from reviews by Christopher J. Schenk, William R. Keefer,
and Ronald R. Charpentier of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Province Geology
Figure 2. North-south stratigraphic cross section across the Talara and southern Progreso Basins (modified from Raez Lurquin, 1999). Approximate location of line of section is shown on figure 1 and as the blue
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��������� late Tertiary sedimentation (Zúñiga-Rivero and others,
1998a).
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The Talara Basin province resulted from Paleogene
tectonic activity. The basin overlies a larger basin that
records the imprint of Cretaceous tectonic events. This
older basin also underlies parts of the Neogene structures
of the adjacent Progreso and Secura-Salaverry Basin
provinces (figs. 1, 3). These provinces are separated from
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marine limestones.
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Figure 3. Simplified geologic map of the Talara and Progreso Basin provinces and surround- ing area.
Shown are the generalized locations of the Dolores-Guayaquil megashear zone and the
Guyana and Amazonas megashears. Oil and gas field centerpoints and the geologic map are modi- fied from
Schenk and others (1999) 1:5,000,000-scale map of South America. Source of field center- points is
Petroconsultants database (1996).
stratigraphic analysis of the Sechura Basin indicate there is a 4. Siliciclastic and carbonate deposition occurred in late
relation between tectonic history and submarine fan deposi- Carboniferous–early Permian time (Moscovian?-Artin-
tion; these fans originated at a tectonic zone that separates the skian). Intra-arc basins may have existed near present-
Talara and Sechura basins and is characterized by thrust and day coastal Peru. Following the middle-Carboniferous
secondary normal faults (Zúñiga-Rivero and others, 2001). hiatus, sedimentation continued in a back-arc region.
Isaacson and Diaz Martinez (1995) evaluated the Devonian Epeirogeny or magmatic-related tectonics may have
through Permian history of western Bolivia to southern Ecuador influenced regional sea-level fluctuations and uncon-
and distinguished the following four phases as being character- formities between Devonian and Carboniferous strata
istic of Paleozoic sedimentation across western South America. in Peru; during the Devonian, these events would have
1. Shallow-marine clastic deposition through the Devo- restricted formerly open seaways along eastern Peru,
nian (Lochkovian-Frasnian), with an increase in western Bolivia, and northern Argentina and Chile
sedimentation during the Early to Middle Devonian (Isaacson and Diaz Martinez, 1995).
(Emsian-Eifelian). Lithofacies distribution and sedi- The overall shape of the depositional area during Paleo-
ment thicknesses indicate primarily a western source. zoic and Mesozoic time has not been delineated in detail, but
2. Uppermost Devonian–lower Carboniferous (Famen- the Peruvian coastal region was probably part of an extensive
nian-Visean) strata are characterized by glaciomarine basin that covered the whole region and extended farther to
and fan-deltaic sedimentation. Clasts were derived the east and west; seismic profiles show that the sedimentary
from underlying sedimentary units and andesitic, gra- strata extended westward, all the way to the axis of the Peru-
nitic, and tuffaceous rocks. Chile Trench (Nazca subduction zone on figures 1, 3) (Zúñiga-
3. A middle-Carboniferous (Serpukhovian-Bashkirian) Rivero and others, 1998a).
hiatus in sedimentation occurred; its age and duration Late Cretaceous time in northern Peru was marked by
varied across the region. low volumes of terrigenous sedimentation due to limited
Province Geology 5
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Figure4. Stratigraphic column of the Talaraand southern Progreso Basin provinces. Wavy lines and gray
zones bracket periods of erosion or nondeposition. Primary reservoir formation names are marked with green
dots. Possible source-rock intervals are labeled with a small gray box.
Modified from AIPC (no date), Gonzales Torres (1999), Kingston (1994), Kraemer and others (1999), Perupetro
(1999), Petroconsultants (1996), and Seranne (1987).
Andean relief, combined with upwelling and other oceano- and Hay-Roe, 1998). Paleogene (66.4 to 23.7 Ma) sediments
graphic factors (Ziegler and others, 1981). Oceanic crust in the Talara Basin province cover more than 23,000 km2
formed during the Early Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian) (Jail- (9,000 mi2) on top of the regional Paleozoic-Mesozoic basin
lard and others, 1995); Cretaceous mid-oceanic ridge basalt (Zúñiga-Rivero and others, 1998b).
(MORB) unconformably overlies the Pennsylvanian basement Based on examination of seismic, well, aeromagnetic,
rocks. Between Late Cretaceous and late Eocene time, the oce- and gravity data, the creation of the Talara Basin province
anic-floored allochthonous terranes of southern coastal Ecua- in Paleocene and Eocene time resulted from both subduc-
dor underwent a complex geologic evolution that included tion of the Nazca Plate under the South American Plate and
island-arc-related and marginal-basin sedimentation, plate and depositional events that were related to transtensional (pull-
intra-plate collisions associated with shear deformation, basin apart) and extensional tectonics (Raez Lurquin, 1999). Origin
subsidence, and several phases of uplift (Jaillard and others, of the eastward-spreading Nazca Plate was the East Pacific
1995). Rise. It uncoupled in Tertiary time from the continental South
Thickness of the combined Cretaceous through Tertiary American Plate and began to form the subduction zone that
stratigraphic sequences across the coastal basins varies from is evidenced by the Peru-Chile Trench, also known as the
about 8,500 to 18,000 m (28,000 to 58,000 ft) (Zúñiga-Rivero Nazca subduction zone, which is located near the west margin
6 TheTalaraBasinProvince of Northwestern Peru:Cretaceous-Tertiary TotalPetroleum System
of the Talara Basin province. This is a convergent continen- is unconformably overlain by coastal to continental coarse-
tal margin. Tertiary subduction of the Nazca Plate under the grained sandstones of the middle to early-late Eocene (Jaillard
South American Plate caused uplift and erosion of the Andes and others, 1995) Talara Group (figs. 2, 4). These relations
Mountains and created an active Peruvian continental border- record a major Andean orogenic phase that reflects the results
land with a complex mix of structural and stratigraphic styles. of collision of coastal Ecuador with the Andean margin (Jail-
Successive systems of clastic sedimentation during Paleocene lard and others, 1995).
and Eocene time resulted from large-scale synsedimentary During late Eocene through early Oligocene time (about
extensional tectonics represented by high-angle faults that 38.5 to 33 Ma), there was about a twofold increase in westward
delineate horst-and-graben structures; relative movement of acceleration of the South America Plate across the mantle,
the faults was directly related to the configuration and move- triggering the Incaic phase of Andean tectonism that was mani-
ment of basement rocks (Raez Lurquin, 1999). The Paleocene- fested by thrusting of the eastern and western Andean flanks
Eocene boundary is marked by an unconformity that underlies along most of the length of the Andes (Cande and Kent, 1992).
a thick succession of continental-derived sandstones and con- Onset of the Incaic orogeny is marked by the regionally con-
glomerates of the lower Eocene Chacra-Salinas Group (fig. 4) tinuous erosional unconformity at the top of the Talara Group
(Seranne, 1987). in the Talara Basin province, and the base of the Oligocene
The late Paleocene, earliest Eocene, and early-late Mancora Formation in the southern Progreso Basin province
Eocene tectonic events are the most important deformational (figs. 2, 4, 5). Uplift of the Andes and Coastal Range mountains
phases that influenced the geologic framework of southern is associated with both erosion and deposition of consider-
coastal Ecuador; they represent progressive accretion to the able volumes of offlapping detritus in both the back-arc and
continental margin (Jaillard and others, 1995). Jaillard and forearc regions (Cande and Kent, 1992); this uplift contributed
others (1995) believed that creation of repeated forearc basins to a thick sequence of Oligocene and Eocene sediments in the
can be attributed to subsidence from crustal erosion of the Talara Basin province. The Talara Basin province stratigraphic
upper plate; each subsidence event succeeded an important sequence (fig. 4) is primarily Eocene, has an aggregate thick-
compressive phase that must have favored coupling and tec- ness of as much as 8,500 m (28,000 ft), and overlies more than
tonic erosion. 1,500 m (5,000 ft) of Paleocene and as much as 2,045 m (6,700
New forearc basins that were created in northern Peru ft) of Cretaceous strata (Zúñiga-Rivero and others, 1998b).
and southern Ecuador in early-middle Eocene time filled with Sebrier and others (1988) believed that evolution of late
clastic shelf deposits of the Chachra-Salinas Group, which Paleogene-Neogene basins, such as Talara, began during Oli-
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Figure 6. Diagrammatic (not to scale) north-south regional cross section across the northwestern Talara Basin province (modified from Mon- tagna and others,
1999, reprinted by permission of author, 6/24/02). Shown are vertical and lateral offsets of formations that resulted from fault (falla) movement; arrows show relative
movement. The Pleistocene Tablazo Formation unconformably overlies Oligocene and older formations. Unlabeled vertical lines are wells.
gocene time, about 28–26 Ma, after a long period of relative date). These formations were also present in the Talara Basin
quiescence following the 42-Ma late Eocene compressive province, except where removed by erosion (figs. 2, 4). Depo-
episode. The entire area then emerged until the formation, sition was followed by peneplanation of the Heath Formation
during latest Oligocene-Miocene (fig. 5), of new forearc basins and subsequent deposition of the Miocene Zorritos Formation
that were subsequently filled by fine-grained shallow-marine in the northern part of the province; this was associated with a
sandstones and shales (Jaillard and others, 1995). Late Oli- period of block faulting (AIPC, no date).
gocene is characterized by initiation of intermontane basins Normal faulting is an important aspect of the struc-
with reactivation of Andean tectonism that ended in latest tural style of the Talara Basin province, as are low-angle
Miocene (about 7 Ma); structural analysis of these Neogene gravitational slide faults and large vertical transcurrent faults
and Paleogene basins shows that their evolution was controlled (Zúñiga-Rivero and others, 1998b). Complex structural fea-
by regional tectonic stress (Jaillard and others, 1995; Marocco tures of the offshore Talara and southern Progresso Basin
and others, 1995). Synsedimentary folding and fracturing provinces include extensive growth faulting with associated
show that there was a clockwise rotation of the direction of rollover-type folding (AIPC, no date). Bianchi (2002) mapped
stress in the Neogene; this explains variations in the behavior faults in the offshore area of the Litoral field (fig 1), where the
of the faults that border the basins and the different stages major faults are oriented approximately north-south. Seismic
of their evolution (Jaillard and others, 1995; Marocco and and subsurface data indicate that the faulting is most intense
others, 1995). A trough at the northern border of the Talara in the eastern (onshore) portions of the northern basins and
Basin province may have been created in Neogene time by decreases in a seaward direction (Zúñiga-Rivero and others,
opening of the Gulf of Guayaquil along the Guayaquil-Dolo- 1998a). Figure 6 shows some of the complex faulting in a
res megashear (Shepherd and Moberly, 1981) at the southern regional north-south cross section in the northwestern Talara
boundary of the Progreso Basin province (figs. 1, 3). Basin province. Location of the cross section is in the area of
Upper Eocene Lagunitos Group strata unconformably the La Brea–Pariñas to Tunal oil fields in figure 1. Fault move-
overlie the Talara Group and are overlain by the Oligocene ment during times of deposition and erosion resulted in vari-
Mancora and Heath Formations (fig. 4). The Neogene sedi- able thicknesses of formations across the region. The primary
mentologic history of the bounding Progreso Basin province target for reservoirs is the upper Eocene Verdun Formation
began with an Oligocene transgressive cycle and associated (Montagna and others, 1999), which is represented by the
deposition of the Mancora and Heath Formations (AIPC, no close-set lines above the Talara Group in figure 6.
8 TheTalaraBasinProvince of Northwestern Peru:Cretaceous-Tertiary TotalPetroleum System
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vitrinite reflectance (Ro) of 1.11 percent, a hydrogen index of USGS estimated mean recoverable oil, gas, and natural
91, and 1,625 ppm of extracted hydrocarbons. Gonzales and gas liquids (NGL) resources from undiscovered fields in the
Alarcon (2002) published the following estimates: basin are 1.71 BBO, 4.79 TCFG, and 255 million barrels of
1. Volume of thermally mature source rock in the hydro- NGL (table 2). Minimum size of fields used in this analysis is
carbon generation area of the Talara Basin province is 1 MMBO, or 6 BCFG. Figure 7 shows the proposed frequency
8.271017 cm3, distribution of undiscovered oil and gas fields within the
2. Total volume of generated hydrocarbons is 2.75105 province. The mean estimate is 83 undiscovered oil fields and
MMBO and 2.25104 TCFG. 27 undiscovered gas fields. Ranges in undiscovered resource
3. Total trapped oil and gas of 2.48105 MMBO and distributions from table 2 show the USGS estimates for undis-
2.03103 TCFG, calculated using a 30 percent expul- covered oil, gas, and natural gas liquids (NGL) resources for
sion efficiency and 30 percent emplacement efficiency the Talara Basin province that have the potential to be added
in reservoirs. to reserves within the next 30 years (USGS World Energy
4. Total volume of recoverable oil and gas is 2.48104 Assessment Team, 2000). These estimates for TPS 608101
MMBO and 162.4 TCFG, based on a 10-percent recov- used data from Petroconsultants (1996), GeoMark (1998), and
ery factor. referenced publications in the analyses of the areal and tem-
5. Volumes of lost hydrocarbons are 3.72103 MMBO poral distribution of drilling and production. Estimated mean
and 2.4 TCFG, based on 15 percent of the hydrocar- recoverable oil and gas resources from undiscovered onshore
bons lost from traps due to migration along faults and (15 percent) and offshore (85 percent) fields are 257 MMBO
other processes. and 719 BCFG, and 1.45 BBO and 4.08 TCFG, respectively.
6. Total volume of recoverable hydrocarbons from the Travis and others (1975) estimated the offshore potential
Talara Basin province, including current production, is at 1 BBO, but believed that the onshore portion had low poten-
3.72 BBO and 9.344 TCFG. Production through 2000 tial for future discoveries. Kingston’s (1994) estimated off-
is 1.5 BBO and 3.5 TCFG (Gonzales and Alarcon, shore potential of 1.2 BBO and 1.4 TCFG was based on com-
2002). paring the areal distribution of possibly productive areas in the
7. Volume of remaining recoverable hydrocarbons onshore to that of the offshore. The southernmost parts of the
(excluding current production) is 2.22 BBO and 5.844 onshore and offshore basin areas appear to be gas prone, but
TCFG. oil resources could be present in unexplored areas according
8. Remaining recoverable hydrocarbons are 70 percent to Zúñiga-Rivero and others (1998b, 1999). Offshore Peru has
onshore, or 1.554 BBO and 4.09 TCFG, and 30 percent excellent potential for gas-hydrate resources based on work by
offshore, or 666 MMBO and 1.75 TCFG. Miller and others (1991); these potential resources were not
Table 2. Assessment results summary for the Cretaceous-Tertiary Total Petroleum System (608101), Cretaceous-Paleogene Basin Assessment Unit (60810101)
(USGS World Energy Assessment Team, 2000).
[MMBO, million barrels of oil; BCFG, billion cubic feet of gas; MMBNGL, million barrels of natural gas liquids; MFS, minimum field size assessed (in MMBO or BCFG); Prob.,
probability, including both geologic and accessibility probabilities of at least one field equal to or greater than the MFS. Results shown are fully risked estimates. All liquids in gas
fields are included under the natural gas liquids (NGL) category. F95 represents a 95-percent chance of at least the amount tabulated. Other fractiles are defined similarly. Fractiles
are additive under the assumption of perfect positive correlation. Shading indicates not applicable]
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for known oil resources, versus the number of fields in each
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�� ����� to fields (fig. 8) resulted in little or no change in field size for
�� those that were discovered early in the history of explora-
�� tion and are already mature; the second third of discovered
� fields exhibits a slight increase in field size, and the latest
� third exhibits the greatest increase. Discovery-history curves
� in mature basins commonly show that the largest fields are
� discovered early in the history of exploration and field size
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tends to decrease through time. In the Talara Basin province,
���� ���� ���� ����� ������ ��� ��� ���� ���� ���� the largest field is La Brea–Pariñas (1869) with grown recov-
��� ���� ���� ���� �
���
� erable oil and gas resources greater than 1 BBO and 1 TCFG.
������������ ����� ���� �������
Two other large fields that were discovered early in the his-
Figure 7. Mean estimate of size distributions of undiscovered oil (green) and tory of exploration were Los Organos–El Alto and Lobitos,
gas (red) fields in the Talara Basin province. Distributions are based on grown which have discovery dates of 1901 and grown recoverable oil
oil and gas assessments from the USGS World Energy Assessment Team resources of about 350 MMBO. The irregular distribution of
(2000). discovery thirds reflects the frontier aspect of exploration in
the basin. There are only nine fields that have cumulative pro-
duction greater than 1 MMBOE, and 39 with known recover-
assessed in the present study. able reserves plus resources of greater than 1 MMBOE.
Twenty oil fields and one gas field have known recover- Figure 9 shows the known recoverable reserves and
able resources of 1 MMBOE and greater. Twenty oil and two resources of oil and gas based on data from Petroconsultants
gas fields have grown recoverable resources of greater than 1 (1996); these are divided into the first, second, and third dis-
million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE) (fig. 8). Figure 8 covery-thirds of all fields regardless of field size. Three of
shows the field-size distribution, based on periods of discovery the four largest fields were discovered early in the history of
� �
����� ����� �� ����� ����� ��
������ ���������� ������ ����������
� �
������ ����� �� ������ ����� ��
������ ���������� ������ ����������
� �
�
�
��
������ �� � �
� �
� �
� �
����� ��� ����� ���� ������ ����� ��� ����� ���� ������
Figure 8. Discovery thirds of known and grown oil field size (MMBO) versus the number of oil fields in the Talara Basin province.
Province Geology 11
12 TheTalaraBasinProvince of Northwestern Peru:Cretaceous-Tertiary TotalPetroleum System
�� �����
��
�
����� ��������� ���� ��
�
�
���
��
�
�
���
�
������ �� �
��
�
� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ����
��������������� ����
�
Figure 10. History of field discoveries and volumes of known oil- field size
across the Talara Basin province (Petroconsultants, 1996). A sharp increase
� in the volume of known recoverable hydrocarbons generally indicates a
major field discovery or combined effects of numerous field discoveries, as
started in about 1949. Minimum field size is 1 million barrels of oil (MMBO)
recoverable.
����� ����������� ��
�
�
�
�
Figure 9. Discovery thirds of known recoverable oil and gas, in millions of ���
barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE), versus the number of fields for the Talara
���������� ��������� ������������
���
Basin province. Known recoverable reserves and resources data modified
���
from the Petroconsultants database (1996) were divided into the first, second,
and third thirds of discovered fields. ���
���
��
than 12,000 onshore wells. Low rates of drilling until about �����
1945, and the discoveries of the Malacas (1947) and Chimenea
�����
(1950) fields, were followed by a steady and stable increase
in exploration to the early 1980s, with a subsequent slight �����
decrease in drilling rate. Figure 12 shows discovery dates
�����
for fields versus the reservoir depth(s). Because most fields
produce from multiple reservoirs, the chart shows a range of �����
���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ����
depths for most of them. Maximum and median drill depths
��������������� ����
were 1,500 m (4,900 ft) and 2,570 m (8,430 ft), respectively,
for the 39 oil plus oil and gas fields (table 1) (Petroconsultants, Figure 12. Field discovery date versus depths in meters of all reser- voir
1996). intervals.
Province Geology 13
Petroleum Occurrence shales ranged from 0.15 percent to 1.62 percent TOC. Gonza-
les and Alarcon (2002) indicated that geochemical analyses of
13 shale and limestone samples that ranged in age from Early
Hydrocarbon SourceRocks Cretaceous (Albian) to Oligocene age showed TOC contents
ranging from 1.1–1.3 percent. Values above 1 percent TOC are
There is little published geochemical information on potential source rocks, whereas those below this have low to
potential hydrocarbon source rocks in the Talara Basin prov- marginal potential.
ince. Pindell and Tabbutt (1995) indicated that there are five Distribution of API gravity of oils for fields in the Talara
main Mesozoic-Cenozoic settings for source-rock deposition and Progreso Basin provinces is shown in figure 13. Although
and preservation in the Andean basins of South America. they have a similar distribution, Talara Basin province oils
One of these settings may be appropriate for the Talara Basin tend to be slightly heavier than those of the Progreso Basin
province. This is along the Andean forearc in areas where ter- province. Weight percent sulfur and API gravity of oils are
rigenous sedimentation at various times was slow due to low both influenced by migration history, biodegradation, evapora-
Andean relief (Ziegler and others, 1981) and where upwelling tion and mixing of oils, and other geologic and geochemical
and other oceanographic factors presumably produced condi- factors. Biodegradation can result in an increase in sulfur as
tions that concentrated organic matter in marine shales. A pos- the microorganisms preferentially eat light-chain hydrocar-
sible example is the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Redondo bons that have a lower percent of sulfur, which caused some
Shale (fig. 2). of the scatter in figure 13. Many of the Tertiary oils, particu-
Probable Cretaceous hydrocarbon source rocks in the larly those with API gravity less than 23, exhibit some bio-
Talara Basin province are the Albian Muerto Limestone and degradation, commonly with a second phase of hydrocarbon
the marine shales of the Campanian Redondo Formation (fig. migration, based on examination of gas chromatogram/mass
4) (AIPC, no date; Perupetro, 1999; Zúñiga-Rivero and others, spectrometer charts. Three biodegraded Tertiary oil samples
1998a, 1998b). Gonzales and Alarcon (2002) proposed that the are shown in green in figure 14. The oil sample on the far left
Cretaceous Redondo Formation is the primary hydrocarbon also has a second phase of migration. Figure 14 shows API
source rock in the basin and included the Cretaceous Muerto gravity versus weight percent sulfur for oils from the Progreso
and Oligocene Heath Formations as potential source rocks. and Talara Basin provinces. Sulfur content of the 20 oils ana-
Perupetro (1999) indicated that potential Tertiary hydrocarbon lyzed in the Talara Basin province ranges from 0.03 to 0.26
source rocks are shales of the Eocene San Cristobal Forma- percent, with a median of 0.06 percent (table 1) (GeoMark,
tion (lower Eocene of the Salina Group), the Chacra Group 1998). There is one sample population for the analyzed oils of
(lower Eocene Echinocyamus and Clavel (Pariñas) Forma- the Talara Basin and Progreso Basin provinces. The one Penn-
tions), the lower Talara (middle Eocene), and the Chira-Heath sylvanian Amotape Formation oil is grouped with the Tertiary
(upper Eocene–lower Oligocene) Formations. Kraemer and oils in the Talara Basin province. Pennsylvanian Amotape For-
others (2001) believed that the Heath Formation is the primary mation reservoir rocks are mostly quartzite, and any associated
source rock in the southern Progreso Basin province (fig. 4). Paleozoic shales would probably be overmature for hydrocar-
Lower Eocene Palegreda neritic marine shales and the Paleo- bon generation. This Pennsylvanian oil from the Portachuelo
cene Balcones Shale (Mal Paso Group) are also believed to be field may have been sourced from Tertiary shales and migrated
important organic-rich source rocks in the Talara Basin prov-
ince by AIPC (no date) and Zúñiga-Rivero and others (1998a,
1998b). Gonzales and Alarcon (2002) however, indicated that
the Balcones Formation—as well as the Eocene Chira, Salina, ��
and San Cristobal Formations and the Paleocene Petacas
Formation—were not of source-rock quality based on TOC,
�
hydrocarbon indices, and other data. Shales of the Cretaceous
�
�
��
������ �� ��� ��
���
��
������� ��������� � �
�
��
�������� ����� �������
������ �����
���
��
��
���
�
�
�� �� �� �� ��
A � �� �� �� �� �� ��
��� ������� ��������� �������� �����
��
Figure 14. API gravity and weight percent sulfur of oils from
������������� ���������
selected fields across the Talara and Progreso Basin provinces, �� �������� ����������
Ecuador and Peru (GeoMark, 1998). Based on the distribution of data,
������� ��������� �
�
�
there appears to be one oil population for these provinces. Scatter in
�� �������� ����� �������
data can result partly from analytical methods and from biodegrada-
tion of oils from Tertiary reservoirs. Three Tertiary oils that indicate
��
biodegradation are shown in green. ������ �����
��
rocks deeper in the basin, laterally toward faults, and 20–600 Mesozoic and Paleozoic strata were the initial source of clastic
m vertically along the faults into the mostly structural traps; detritus; petrographic analysis confirms that the sandstones
(2) subsequent vertical migration along fault systems, and lat- are quartz rich with a small proportion of volcanic material
eral migration distances, were 10–50 km, based on the above (Raez Lurquin, 1999). The source of Paleocene and Eocene
geophysical and geochemical data and on changes in API sediments was from the northeast to southeast; the origins
gravity of oil in reservoirs that are progressively farther away were highlands that resulted from compressional uplift of the
from the kitchens, and (3) there were several periods of migra- Andes and other mountainous areas (Perupetro, 1999; Pindell
tion, based partly on early biodegradation of oils followed by and Tabbutt, 1995; Raez Lurquin, 1999). Sandstones inter-
later non-biodegraded oils. finger westward with marine and nonmarine shales (Pindell
and Tabutt, 1995), creating stacked sandstone reservoirs with
interbedded shale seals and potential source rocks. Zúñiga-
Reservoir Rocks Rivero and others (1998a) indicated their stratigraphic and
structural interpretations are based on approximately 13,037
There are more than 40 oil and (or) gas fields in the line-km (8,100 line-mi) of seismic profiles that have been run
Talara Basin province (table 1), with production from as many in the basin, of which 88 percent is offshore in water depths of
as a dozen formations per well; and all production is reported as much as 5,000 m (1,500 ft). Early onshore seismic surveys
commingled (Petroconsultants, 1996). The primary reservoirs were generally of poor quality due mainly to a thick cover of
are Eocene-age nearshore-marine sandstones. Three fields calcareous shallow-marine Pleistocene deposits, but modern
that produce oil and gas from quartzites of the Pennsylvanian marine seismic surveys have generated fair to excellent data
Amotape Formation also have oil from Eocene and (or) Cre- (Zúñiga-Rivero and others, 1998a).
taceous sandstones; a fourth field, the now-abandoned Zorro The Paleocene-Eocene sedimentary sequence is entirely
field, produced about 100,000 BO from only the Amotape For- clastic (fig. 4) and is characterized by shallow-marine, deltaic,
mation. Oil and gas in four other fields is from sandstones of and fluvial sandstones, marine shales, and turbidites; underly-
the Cretaceous Redondo Formation and the Cretaceous Ancha ing sediments are about 75 percent clastic but include some
and Petacas Formations of the basal Mal Paso Group. One thick and widespread oolitic, reefy, and micritic limestones
field produces gas from the Oligocene Mancora Formation. that were considered by Zúñiga-Rivero and others (1998b)
Reservoirs are mainly sandstones in the following forma- to be the most important hydrocarbon source rocks. Eocene
tions: strata include littoral and beach sandstones, and (in places)
Pennsylvanian Amotape Formation fractured quartz- coarse conglomerates, as well as turbidite channel sandstones
ites, (Zúñiga-Rivero and others, 1998b). Sandstone and conglomer-
Upper Cretaceous Redondo Shale, and the Upper Cre- ate grains show a high degree of roundness and a sorting that
taceous Ancha and Petacas Formations of the Mal Paso is characteristic of the most resistant rocks, indicating several
Group, phases of recycling before the final sedimentation (Raez Lur-
Paleocene sandstones of the Mesa and Balcones For- quin, 1999).
mations, upper Mal Paso Group, Bianchi (2002) listed porosity and permeability ranges
Lower to middle Eocene Chacra and Salinas Groups for the following formations (Note: no information was pro-
(including the Basal Salina, San Cristobal, Mogollon vided on sources of data or number or types of analyses):
(Manta), Ostrea (Tangue, Pardo), Palegreda, Clavel 1. Hélico Formation sandstones, 12–15 percent porosity,
(Pariñas), and Echinocyamus Formations), 2–5 millidarcies (mD) permeability,
Middle and upper Eocene Talara Group (including the 2. Clavel (Pariñas), 11–19 percent porosity, 60–120 mD
Terebratula, Hélico, and Talara (Pozo, southern basin, permeability,
Media and underlying Yapato in the north) Forma- 3. Manta (Mogollon) 8–11 percent porosity, 0.15 mD per-
tions), meability, and
Upper Eocene Verdun Formation of the Lagunitos 4. Basal Salinas Sand, 11–16 percent porosity, 14–20 mD
Group, permeability.
Oligocene Mancora Formation. Porosity of reservoir intervals for the Mogollon Forma-
Quartzites of the Amotape Formation are unconform- tion in the Pena Negra field (fig. 1) ranges from 9 to 10.6 per-
ably overlain by Cretaceous limestones, sandstones, and cent, and water saturation is 45.1 to 46.3 percent (Chavez and
shales, which in turn are in unconformable contact with Ter- Rodriquez, 2002). The Eocene Hélico Formation in the field
tiary rocks. The thick sequence of Upper Cretaceous through area consists of a lower conglomeratic sandstone and an upper
Eocene strata in the Talara Basin province accumulated pri- fine- to medium-grained sandstone (Robles Chavez and Lopez
marily in fluvial to deltaic depositional environments, with Chavez, 2002). The depositional environments were three
some offshore marine turbidites (AIPC, no date). Although separate sets of deep-water marine turbidites, with the better
the pre-Neogene strata are laterally continuous through the quality sandstones present within the channel systems; grain
basins, the vertical sequence is also cut by internal unconfor- size decreases from east to west. These channel sandstones are
mities (Zúñiga-Rivero and Hay-Roe, 1998) (figs. 2, 4). Eroded laterally discontinuous, resulting in compartmentalization of
16 TheTalaraBasinProvince of Northwestern Peru:Cretaceous-Tertiary TotalPetroleum System
the reservoir. The Hélico Formation has a vertical thickness of ñas) Formation in the Lobitos and Providencia fields is about
152 m (500 ft); its average porosity is 12 percent in the PN3 180 and 305 m (600 and 1,000 ft), respectively; the depth to
offshore platform of the Pena Negra field. the top of the formation varies from 825 to 1,280 m (2,700 to
Bianchi (2002) indicated that the Clavel (Pariñas) For- 4,200 ft) in Lobitos and 395 to 580 m (1,300 to 1,900 ft) in
mation is fluviodeltaic and transport directions were mainly Providencia; permeability and porosity in reservoirs ranges
toward the northwest and southwest. Clavel (Pariñas) Forma- from 30 to 50 mD, and 12 to 18 percent, respectively (Lopez
tion reservoirs within the Lobitos and Providencia fields are and others, 2002). Results are based largely on analysis of
composed of fluviodeltaic sandstones with interbedded shales scattered geophysical well logs across the field areas, within
and clay (fig 17); reservoirs are extensively faulted, with which more than 800 wells have been drilled.
hydrocarbons trapped in horsts, grabens, and other structures The Mogollon Formation in the northern half of the
(Lopez and others, 2002). The thickness of the Clavel (Pari- Talara Basin province ranges in thickness from about 180 to
��� ���
�� ��
�� ��
����
����
����
Figure 17. Depositional models for the Eocene Mogollon (A, B) and Clavel (Pariñas) (C) Formations, northern Talara Basin province. The Mogollon
Formation has a progressive southward decrease in depositional energy, from reworked conglomerates in fluviodel- taic channels, to shales beyond the
submarine fans (modified from Chavez Cerna and Rodriques Rios, 2002). Line of cross section is marked by N and S. Fluviodeltaic systems of the Clavel
(Pariñas) Formation exhibit westward decrease in depositional energy with associated decrease in sediment grain size; primary reservoirs are
distributary channel sandstones (modified from Lopez Chavez and others, 2002). Yellow is onshore, dark purple is igneous intrusions, and green and
red dots are oil and gas field centerpoints, respectively.
Petroleum Occurrence 17
�
� �
�
Figure 18. Fluviodeltaic depositional model of the basal Salina Formation, northern Talara Basin prov- ince (Gonzales
Torres, 1999; reprinted by permission of author, 6/24/02). Sediment transport direction and source of these (gray, green,
and yellow) stacked lobes was primarily from Paleozoic and Creta- ceous rocks of the Alto de Negritios. Offshore
contour interval is 100 ft. Blue line corresponds to the coastline, and the red line segregates lease blocks.
18 TheTalaraBasinProvince of Northwestern Peru:Cretaceous-Tertiary TotalPetroleum System
640 m (600 to 2,100 ft) and is composed of shale, sandstone, seismic interpretations, normal faulting appears to decrease
and conglomerate that originated in fluviodeltaic to submarine westward from the intensely faulted onshore area of the basin
depositional environments; transport directions were from the (Zúñiga-Rivero and others, 1999).
northeast and depositional energy decreased seaward and to Seismic records indicate a variety of trapping features for
the south (fig. 17) (Chavez and Rodriquez, 2002). The forma- Talara and bounding basins that include rollovers and updip
tion is extensively fractured, with faults oriented primarily closures against faults, and stratigraphic pinch-outs (turbidite
east-northeast in the area of the Tunal and Pena Negra fields channel deposits) and onlap onto old highs (Zúñiga-Rivero and
(fig. 1); the field axes are oriented mainly northeast-southwest others, 1998a). Sediment sources are primarily from the east,
and some production is bounded by the faults (Benito and northeast, and southeast (Perupetro, 1999; Pindell and Tabbutt,
Arispe, 2002). 1995), and depositional patterns associated with these fluvial,
Gonzales Torres (1999) indicated that Basal Salina sand- shoreline, turbidite, marine and other facies strongly influence
stones in the northern third of the basin (1) consist mostly types and locations of seals. Zúñiga-Rivero and others (1998b)
of turbidite fans and incised valley fill that prograde to the indicated that marine shales segregated and sealed both shal-
southwest, northwest, and northeast, (2) are part of a complex low and deepwater sandstone beds. Interbedded and overlying
stacked fluviodeltaic sequence that was deposited in early marine shales are the primary reservoir seals. Some units are
Eocene and late Paleocene time, and (3) were sourced primar- composed of multiple sandstones separated by shales. Lateral
ily by erosion of Paleozoic and Cretaceous rocks of the Alto seals are (mainly normal) fault offsets, and lateral depositional
de Negritos (Negritos High) (fig. 18). In general, grain size or erosional pinch-outs of the mostly marine sandstones into
and depositional energy increases southward along this pro- shales (Zúñiga-Rivero and others, 1998b).
gradational sequence (Gonzales Torres, 1999). The system
extends more than 50 km (30 mi) north of the Alto de Negritos
(fig. 18). Gonzales Torres (1999) also indicated that reservoirs
in the Basal Salina Formation contributed almost 40 percent of Conclusions
new petroleum production in the Talara Basin province during
the last 15 years. The Paleogene Talara Basin province overlies an older
The Neogene sedimentary history of the southern Pro- regional basin. Movement through time of the continental
greso Basin province and northern Talara Basin province plates resulted in a complex block-faulted basin, character-
followed an Oligocene transgressive cycle and deposition of ized by normal faults, low-angle gravitational slide faults, and
fluvial and marine sandstones and shales of the Mancora and large vertical transcurrent faults. Complex structural features
Heath Formations (AIPC, no date; Kraemer and others 1999, of the offshore Talara Basin province include extensive growth
2001). There is no known Neogene production from the Talara faulting with associated rollover-type folding. Seismic and
Basin province (fig. 4). subsurface data indicate that the faulting was most intense in
the eastern (onshore) portion of the basin and decreased in a
seaward direction.
Traps and Seals Oil geochemical studies indicate that there is one Tertiary
hydrocarbon source rock for Tertiary production in the Talara
Late Oligocene and Miocene time is characterized by Basin province, as evidenced by distributions of (1) ratios of
separation of the Nazca Plate from the South American Plate, Ni/V, (2) saturated versus aromatic 13C, and (3) API gravity
with active subduction at the Peru-Chile trench and creation versus weight percent sulfur among approximately 20 ana-
of the Neogene portion of the southern Progreso Basin prov- lyzed oils. Gas chromatograms for many of these oils indicate
ince, located at the north border of the Talara Basin province an early stage of biodegradation and (or) water washing fol-
(Jaillard and others, 1995). The region, in middle Miocene lowed by a second phase of migration into reservoirs. This
time, experienced block faulting, mostly extensional tectonics, biodegradation resulted in some scatter in the geochemical
and renewed growth of the Andes Mountains east of Talara. data.
Although earlier tectonic activity affected patterns of folding, Possible Tertiary hydrocarbon source rocks are marine
faulting, and deposition across the basin, the middle to late shales of the (1) Balcones Formation (lower Paleocene), (2)
Tertiary extensional regime was associated with high-angle the San Cristobal, Palegreda, Clavel (Pariñas), and Echinocya-
normal faulting that trapped and redistributed hydrocarbons, mus Formations of the lower Eocene Chacra-Salina Group,
causing development of the current fault-block reservoirs (3) the upper Eocene Talara Formation, (4) the upper Eocene
(Zúñiga-Rivero and others, 1998a, 1998b). Structurally, the Chira Formation, and (5) the Oligocene Heath Formation.
area is a system of faulted blocks—the size of the blocks is Shales of the Cretaceous Monte Grande Formation are primar-
nonuniform and can vary from 100 to 1,500 acres or more ily of terrestrial (type-III kerogen) origin and are potential
(Raez Lurquin, 1999). Structural trap types are generally sources of dry gas, although there is no evidence of dry gas
moderate- to high-angle normal faults, low-angle gravitational generation in the Talara Basin province. Probable Cretaceous
slide faults, and transcurrent faults (AIPC, no date; Petrocon- hydrocarbon source rocks are the Albian Muerto Limestone
sultants, 1996; Zúñiga-Rivero and others, 1998b). Based on and marine shales of the Campanian Redondo Formation,
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