Remaining Hydrocarbon Potential in the Subandean Basins: A Regional Perspective

Over 40 BBOE were discovered in the Subandean Basins of western South America. However few large<br>discoveries have been made during the last five years, thus rising concerns about the future prospectivity of the<br>area. This study analyzes the remaining potential of Subandean Basins based on the fractal analysis of<br>discovered fields as well and on the geographical distribution of the accumulations. Thus, the reserves of<br>Subandean Basins were combined in latitudinal segments from Tierra del Fuego to Lake Maracaibo with<br>the assumption that given a common petroleum system, segments of reserves should have an even distribution.<br>Deviations from this pattern could indicate negative aspects of maturity, absence of source rock, lack of<br>structures (or timing), or that hydrocarbons remain to be found or have migrated to other areas.