1887

Abstract

Summary

Structural framework that controls the aptian sedimentation in the distal-central region of Uruguay’s offshore basins is identified and mapped in this work. In addition, its relevance from a petroleum perspective is studied. The Aptian sequence is a world-class source rock that generated 29% of the world’s hydrocarbon reserves, as well as the recent discoveries in Cretaceous reservoirs in Namibia’s Orange Basin. As a result, determining the presence and characteristics of the aptian sequence has become critical for any assessment of the petroleum potential in the passive-margin basins of the South Atlantic. Several paleo-restorations show that the Orange Basin and Uruguay offshore basins are conjugated margins generated during the Atlantic breakup (Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous). Additional analogies have been developed throughout these basins, resulting in regional aptian sequence deposition on both margins. Although multiple researchers recognize the seismic facies of the Aptian sequence on Uruguay’s offshore basins, their characteristics are likely different from those deposited in the Orange Basin. This is due to the specific structural controls that allowed the development of a depocenter during Barremian-Aptian times, which contributed to marine restrictions and larger thicknesses of Aptian, both of which have important implications for the generation and accumulation of hydrocarbons offshore Uruguay.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.202381015
2023-09-20
2025-07-15
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Chauvet, F.; Sapin, F.; Geoffroy, L.; Ringenbach, J.C.; Ferry, J.N. [2021]. Conjugate volcanic passive margins in the austral segment of the South Atlantic – Architecture and development.Earth-Science Reviews212 (2021) 103461. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.10346
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Conti, B.; Marmisolle, J.; Novo, R.; Rodriguez, P. [2021]. Maldonado Triple-Junction Rifting Structure Offshore Uruguay: Characteristics and Petroleum Implications.Petroleum Geology of the Southern South Atlantic. The Geological Society edition.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Franke, D., Neben, S., Ladage, S., Schreckenberger, B., Hinz, K. [2007]. Margin segmentation and volcano-tectonic architecture along the volcanic margin off Argentina/Uruguay, South Atlantic.Marine Geology, 244, 46–67.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Geoffrey, L. [2005]. Volcanic passive margins.Comptes Rendus Géosciences, 337, 1395–1408.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Heine, C., Zoethout, J., Muller, D. [2013]. Kinematics of the South Atlantic rift.Solid Earth, 4, 15–253.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Hinz, K., Neben, S., Schreckenberger, B., Roeser, H.A., Block, M., Goncalvez de Souza, K., Meyer, H. [1999]. The Argentine continental margin north of 48°S: Sedimentary successions, volcanic activity during breakup.Marine and Petroleum Geology, 16, 1–25.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Morales, E.; Chang, H.; Soto, M.; Corrêa, F.; Veroslavsky, G.; Ana, H.; Conti, B.; Daners, G. [2017] Tectonic and stratigraphic evolution of the Punta del Este and Pelotas basins (Offshore Uruguay). Vol 23. doi 10.1144/petgeo2016‑059. Petroleum Geoscience.
    https://doi.org/10.1144/petgeo2016-059 [Google Scholar]
  8. Moulin, M.; Aslanian, D. & Unternehr, P. [2010]. A new starting point for the South and Equatorial Atlantic Ocean.Earth-Science Reviews. Volume 98, Issues 1–2, Pages 1–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2009.08.001
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Rowlands, H.; Paton, D.; Mortimer, E.; Turner, J.; Thompson, P.; Soto, M.; de Santa Ana, H. [2016]. New insights into the early development of a volcanic passive margin: 3D imaging of seaward dipping reflections and a South Atlantic transfer zone.AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, Article #90259.Calgary, Alberta, Canada. https://www.searchanddiscovery.com/abstracts/html/2016/90259ace/abstracts/2379803.html
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Soto, M., Morales, E., Veroslavsky, G., de Santa Ana, H., Ucha, N., Rodríguez, P. [2011]. The continental margin of Uruguay: Crustal architecture and segmentation.Marine and Petroleum Geology, 28, 1676–1689, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2011.07.001
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Stica, J.M., Zalán, P.V., Ferrari, A.L. [2014]. The evolution of rifting on the volcanic margin of the Pelotas Basin and the contextualization of the Paraná- Etendeka LIP in the separation of Gondwana in the south Atlantic.Marine and Petroleum Geology, 50, 1–21.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Thompson, P.; Badalini, G.; Heine, C.; Paton, D. [2018]. The Relationship Between the Development of Seaward Dipping Reflectors, Oceanic Crust and the Maldonado Triple Junction During Early Gondwana Break-Up.AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, Salt Lake City, Utah, May 20–23, 2018.
    [Google Scholar]
/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.202381015
Loading
/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.202381015
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error