Neuquén Basin

Neuquén Basin
Cuenca Neuquina
Map showing the location of Neuquén Basin
Map showing the location of Neuquén Basin
Map of Vaca Muerta showing the extent of the Neuquén Basin. Colors indicate hydrocarbon maturity as measured by vitrinite reflectance. Huincul Fault is shown in grey.
Coordinates38°14′S 69°16′W / 38.233°S 69.267°W / -38.233; -69.267
EtymologyNeuquén River
LocationSouthern South America
Country Argentina
 Chile
State(s)Mendoza, Río Negro, La Pampa, & Neuquén Provinces
Araucanía & Bío Bío Regions
CitiesNeuquén, Bariloche
Characteristics
On/OffshoreOnshore
BoundariesAndean Volcanic Belt (W)
San Rafael Block (NE)
Sierra Pintada (E)
North Patagonian Massif (SE)
Part ofAndean foreland basins
Area120,000 km2 (46,000 sq mi)
Hydrology
River(s)Río Negro, Colorado, Limay, Collón Curá & Neuquén Rivers
Lake(s)Ezquiel Ramos Mexía, Los Barreales & Mari Menuco Reservoirs
Geology
Basin typeForeland basin
PlateSouth American
OrogenyAndean
AgeTriassic-Holocene
StratigraphyStratigraphy
FaultsHuincul
Field(s)a.o. Vaca Muerta (unconventional oil)

Neuquén Basin (Spanish: Cuenca Neuquina) is a sedimentary basin covering most of Neuquén Province in Argentina. The basin originated in the Jurassic and developed through alternating continental and marine conditions well into the Tertiary. The basin bounds to the west with the Andean Volcanic Belt, to the southeast with the North Patagonian Massif and to the northeast with the San Rafael Block and to the east with the Sierra Pintada System.[1] The basin covers an area of approximately 120,000 square kilometres (46,000 sq mi).[2] One age of the SALMA classification, the Colloncuran, is defined in the basin, based on the Collón Curá Formation, named after the Collón Curá River, a tributary of the Limay River.

Description

Jurassic and Cretaceous marine transgressions from the Pacific are recorded in the sediments of Neuquén Basin. These marine sediments belong to Cuyo Group, Tordillo Formation, Auquilco Formation and Vaca Muerta.[3] In the Late Cretaceous, conditions in the neighboring Andean orogeny changed. A marine regression occurred and the fold and thrust belts of Malargüe (36°00 S), Chos Malal (37° S) and Agrio (38° S) started to develop in the Andes and did so until Eocene times. This meant an advance of the Andean orogenic deformation since the Late Cretaceous that made the western part of Neuquén Basin to stack in the Malargüe and Agrio fold and thrust belts.[3][4] This caused a shift in deposition from Pacific to Early Atlantic.[5]

In the south of Mendoza Province, the Guañacos fold and thrust belt (36.5° S) appeared and grew in the Pliocene and Pleistocene consuming the western fringes of the Neuquén Basin.[3][4]

Tectonics

The Huincul basement high or Huincul ridge (Spanish: dorsal de Huincul) is a geological structure that divides Neuquén Basin in two parts.[6][7] The basement high is one of the most studied features of Neuquén Basin given its importance for hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation.[7] All over the basement high runs an approximate length of 250 kilometres (160 mi).[7] There have been proposals on the nature of this structure. In the 1970s and 1980s it was proposed by that it was a transpressive fault zone.[6][7] In 2009, Pángaro described it as being made up of inverted half-grabens.[7]

Unconformities have been registered in the basin and were dated at 98, 117, 123, 129, 134 and 154 Ma.[8]

Stratigraphy

Map of the Río Negro watershed. The Neuquén Basin comprises the upper course of the Río Negro, stretching towards the Colorado River in the north and to the Limay River in the south.
Various stratigraphic units are named after these rivers and their tributaries.

The basin contains many stratigraphic units from the Triassic onwards, with large regional variations from east to west and north to south, often described as different formations that are laterally equivalent, this list is a comprehensive overview of described formations:

Cenozoic
Mesozoic
Paleozoic
  • Choiyoi Group (Late Permian-Mid Triassic)[9]
    • El Palque Formation
    • Horcajos Formation
    • Portezuelo del Cenizo Formation
    • Tambillos Formation
    • Vega de Los Machos Formation

Petroleum geology

The Neuquén Basin is an important oil and gas producing basin in Argentina. Production started in 1918 and accumulated to 928 thousand cubic metres (5.84 million barrels) of oil equivalent in 2004, representing 45% of the oil production in Argentina and 61% of its gas production.[40] The basin is also important for unconventionals, with the Vaca Muerta and Los Molles formations being major shale gas producers.

Source rock formations are predominantly the Vaca Muerta, and to a lesser extent the Agrio and Los Molles Formations. Reservoir rocks comprise the Mulichinco and Chachao Formations. Deeper reservoirs are the Lotena and Barda Negra Formations.[41] Regional seal rocks are the evaporites of the Auquilco and Huitrín Formations, with local seals the Vaca Muerta, Agrio and Catriel Formations.[42]

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ Some authors include the Agua de la Piedra Formation within the Malargüe Group, others do not
  2. ^ Some authors include the Tordillo Formation within the Mendoza Group, others do not
  3. ^ Some authors include the Los Molles Formation within the Cuyo Group, others do not

References

  1. ^ "Cuenca Neuquina". Secretaría de Energía (in Spanish). Government of Argentina. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  2. ^ Howell et al., 2005
  3. ^ a b c Rojas et al., 2016
  4. ^ a b Ramos & Mahlburg Kay, 2006
  5. ^ Ponce et al., 2015, p.10
  6. ^ a b Mosquera & Ramos, 2006
  7. ^ a b c d e Pángaro et al., 2009
  8. ^ Leanza, 2017, p.150
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Onnis et al., 2018, p.38
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Hoja Geológica 3969-II, 2007, p.6
  11. ^ Kramarz et al., 2005, p.276
  12. ^ Escosteguy & Franchi, 2010, p.425
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad Lebinson et al., 2018, p.252
  14. ^ a b Escosteguy & Franchi, 2010, p.426
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Balgord, 2017, p.455
  16. ^ Escosteguy & Franchi, 2010, p.423
  17. ^ a b c d e Náñez & Malumián, 2019, p.186
  18. ^ Escosteguy & Franchi, 2010, p.422
  19. ^ Kramarz et al., 2015, p.586
  20. ^ Agnolin & Chafrat, 2015
  21. ^ a b Escosteguy & Franchi, 2010, p.421
  22. ^ Wilf et al., 2005
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak Balgord & Carapa, 2014, p.6
  24. ^ Garrido, 2011, p.237
  25. ^ Garrido, 2011, p.236
  26. ^ Escosteguy & Franchi, 2010, p.420
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h Gómez Dacal et al., 2018, p.113
  28. ^ Ponce et al., 2015, p.16
  29. ^ a b c d e f g Olivo et al., 2016, p.218
  30. ^ Voglino, 2017
  31. ^ Ponce et al., 2015, p.18
  32. ^ Iñigo et al., 2018
  33. ^ Ponce et al., 2015, p.27
  34. ^ Geologic Map, 2007, p.147
  35. ^ Mescua et al., 2013, p.105
  36. ^ a b Ponce et al., 2015, p.17
  37. ^ a b c Zavala, 1993, p.74
  38. ^ a b Zavattieri & Mego, 2008, p.484
  39. ^ Geologic Map, 2007, p.144
  40. ^ Mendiberri et al., 2004, p.1
  41. ^ Ponce et al., 2015, p.28
  42. ^ Ponce et al., 2015, p.29

Bibliography

Geologic map
  • Rodríguez, María F.; Héctor A. Leanza, and Matías Salvarredy Aranguren. 2007. Hoja Geológica 3969-II, NEUQUÉN, provincias del Neuquén, Río Negro y La Pampa 1:250,000, 1–165. Instituto de Geología y Recursos Minerales. Accessed 2019-02-23.
General
  • Balgord, Elizabeth A. 2017. Triassic to Neogene evolution of the south-central Andean arc determined by detrital zircon U-Pb and Hf analysis of Neuquén Basin strata, central Argentina (34°S–40°S). Lithosphere 9. 453–462. .
  • Balgord, Elizabeth A., and Barbara Carapa. 2014. Basin evolution of Upper Cretaceous–Lower Cenozoic strata in the Malargüe fold-and-thrust belt: northern Neuquen Basin, Argentina. Basin Research _. 1–24. Accessed 2019-02-22.
  • Escosteguy, Leonardo, and Mario Franchi. 2010. Estratigrafía de la región de Chapelco, Provincia del Neuquén. Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina 66. 418–429. Accessed 2018-09-10.
  • Garrido, Alberto C. 2011. El Grupo Neuquén (Cretácico Tardío) en la Cuenca Neuquina, 231–244. XVIII Congreso Geológico Argentino. Accessed 2019-02-23.
  • Gómez Dacal, Alejandro R.; Lucía E. Gómez Peral; Luis A. Spalletti; Alcides N. Sial; Aron Siccardi, and Daniel G. Poiré. 2018. First record of the Valanginian positive carbon isotope anomaly in the Mendoza shelf, Neuquén Basin, Argentina: palaeoclimatic implications. Andean Geology 45. 111–129. Accessed 2019-02-22.
  • Howell, John A.; Ernesto Schwartz; Luis A. Spalletti, and Gonzalo D. Veiga. 2005. The Neuquén Basin: An overview. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 252. 1–14. Accessed 2017-06-23.
  • Iñigo, Juan Francisco Pedro; Renzo Vargas; Eugenia Novara; Diego Martin Pereira, and Ernesto Schwarz. 2018. LA FORMACIÓN LOMA MONTOSA EN EL BORDE NORORIENTAL DE LA CUENCA NEUQUINA: ANÁLISIS SECUENCIAL, CARACTERIZACIÓN PALEOAMBIENTAL Y PROSPECTIVIDAD REMANENTE, 623–645. 10º Congreso de Exploración y Desarrollo de Hidrocarburos. Accessed 2019-02-23.
  • Leanza, H.A.; S. Apesteguia; F.E. Novas, and M.S. De la Fuente. 2004. Cretaceous terrestrial beds from the Neuquén Basin (Argentina) and their tetrapod assemblages. Cretaceous Research 25. 61–87. Accessed 2019-02-16.
  • Lebinson, Fernando; Martín Turienzo; Natalia Sánchez; Vanesa Araujo; María Celeste D'Annunzio, and Luis Dimieri. 2018. The structure of the northern Agrio fold and thrust belt (37°30’ S), Neuquén Basin, Argentina. Andean Geology 45. 249–273. Accessed 2019-02-22.
  • Mendiberri, Héctor O.; Adolfo E. Giusano, and Alex H. Valdéz. 2004. Cuenca Neuquína, reservas y recursos hidrocarburíferos, 1–9. _. Accessed 2018-09-06.
  • Mescua, José Francisco; Laura Beatriz Giambiagi, and Victor Alberto Ramos. 2013. Late Cretaceous Uplift in the Malargüe fold-and-thrust belt (35ºS), southern Central Andes of Argentina and Chile. Andean Geology 40. 102–116. Accessed 2019-02-22.
  • Mosquera, Alfonso, and Víctor A. Ramos. 2006. Intraplate Deformation in the Neuquén Embayment. Geological Society of America Special Papers 407. 97–123. .
  • Náñez, Carolina, and Norberto Malumián. 2019. Foraminíferos miocenos en la cuenca Neuquina, Argentina: implicancias estratigráficas y paleoambientales. Andean Geology 46. 183–210. Accessed 2019-02-22.
  • Olivo, Mariano S.; Ernesto Schwartz, and Gonzalo D. Veiga. 2016. Modelo de acumulación y evolución secuencial del intervalo cuspidal de la Formación Quintuco en su área tipo: implicancias para las reconstrucciones paleogeográficas del margen austral de la Cuenca Neuquina durante el Valanginiano. Andean Geology 43. 215–239. Accessed 2019-02-22.
  • Ponce, Juan José; Aldo Omar Montagna, and Noelia Carmona. 2015. Geología de la Cuenca Neuquina y sus sistemas petroleros: una mirada integradora desde los afloramientos al subsuelo, 1–152. Fundación YPF & Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Accessed 2018-09-06.
  • Ramos, Víctor A., and Suzanne Mahlburg Kay. 2006. Evolution of an Andean Margin: A Tectonic and Magmatic View from the Andes to the Neuquén Basin (35–39°S lat). Special Paper of the Geological Society of America 407. 1–17. Accessed 2018-09-06.
  • Rojas Vera, Emilio Agustín; Darío L. Orts; Andrés Folguera; Gonzalo Zamora Valcarce; Germán Bottesi; Lucas Fennell; Francisco Chiachiarelli, and Víctor A. Ramos. 2016. The Transitional Zone Between the Southern Central and Northern Patagonian Andes (36–39°S) in Growth of the Southern Andes, ed. by Andrés Folguera, Maximiliano Naipauer, Lucía Sagripanti, Matías C. Ghiglione, Darío L. Orts, and Laura Giambiagi, 99–114. Springer. Accessed 2018-09-06. ISBN 978-3-319-23060-3
Mesozoic
  • Leanza, Héctor A. 2017. Las principales discordancias del Jurásico Superior y el Cretácico de la Cuenca Neuquina. Anales de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicas y Naturales 57. 147–155. Accessed 2018-09-06.
  • Ottone, Eduardo G. 2009. La flora cretácica de Cuenca Neuquina, su significado paleoambiental y paleoclimático. Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina 65. 373–386. Accessed 2018-09-08.
  • Pángaro, Francisco; Diego Martín Pereira, and Eduardo Micucci. 2009. El sinrift de la dorsal de Huincul, Cuenca Neuquina: evolución y control sobre la estratigrafía y estructura del área. Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina 65. _. Accessed 2017-06-23.
  • Voglino, Sergio. 2017. Caracterización del Miembro Pilmatué de la Formación Agrio como reservorio no convencional de tipo shale (MSc. thesis), 1–196. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Accessed 2019-02-23.
  • Zavala, Carlos Alberto. 1993. Estratigrafía y análisis de facies de la Formación Lajas (Jurásico medio) en el sector suroccidental de la Cuenca Neuquina, Provincia del Neuquén, República Argentina (PhD thesis), 1–254. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Accessed 2019-02-23.
  • Zavattieri, Ana María, and Natalia Mego. 2008. Registro palinológico de la Formación Paso Flores (Triásico Superior) sobre la margen sureste del Río Limay, Patagonia, Argentina. Ameghiniana 45. 483–502. Accessed 2019-02-23.
Vaca Mahuida Formation
  • Montalvo, C., and M. Bond. 1998. Un notoungulata de la Formación Vaca Mahuida (Eoceno), provincia de La Pampa, Argentina. Asociación Paleontológica Argentina, Publicación Especial 5. 55–60. Accessed 2019-02-15.
Ventana Formation
  • Petrulevicius, J.F., and Y.A. Popov. 2014. First fossil record of Discocephalinae (Insecta, Pentatomidae): a new genus from the middle Eocene of Río Pichileufú, Patagonia, Argentina. ZooKeys (422). 23–3. Accessed 2019-02-22.
  • Wilf, P.; K.R. Johnson; N.R. Cúneo; M.E. Smith; B.S. Singer, and M.A. Gandolfo. 2005. Eocene Plant Diversity at Laguna del Hunco and Río Pichileufú, Patagonia, Argentina. The American Naturalist 165. 634–650. Accessed 2019-02-22.
Chichinales Formation
  • Agnolin, Federico L., and Pablo Chafrat. 2015. New fossil bird remains from the Chichinales Formation (Early Miocene) of northern Patagonia, Argentina. Annales de Paléontologie 101(2). 87–94. Accessed 2019-02-13.
  • Kramarz, Alejandro Gustavo, and Ernesto Rodrigo Paz. 2013. Un Hegetotheriidae (Mammalia, Notoungulata) basal del Mioceno temprano de Patagonia. Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas 30. 186–195. Accessed 2017-10-20.
Cerro Bandera Formation
  • Kramarz, Alejandro G.; Mariano Bond, and Michelle Arnal. 2015. Systematic description of three new mammals (Notoungulata and Rodentia) from the early Miocene Cerro Bandera Formation, northern Patagonia, Argentina. Ameghiniana 52(6). 585–597. Accessed 2019-02-13.
  • Kramarz, Alejandro; Alberto Garrido; Analía Forasiepi; Mariano Bond, and Claudia Tambussi. 2005. Estratigrafia y vertebrados (Aves y Mammalia) de la Formación Cerro Bandera, Mioceno Temprano de la Provincia del Neuquén, Argentina. Revista Geológica de Chile 32. 273–291. Accessed 2017-10-20.

Further reading

  • Bally, A.W., and S. Snelson. 1980. Realms of subsidence. Canadian Society for Petroleum Geology Memoir 6. 9–94. .
  • Kingston, D.R.; C.P. Dishroon, and P.A. Williams. 1983. Global Basin Classification System. AAPG Bulletin 67. 2175–2193. Accessed 2017-06-23.
  • Klemme, H.D. 1980. Petroleum Basins - Classifications and Characteristics. Journal of Petroleum Geology 3. 187–207. Accessed 2017-06-23.
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