Professional Documents
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G. O. Peroni G. Laffitte
A. G. Hegedus YPF S.A.
J. Cerdan Buenos Aires, Argentina
L. Legarreta
M. A. Uliana
ASTRA C.A.P.S.A.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Abstract
T he San Bernardo (“Bernárdides”) structural province is a multiply deformed belt transecting the peri-
Andean segment of the Argentine Patagonia. It is distinctly separate from the fold and thrust belt along
the western South American continental plate. The structured zone encompasses a NNW-SSE trending band
about 600 km long and 100 km wide. The area includes faults and folds that involve Precambrian–middle
Paleozoic basement, upper Paleozoic–Jurassic terrestrial to marine sedimentary and volcanogenic wedges, and
Cretaceous nonmarine fill of the intracratonic San Jorge basin. The Cretaceous cover is dominated by discontin-
uous, narrow, box-shaped folds associated with east- and west-verging reverse faults. Oil finds are restricted to
the low-lying unbreached segment between the Senguerr and Deseado rivers where anticlinal structures
developed by contractional reactivation of preexisting normal and strike-slip faults.
Oil generation is attributed to amorphous, largely algal-derived organic matter (TOC, 1–3 wt. %) formed in
brackish to alkaline stratified lakes. Modeling suggests that oil generation occurred from 110 to 30 Ma. Low-
gravity oil (15–25˚ API) resulted from biodegradation and washing. The reservoir comprises alluvial, channel,
and meander belt facies and multistory sandstone sheets. Stacked pay intervals are separated by shales, which
limit interconnectedness in the fields. Porosity loss is due to authigenic zeolites and devitrified glass by-
products in a volcaniclastic grain framework. Traps were formed in the Miocene by compression and inversion
of Jurassic half-grabens, expressed in local pop-ups, folds, and weakly inverted structures. Local uplift has
resulted in erosional removal and breaching of some traps. Hydrocarbon migration was facilitated by a
normally charged system and vertical drainage during the first phase of migration. The sandstone and tuffa-
ceous shale generally impeded migration. Late inversion processes favored hydrocarbon scattering.
Resumen
Peroni, G. O., A. G. Hegedus, J. Cerdan, L. Legarreta, M. A. Uliana, and G. Laffitte, 1995, 403
Hydrocarbon accumulation in an inverted segment of the Andean foreland: San
Bernardo belt, central Patagonia, in A. J. Tankard, R. Suárez S., and H. J. Welsink,
Petroleum basins of South America: AAPG Memoir 62, p. 403–419.
404 Peroni et al.
erosión entre los rios Senguerr y Deseado, donde las estructuras anticlinales se desarrollaron como conse-
cuencia de la reactivación compresiva de fallas de rumbo y normales preexistentes.
La Generación de Petróleo es atribuída a materia orgánic amorfa, mayormente derivada de algas (TOC
1–3%), formada en lagos estratificados de tipo salobre y alcalino. El modelado geoquímico sugiere que la
generación de petróleo comenzó alrededor de los 110 Ma y continuó hasta los 13 Ma. Petróleos densos (15-25º
API) son el resultado de biodegradación y lavado. El Reservorio comprende facies aluviales, de canales y fajas
meandrosas, y cuerpos arenosos laminares de tipo multiepisódico. Es común la presencia de reservorios
apilados, separados por lutitas que limitan la interconexión de capas dentro de los campos. Las limitaciones en
la porosidad se relacionan con ceolitas autigénicas y otros minerales relacionados a la devitrificación de trizas
volcánicas. Las Trampas consisten en pliegues anticlinales, “pop-ups” localizados y estructuras débilmente
invertidas, que se formaron en el Mioceno como consecuencia de compresión regional e inversión de los hemi-
grábenes jurásicos. Algunos alzamientos localizados provocaron remoción erosiva y desventramiento de
algunas de las trampas. La Migración de los hidrocarburos se relaciona con un sistema de carga normal y con
drenaje vertical durante la primera fase de movilización. Las areniscas de tipo discontínuo y las pelitas tobáceas
dificultaron la migración, y el carácter tardío de la inversión estructural favoreció la redistribución dispersiva de
los hidrocarburos.
INTRODUCTION
This paper describes the geology and hydrocarbon
habitat of the San Bernardo belt, a structured segment of
the central Patagonian foreland that forms the western
edge of the Cretaceous San Jorge Basin (Figure 1) (Lesta,
1968; Lesta and Ferello, 1972; Fitzgerald et al., 1990). The
oil generation-migration system and trapping style
depart markedly from classic sub-Andean patterns in
which hydrocarbons are associated with marine source
rocks and subtle structural traps superimposed on a
mildly sloping foreland ramp. In contrast, the larger
fields in the buried part of the San Bernardo deformed
belt appear to be linked to lacustrine source rocks and to
high relief structures shaped by Neogene compressional
inversion of pre-Cretaceous extensional fault systems.
The study area in the Chubut and Santa Cruz
provinces dominates the meseta landscape of central
Patagonia. This area is known as the Patagonides (Keidel,
1925) or the San Bernardo foldbelt. The San Bernardo is
characterized by a NNW-SSE striking band of compres-
sional structures more than 600 km long and about 100
km wide (Figure 1). From the western margin of the
Somuncura massif, it extends southward, crosses the
western margin of the San Jorge basin, and finally reaches
the central part of the Deseado massif. Its eastward distri-
bution is restricted by the little-deformed crust under-
lying the South American Atlantic margin (Urien and
Zambrano, 1973). Toward the west, the structural belt is
confined and separated from the Andes by a 150–250 km
wide tract of little-deformed foreland. The most
depressed and least eroded part of the Bernardides belt
occurs between the Senguerr and Deseado river valleys
(Figure 2), where commercial oil pools have been found.
From a hydrocarbon perspective, the study area is Figure 1—Regional map of southern Argentina and Chile
adjacent to and has much in common with the most showing the location of the San Bernardo belt, principal
sedimentary basins (gray), and mountain ranges (shown
prolific of the Argentine oil provinces, the Cretaceous San by crystalline rock symbol). Hachures show location of the
Jorge basin. Production in the San Jorge began in 1907. San Bernardo belt. The rectangle outlines the area shown
Since then, over 50 medium to large fields and many in Figure 2.
smaller fields have been developed. Cumulative oil
production is greater than 350 million m3 (2.2 billion bbl).
Hydrocarbons in Inverted Segment of Andean Foreland: San Bernardo Belt, Central Patagonia 405
STRATIGRAPHIC FRAMEWORK
Economic Basement
Igneous and sedimentary rocks in central Patagonia of
pre-Middle Triassic age are generally assigned to the
“basement” by the oil industry. These rock assemblages
include a variety of deformed metamorphic units
reflecting early–middle Paleozoic sedimentation at the
Pacific margin of Gondwana. They have been affected by
the subsequent orogenic evolution of the Patagonia
region (Miller, 1976; Hervé et al., 1981; Hervé, 1988;
Hervé and Mpodozis, 1990; Gonzalez Bonorino, 1991),
late Paleozoic intrusive events (Lesta et al., 1980) with
magmatic arc affinities (Forsythe, 1982), and Carbonif-
erous–Permian marine and nonmarine deposits attrib-
uted to fore-arc and back-arc settings (Ramos, 1983; Gust
et al., 1985) (Figure 3).
Lower–Middle Jurassic
A suite of terrigenous clastic and volcanic rocks as
thick as 2500 m is confined to north-northwest oriented
hanging wall extensional troughs, referred to as Lias and
Tobífera or Lonco Trapial (Ugarte, 1966; Lesta and Ferello,
1972). These sedimentary wedges rest on deformed
basement or on the upper Paleozoic succession. The
depocenters are commonly located adjacent to fold-
related thrusts. Substantial facies and thickness changes
are observed in outcrop (Cortiñas, 1984) near bounding
faults. The seismic geometries of these unconformity-
bounded tilted block wedges (Fitzgerald et al., 1990)
suggest that they postdate the onset of extension. The
facies vary widely between subaerial and normal marine
conditions (Musacchio, 1981; Cortiñas, 1984). Several
stratigraphic intervals, especially the upper members,
include volcaniclastic components (e.g., De Giusto et al.,
1980; Cortés, 1990) that were deposited as lahars and
alluvial fans constructed by debris flows; these were fed
into lacustrine systems and restricted marine seaways.
Coarse detritus from basement rocks were shed across
exposed fault scarps.
Upper Jurassic–Neocomian
The 2000–3000-m-thick Upper Jurassic–Lower Creta-
ceous Las Heras Group records the transition from
restricted sedimentation within multiple depocenters to
amalgamation into a more widespread interior basin
system (Fitzgerald et al., 1990). Persistent subaqueous
depositional environments and limited clastic supply are
reflected in the transgressive internal geometry
(Fitzgerald et al., 1990), the predominantly low
sandstone to shale ratio, and the pervasive black
mudstone and carbonate facies (Lesta and Ferello, 1972;
Barcat et al., 1989). A Classopollis-dominated pollen flora,
ostracod faunas, and widespread zeolites indicate the
Figure 2—Schematic map showing main structural existence of large and persistent saline to alkaline lakes
features and oil fields in the central San Bernardo belt. See and a semiarid climate (Van Niewenhuise and Ormiston,
Figure 1 for location. 1989). Occasional foraminifera in some wells (Laffitte and
Villar, 1982) record an episodic connection with the
Pacific realm.
406 Peroni et al.
Figure 3—Chronostratigraphic summary of San Jorge basin. Numbers on the left are ages (Ma) attributed to the principal
sequence boundaries (SB). (Modified after Fitzgerald et al., 1990.)
Figure 4—(a) Regional east-west seismic section I and (b) interpreted geologic cross section, showing location of the San
Bernardo belt isolated within a noninverted segment of the Patagonian slab. See Figures 1 and 2 for location.
ernmost Santa Cruz, is conspicuous because of its broad configuration of the fold tract shows limited along-strike
structural features that involve the Cretaceous–lower persistence of the main structural elements. The overall
Cenozoic sequences. The areas north and south of this structure forms a series of blocks characterized by linear
middle segment that span the central Deseado and elements with slightly different prevailing orientations.
western Somoncura massifs expose deeper horizons and Smaller folds and faults with oblique orientations
show the structural attitude at the level of the earlier provide a link between these main segments.
Mesozoic and Paleozoic sedimentary and volcanic Many of the anticlines are sinuous to subparallel. In
successions. The following discussion focuses on the detail, they are discontinuous and irregularly spaced,
central part of the Bernardides where long and arcuate and they locally relate to one another in en echelon or
anticlines, broad synclines, and a variety of associated relay patterns (Feruglio, 1929). Their cross sections show
faults provide opportunities for hydrocarbon exploration relatively short wavelengths and medium to high ampli-
(Figure 4). tudes. Large folds are usually narrow to box shaped with
The best exposures of the fold trend occur in the intact cores, and in most cases, at least one of their flanks
Musters–Colhue Huapi lake region in central Chubut is cut by reverse faults. The surface anticlines have asym-
(Figure 2), where the Bernardides form a distinct group metric profiles, but they lack a consistent vergence
of anticlinal mountains separated by broad synclinal direction. Backward and forward vergences alternate
valleys. South of the Senguerr River “elbow,” the folds along and across the Bernardides belt (Feruglio, 1929;
plunge beneath the level of the Patagonian meseta Sciutto, 1981), and several of the larger anticlines display
(Figure 5), but industrial seismic imaging demonstrates along-strike changes in facing direction.
their continuity as far south as the Deseado River valley. Seismic control demonstrates that steep to slightly
South of that latitude, the northward-oriented folds crop overturned limbs generally evolved into longitudinal
out again over the northern fringe of the Deseado massif. thrusts. Changes in vergence appear to be associated
Along the western side of the belt, transition to the with relay transfers between thrusts located along each
nonfolded adjacent domain is abrupt and defined by a of the flanks. In consequence, sections across fold culmi-
sharp increase in the structural relief (Fitzgerald et al., nations show the core zones as bivergent thrust slices or
1990) along steep fold limbs or reverse faults. The eastern downward-pointing “pop-up” wedges (Figures 6, 7).
margin of the folded zone displays a more gradual loss The southern plunge of the Castillo anticline illustrates
of structural relief across a zone where the folds interfere the nature of along-strike changes in shortening style
with east-west oriented normal fault blocks. The internal (Figure 8). A series of right-lateral tear faults accommo-
408 Peroni et al.
Figure 7—Geologic cross section based on seismic line IV showing structural styles that form the anticlines exposed near
Rio Deseado–Cerro Bayo. See Figure 2 for location.
Table 1—Summary of Structural and Depositional Evolution Controlling the Oil System in the San Bernardo Belt
basement faults distributed throughout the contractional observations and wide dispersal of points on Van
zone. The displacement of the focus and the magnitude Krevelen plots reveal a mixture of terrestrial and aquatic
of contractional structuring across the Bernardides were vegetable remains and the presence of type I, II, and III
probably accommodated by strike-slip displacement kerogens, similar to those found in nonmarine basins in
along former graben-bounding and transfer faults. China (Talbot, 1988).
Observations under transmitted light microscopy,
however, demonstrate the dominance of amorphous
organic matter. Organic matter counts show that the
HYDROCARBON HABITAT presence of Celiphus rallus-like nonmarine algae (Figure
11) coincides with the prevalence of amorphous matter
Source Rocks (Figure 12). Where the algae are scarce or absent, the
samples record an increased proportion of terrestrial
Several authors have recognized the hydrocarbon- matter (woody and coaly). The association of algae and
generating potential of the black shale and mudstone in low terrigenous levels suggests that the presence of high-
the Aguada Bandera, Guadal, D 129, and equivalent yield organic matter resulted from peaks in lake produc-
intervals (Laffitte and Villar, 1982; Rodrigo Gainza et al., tivity, attributed to highstand conditions. Several oils in
1984; Yllañez et al., 1989; Van Niewenhuise and the San Jorge basin have been correlated with source
Ormiston, 1989). These Upper Jurassic–Neocomian rocks dominated by amorphous matter and identified as
deposits preserve total organic carbon (TOC) and soluble type II or III kerogens (Yllañez et al., 1989).
organic matter (SOM) levels well above the source On the basis of the deep to shallow water interpreta-
threshold. TOC content ranges between 1 and 2% and tion of the San Jorge lacustrine depositional systems
locally above 3%; SOM is locally above 1000 ppm, and (Fitzgerald et al., 1990) and the apparent vertical changes
total thicknesses may exceed several hundred meters in in organic matter type and richness (G. Laffitte, personal
places. Thickest developments are known at Cerro communication), we suggest a secular change in the
Guadal, Aguada Bandera, Meseta Senguerr, Paso Río productivity and preservation regime. Uppermost
Mayo, Mata Magallanes, and Aguada del León. Visual Jurassic–lower Neocomian organic-rich accumulations
414 Peroni et al.
(b) (c)
Reservoirs
Hydrocarbon-bearing zones consist of tuffaceous
sandstone strata in the Aptian–Campanian Castillo and
Bajo Barreal formations (Sciutto, 1981). The reservoir
interval thickness spans 1000–2000 m in which the indi-
vidual productive members typically show limited
lateral continuity.
Studies of outcrops adjacent to some of the fields
(Sciutto, 1981; Galeazzi, 1989; Meconi, 1989; Figari et al.,
1990) demonstrate that most of the reservoirs consist of
sandstone and conglomeratic sandstone filling fluvial
paleochannels of various types. Distinctive sandstone
facies include sheet-type accumulations above mobile
channel belts, ribbon deposits linked to fixed channels,
and nonchannelized depositional lobes attributed to
crevasse splaying. They mostly represent multistory Figure 12—Geochemical profile of the organic-rich interval
complexes showing a high degree of internal hetero- in well A. See Figure 2 for location.
geneity. Paleocurrent measurements by Meconi (1989) of
outcrops at the Senguerr River elbow indicate a south- In most fields, the average pay thickness varies
eastward flow direction that shifts to an eastward flow between 7 and 12 m and is usually distributed in three or
toward the younger part of the sequences. These changes four zones. Reservoir quality is mediocre and generally
in flow direction reflect variations in discharge. Earlier inferior to most San Jorge basin reservoirs, a hydro-
conditions of braided patterns and bed load dominance carbon province not noted for performance of its indi-
were replaced by facies attributed to high-sinousity vidual producing zones (Eussler, 1970). Petrographic
rivers and mixed load sedimentation (Galeazzi, 1989). studies by Teruggi and Rosetto (1963) recognize a
Hydrocarbons in Inverted Segment of Andean Foreland: San Bernardo Belt, Central Patagonia 415
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Hydrocarbons in Inverted Segment of Andean Foreland: San Bernardo Belt, Central Patagonia 419
G. O. Peroni
A. G. Hegedus
J. Cerdan
L. Legarreta
M. A. Uliana
Astra C.A.P.S.A.
Exploración y Producción
Tucuman 744, Piso 7
1049 Buenos Aires
Argentina
G. Laffitte
Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales S.A.
Roque Sáenz Peña 777
1049 Buenos Aires
Argentina