Hydrocarbon exploration AUTHORS

Juan F. Homovc ⬃ Repsol-YPF, ETMA

potential within intraplate División Regional Argentina Sur, Avenida del
Libertador 520, Comodoro Rivadavia, Chubut,
shear-related depocenters: Argentina; jhomovc@email.ypf.com.ar
Juan F. Homovc received his Licenciado en
Deseado and San Julián Ciencias Geológicas degree from the
Universidad de Buenos Aires in 1980. He
basins, southern Argentina joined Yacimientos Petrolı́feros Fiscales (YPF)
in 1981 and worked as a field geologist in
Argentinian northwestern and Patagonian
Juan F. Homovc and Luis Constantini
basins from 1981 to 1989. Since 1990 he has
been working in exploration and development
geology of the San Jorge basin in Argentina.
He is a professor at the Universidad Nacional
ABSTRACT
de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco. His main
The Deseado and San Julián late Paleozoic–Mesozoic rift basins research interests are tectonics, structural
occupy sizable parts of central Patagonia and offshore southern Ar- geology, and fractured rocks.
gentina, respectively. The basins record a similar (linked) tectono-
Luis Constantini ⬃ Tecpetrol S.A. Gerencia
stratigraphic evolution since their inception in the late Paleozoic. de Reservorios, Maipú 1300, Buenos Aires,
Both evolved as continental intracratonic rifts developed above a Argentina; teclac@tecpetrol.com
basement comprising Devonian low-grade metasediments overlying
Luis Constantini graduated from the
older continental crust, in response to regional tectonic extension
Universidad Nacional del Sur, Buenos Aires,
that preceded late disaggregation of Gondwana. This Late Permian Argentina, with a Licenciado en Ciencias
rifting was followed by continuous filling of the basin during Triassic Geológicas degree in 1988. After a
thermal subsidence. Jurassic extension produced a framework of postgraduate course on petroleum geology,
grabens and half grabens filled with mafic and felsic proximal vol- he joined YPF and worked as a field geologist
canics and volcaniclastics. The east-west orientation of these Juras- in the Silurian–Devonian northwestern basins
sic rift features, in sharp contrast to the north-south trend of the of Argentina and in the San Jorge basin of
Permian–Triassic rift systems, suggests that the Jurassic depocenters central Patagonia from 1990 to 1996. He
shifted in response to oblique extension: development of a transten- joined Tecpetrol SA in 1997, where he
sional pull-apart basin. In the upper Valanginian–Aptian, a strong currently is involved in a gas development
compressive event, marked by a prominent angular unconformity, project in northwest Argentina.
affected the Deseado and San Julián basins. Wrenching associated
with this compressive event produced transpressive structures in ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
both basins. A period of relative tectonic stability was observed
during the Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary, the only interruption This article is dedicated to the memory of Mi-
being a mild transpressive reactivation along major preexisting guel Uliana, whose enthusiasm and dedication
sharpened and refined early ideas. Edgardo
faults during the Miocene Andean orogeny. The first marine incur-
Rolleri, Alfred Lacazzete, Kevin Biddle, and
sion occurred in the Paleocene as the seas transgressed over an ex-
Neil Hurley are gratefully acknowledged for
tensive peneplained terrain. their constructive reviews of early versions of
The Deseado and San Julián basins remain virtually the manuscript. This article significantly bene-
unexplored—only three wells having been drilled. Oil seeps in Neo- fited in clarity and quality from critical reviews
comian strata in the Deseado basin indicate that this frontier basin by Marcos Mozetic and Ben Schulein. We
has petroleum potential. Source quality intervals were encountered thank Repsol-YPF authorities for permission to
in the Neocomian Bajo Grande Formation of the San Julián Basin; publish this article.

Copyright 䉷2001. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.
Manuscript received March 16, 1999; revised manuscript received August 29, 2000; final acceptance
March 20, 2001.

AAPG Bulletin, v. 85, no. 10 (October 2001), pp. 1795–1816 1795

distal lacustrine facies of the Neocomian La Matilde
Formation are expected to be potential source rocks in
the Deseado basin. The Permian–Triassic section is also
thought to contain well-developed source rocks; how-
ever, the section has yet to be penetrated. Reservoir-
quality rocks occur in clastics of the Upper Cretaceous,
Neocomian, Triassic, and Permian formations. Possible
play types include Paleozoic reservoirs in positive tran-
spressive features, lateral updip pinch-outs of Neocom-
ian sandstones, and fractured Jurassic volcanics adja-
cent to fault zones.
INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE
In this article we give an overview of the geology of
Late Permian–Mesozoic basins in the central Patagon-
ian region and their offshore extension (Figure 1). We
attempt to provide a more complete understanding of
the area by (1) demonstrating that the Deseado and
San Julián basins share a similar geological evolution
linked to the major events that led to the opening of
the South Atlantic Ocean and (2) providing a revised
tectonic model for the area. These new insights rely in
part on previously unreleased proprietary seismic and
well data.
The database used for this study was primarily
based on proprietary work done by Yacimientos Petro-
lı́feros Fiscales (YPF) in 1979–1980 and by YPF-
Petrobrás from 1990 to 1996. The data itself (Figure
2) consist of one exploration well (San Julián es-1),
6518 km of two-dimensional (reflection) seismic data,
2430 km of aeromagnetic data, 3316 km of gravity sur-
veys, and five measured outcrop sections (La Modesta,
Los Pirineos, Cerro Derrumbrado, Bajo Grande, Cerro
Negro). The measured sections were tied to the
subsurface.
The Deseado and San Julián basins are situated be-
tween the two major hydrocarbon producing basins of
southern Argentina: the San Jorge basin to the north

Figure 1. Location map depicting the major tectonic elements and faults of the Deseado–San Julián study area and adjacent Falkland
Plateau and San Jorge basin, southern South America (modified from Rapela and Pankhurst [1992] and Richards et al. [1995]). NPM
⳱ Nord-Patagonic massif; SJB ⳱ San Jorge basin; DB ⳱ Deseado basin; AB ⳱ Austral basin; RB ⳱ Rawson Basin; AFFZ ⳱ Agulhas
Falkland fault zone; CHR ⳱ Chile Ridge; SJ ⳱ San Julián Basin; NFB ⳱ North Falkland Basin; MB ⳱ Malvinas Basin; FPB ⳱ Falkland
Plateau Basin; SFB ⳱ South Falkland Basin; SFZ ⳱ Scotia fault zone; SZ ⳱ subduction zone; FP ⳱ Falkland Plateau; SHFZ ⳱
Shakleton fracture zone.

1796 Hydrocarbon Exploration Potential in Southern Argentina

 Figure 2. Location of the data
69°W 63°W
CHILE 45°S set used in the study. Two-
dimensional seismic grids are
CHUBUT COMODORO
RIVADAVIA
denoted. Total seismic coverage
SANTA CRUZ
equals 6518 km. Numbered
ATLANTIC OCEAN seismic lines pertain to those
depicted in Figures 4, 5, 6, 9,
10, and 12. Black circles indi-
LOS
A NAVARROS cate wells, squares are towns,
5 and triangles are outcrop loca-
ARGENTINA

3 LA
LA JUANITA tions. Dashed line AA⬘B, repre-
1 48°S
MODESTA 4 2 sents the cross sections of Fig-
EL
TRANQUILO ures 14 and 16.
SANTA B
CATALINA
A' SJ.es-1

SAN JULIAN
125 km

and the Austral, or Magallanes, basin to the south (Fig- The 180,000 km2 San Jorge basin is Argentina’s oldest
ure 3). These productive basins were formed by wide- and most prolific oil basin; its ultimate recovery is es-
spread extension related to continental fragmentation timated to be on the order of 4.0 billion bbl of oil. It
and opening of the Atlantic (Uliana and Biddle, 1988). is a nonmarine basin developed in a midplate setting

Figure 3. Location map high-

lighting the position of the De-
seado and San Julián basins
relative to the two major hydro-
carbon producing basins of
southern Argentina: San Jorge
basin to the north, and the Aus-
tral basin to the south.

Homovc and Constantini 1797

(Fitzgerald et al., 1990) and contains up to 8000 m of
sedimentary fill. The 160,000 km2 Austral, or Magal-
lanes, basin was developed in a convergent margin set-
ting. Its fill comprises up to 7000 m of dominantly ma-
rine sediments from the Cretaceous and Tertiary.
Recent estimates suggest an ultimate recovery of ap-
proximately 160.4 million bbl of oil and 5.6 tcf of gas.
The 120,000 km2 Deseado basin is triangular in
shape—its apex lying to the northwest near the border
between Argentina and Chile and its base being delim-
ited by the coast to the southeast (Figure 3). The study
area is restricted to the central and eastern outcrop belt
of the basin, from La Modesta in the west to La Juanita
in the east and from Los Navarros in the north to Santa
Catalina in the south (Figure 2). This area covers ap-
proximately 30,000 km2 and has been described as iso-
lated Paleozoic “windows” in the Jurassic plateau.
The 15,000 km2 San Julián Basin lies offshore Ar-
gentina in water depths averaging 100 m (Figure 3). It
is located at the southern margin of the South Amer-
ican plate and records a tectonic history that both re-
flects the fragmentation of the Gondwana superconti-
nent and parallels that of the Deseado basin.
To date, only four wells have been drilled in the
Deseado and San Julián basins. The first was drilled by
South Comodoro Oil Co. in the 1960s in the southern
extreme of the Deseado basin. It penetrated a sand-
stone interval, originally assumed to be Jurassic but
later determined to be Triassic, with apparent, albeit
unconfirmed, oil shows. In 1976, YPF drilled a well in
the northern part of the Deseado basin targeting Tri-
assic objectives. This well was abandoned after pene-
trating a thick succession of Jurassic volcanics. In 1994,
Petrobrás drilled a well in the San Julián Basin to es-
tablish the existence of Cretaceous sediments there.
This well encountered Jurassic volcanics punctuated by
several phases of relatively deep-water lacustrine sed-
iments. Recently, Repsol-YPF drilled a well in the cen-
tral part of the Deseado basin, penetrating a thick suc-
cession of Triassic sediments.
In this article we integrate geological and geophys-
ical information to identify the relationship between
the Deseado and San Julián basins, with a particular
focus on their tectonostratigraphic evolution and ba-
sinal settings.
PREVIOUS WORK
Early field observations of the Deseado basin/prov-
ince were made by Roll (1938) and Feruglio (1949).
1798 Hydrocarbon Exploration Potential in Southern Argentina
Suero and Criado (1955) established the limits of the
Central Patagonian Basin, defined by upper Paleozoic
outcrops exposed in a northwest-southeast belt from
northern Chubut province to the Malvinas Islands.
Harrington (1962) defined the Deseado province as
an undeformed stable area that remained positive
throughout its evolution. Di Persia (1965), Lesta and
Ferrello (1972), and De Giusto et al. (1980) synthe-
sized the fieldwork performed by YPF geologists in
the Deseado area during the 1950s and 1970s.
Hechem and Homovc (1987, 1988) refined the stra-
tigraphy of the Deseado basin. Suero (1962), Ugarte
(1966), Viera and Pezzuchi (1976), De Barrio
(1993), and Panza et al. (1994) provided accounts of
the regional geology of the area.
Windhausen (1924) first noted similarities in ori-
entation between the onshore structures and those
developed on the Malvinas Islands platform. Wind-
hausen (1924, p. 170) also noted that a “tectonic line
at the northern edge of Malvinas separated this horst
from the remaining Patagonic landmass.” Ugarte
(1966) described the Permian–Triassic units at the
eastern edge of the Deseado area, suggesting a taph-
rogenic origin, and an active extensional regime
through the end of the Triassic. Palma and Ubaldón
(1988) defined the La Golondrina rift at the eastern
continental border when describing the process that
originated the conglomerates and siltstones of the La
Golondrina Formation, including younger La Juanita
Formation sandstones in the sag phase of a Permian–
Triassic extensional period.
The first documented references to the San Ju-
lián Basin appeared in works by Zambrano and Urien
(1974), Yrigoyen (1975), Lesta et al. (1980), and
Urien et al. (1981). Figueiredo et al. (1996) provided
the first detailed description of the geology of the San
Julián Basin, basing their work on seismic, magnetic,
and gravity data, together with information from the
San Julián es-1 exploratory well. Homovc et al.
(1996) assumed that Permian–Triassic and Jurassic
sequences are present in onshore and offshore areas
and that the Jurassic system is a feature that transects
the Permian–Triassic elements. Both areas have the
same tectonic behavior and setting. Recent articles
have described the major geological features of the
continental margin of Argentina. Ross et al. (1996)
compared the North Malvinas Basin with the San Ju-
lián and San Jorge basins and suggested that the early
rift sequence could have a Liassic–Callovian age, and
the late rift sequence a Late Jurassic to Early Creta-
ceous one.
CURRENT TECTONIC SETTING
The Deseado and San Julián basins currently lie in
the middle of the Patagonian terrains and in the cen-
tral part of the continental shelf of Argentina, re-
spectively. Poorly understood until recently because
of a paucity of information, both basins consist of a
series of narrow north-south–trending grabens, sepa-
rated by large areas that underwent limited exten-
sion, developed during Permian–Triassic times on a
basement composed of Paleozoic metamorphic rocks.
Although the Jurassic rifting and the development of
the rhyolitic plateau resulted from simple shear—the
same force that ultimately led to the breakup of
Gondwana—such a mechanism cannot explain the
complex system of half grabens given their normal
orientation relative to the stress field. Instead, for the
time being, one must invoke a combination of rifting
with strike-slip movement as a mechanism of conti-
nental separation.
The Deseado and San Julián basins present a strik-
ing contrast to their adjacent productive counterparts
the San Jorge and Austral basins. Unlike the San Jorge
and Austral basins, the Deseado and San Julián basins
did not undergo thermal subsidence during the middle
Cretaceous. In addition, they lack the characteristic
sedimentary assemblages of thermotectonic stages,
such as piedmont clastics associated with large buried
fault scarps bounding tilted blocks. Whereas the San
Jorge and Austral basins contain thick sequences of
middle Cretaceous sediments, strata of that age are
absent in the Deseado and San Julián basins. This im-
plies that the Deseado and San Julián basins must rely
upon a different petroleum system altogether, for it is
the middle Cretaceous section that contains the
source rocks for the San Jorge and Austral basins—
lacustrine shales and deep-marine shales, respectively.
Outcrop and seismic data suggest that the Dese-
ado and San Julián basins comprise Permian through
Tertiary strata. An east-west–trending fault system
that controlled the distribution of Jurassic units was
observed in the Deseado and San Julián basins. An
orthogonal system of north-south faults in the Dese-
ado basin appears to be related to a Permian–Triassic
graben (Figure 4) that was subsequently elevated and
deformed by Cretaceous compression. This feature—
an inverted part of the Patagonian foreland (Figure
5)—still has a certain amount of exploration potential.
Similar features, with minor deformation, were also
observed adjacent to the master fault bounding the
San Julián Graben (Figure 6).
REGIONAL GEOLOGY
Stratigraphy
The stratigraphy is summarized in Figure 7. The total
preserved section varies greatly in the region. Outcrop-
ping Mesozoic units are more than 3000 m thick in the
central part of the Deseado basin (El Tranquilo) (Fig-
ure 2). At the eastern edge of the basin (La Juanita)
(Figure 2), Permian units are less than 2500 m thick.
The San Julián es-1 well penetrated a 2400 m–thick
Jurassic sequence (Figure 8). Seismic data strongly sug-
gest that older units—lateral equivalents of the Per-
mian La Juanita and La Golondrina formations—occur
in the San Julián Basin. This is supported by similar
depositional settings (syntectonic deposition in a set-
ting characterized by sharp structural margins along
narrow half grabens), contact relationships (directly
overlying basement), and principal fault orientations
(east-west) (Figures 5, 6).
The sedimentary section can be divided into five
parts: (1) La Golondrina rift sequences (La Golon-
drina, La Juanita, El Tranquilo, and Roca Blanca for-
mations), (2) Jurassic volcaniclastic sequences (Bajo
Pobre, Chon Aike, and La Matilde formations), (3) the
Neocomian interval (Bajo Grande Formation),
(4) middle–Upper Cretaceous units (Baqueró and La-
guna Palacios formations), and (5) Tertiary marine se-
quences (Patagonia Formation). Depositional environ-
ments were determined mainly by integrating data
from outcrop sections.
The La Golondrina rift sequences comprised
Permian–Triassic units known from outcrops. The
basal unit, the La Golondrina Formation, is conform-
ably overlain by the La Juanita Formation (Figure 7).
These formations are composed of texturally mature
sandstones, siltstones, and conglomerates deposited in
a fluviolacustrine environment, with extensive alluvial
plains. Palynology data (Archangelsky and Cúneo,
1984) points to a Late Permian age. The La Juanita
Formation is overlain conformably by the El Tranquilo
Formation, which in turn is overlain by the Roca
Blanca Formation (Figure 7). The El Tranquilo and
Roca Blanca formations crop out in the core of the El
Tranquilo anticline (Figure 4). They consist of lithic
sandstones interbedded with thin layers of claystone,
tuffaceous sandstones, and laminated tuffs. Both for-
mations are assumed to be Triassic in age (Middle and
Upper, respectively) (Figure 7a). They are separated
by a minor stratigraphic discontinuity. Although pa-
leontological data support a Liassic age for the Roca
Homovc and Constantini 1799
Figure 4. Geological map of the central part of the Deseado basin depicting the main structural features and the location of three
of the seismic lines used in this study (modified from S. F. Courtade and L. Constantini, 1994, personal communication). SL ⳱ seismic
line.

Blanca Formation (Herbst, 1965), the appearance of
Upper Triassic plants suggests a transition that may
represent a Rethian age for the upper part of the Roca
Blanca Formation/La Golondrina rift sequences. The
lithic component of the Roca Blanca Formation vol-
caniclastics comprises granite fragments (Herbst,
1965) in sharp contrast to the basaltic to andesitic
composition of the overlying pyroclastics of the Bajo
Pobre Formation, suggesting a different provenance/
paleogeography.
The Jurassic volcaniclastic sequences comprise the
Bajo Pobre Formation and the Bahı́a Laura Group,
which together represent bimodal continental basaltic-
rhyolitic volcanism. The Bajo Pobre Formation consists
of aphanitic flood basalts, conglomerates, sandstones,
and volcanigenic agglomerates with basaltic to andesi-
tic lithoclasts and clastic dikes. The subintrusive facies
that crops out at the El Tranquilo area consists of
plagioclase-rich microgabbro and subvolcanic dikes
and sills intruded in Triassic sediments of the El Tran-
quilo Formation. The Ar-Ar ages of samples collected
from the upper member of the Bajo Pobre Formation
confine this part of the unit to a Bajocian age. Seismic
data consisting of continuous reflectors showing pro-
nounced thickening suggest, however, an older age for
the formation (Figure 9). The Bajo Pobre Formation is
assumed to fall within the Lias and Dogger epochs.
Hundreds of kilometers north, in the San Jorge basin

1800 Hydrocarbon Exploration Potential in Southern Argentina

Figure 5. Seismic line 1 across the central Deseado basin showing the taphrogenic paleogeography developed below Middle Jurassic
reflectors.
(Chubut province), a similar history of extension is rec-
ognized in the stratigraphic record. There, the El Cór-
doba Formation, a Sinemurian–Toarcian sequence
composed of basalts and volcanigenic agglomerates in-
terbedded with marine sediments in its upper part, ap-
pears to be correlative with the Bajo Pobre Formation,
owing its genesis to the same rifting episode.
The Callovian–Neocomian volcanic rocks of the
Bahı́a Laura Group are widely distributed over the De-
seado basin (Figure 4), the entire Patagonian region,
and, at least locally, the San Julián Basin (Figure 8).
This group consists of silicic volcanics and ignimbrites
(Chon Aike Formation), distal lacustrine laminated
tuffs (La Matilde Formation), and tuffaceous sand-
stones and conglomerates deposited as lahars (Bajo
Grande Formation) (Hechem and Homovc, 1988).
The San Julián es-1 well penetrated a section of the
Bahı́a Laura Group that was close to 1100 m thick
(Figure 8).
A deeply eroded unconformity separates the Ba-
queró Formation from the underlying sequences (Fig-
ures 6, 10). This unconformity represents a strong
compressional event that affected the basin. The Ba-
queró Formation consists of continental deposits re-
stricted to areas of low paleogeographic relief.
Barremian–Aptian microflora and macroflora (Archan-
gelsky, 1967) suggest that—if the areas were emergent
in the Aptian Albian—they could represent recycled
populations. The Laguna Palacios Formation uncon-
formably overlies the Baqueró Formation, the uncon-
formity representing a significant nondepositional hia-
tus (Hechem and Homovc, 1987). It consists of lapilli
tuffs, produced during explosive arc volcanism, which
blanketed the extensive paleosoil plains.
Tertiary basalts, tuffs, and tuffaceous siltstones
crop out in the Deseado basin (Figure 4). The first ma-
rine incursion occurred in the Paleocene as the seas
transgressed over a peneplained terrain.
Homovc and Constantini 1801
Figure 6. Seismic line 2 across the northeastern area of the San Julián Graben, illustrating the sharp structural margin along the
master fault and the pronounced angular unconformity (dashed line) between the Neocomian and overlying Upper Cretaceous–
Tertiary strata (modified from Figueiredo et al., 1996).

Structural Style
Although originally defined as a single undeformed sta-
ble entity that remained positive throughout its evo-
lution, it now appears more appropriate to consider the
Deseado province as consisting of two Paleozoic–
Cenozoic (Permian through Tertiary) basins—
Deseado and San Julián—with very similar tectono-
stratigraphic histories. The entire Deseado province
was actually emergent only during the Aptian–Albian
(Figure 7).
The San Julián Basin depocenters are best analyzed
by dividing them into three main provinces (Figueiredo
et al., 1996): western, central, and northeastern (Figure
11). The western province is composed of basement
highs and relatively shallow subbasins containing no
more than 1000 m of sediments—a fact corroborated
by gravity and magnetic data. Domino-style normal
faults are the dominant structural feature.
The northeast province is characterized by a
prominent half-graben basement block whose depo-
center contains in excess of 6000 m of sediments ad-
jacent to the bounding master fault (Figure 6). This
master fault is listric in nature, trends north-northeast–
south-southwest, and has rollovers associated with syn-
tectonic deposition (Figure 6). The present structure is
now an anticlinally inverted graben cut by normal
faults (Figure 6).
The central province encompasses the Jurassic de-
pocenters and transpressional highs. The main graben
is symmetric, trends east-west, and contains 3500 m of
sediments (Figure 10). This graben contains a large
east-west–trending normal fault with varying degrees
of compressional reactivation along its strike. The cen-
tral province is dominated by strike-slip faults and en
echelon folds (Figure 11) whose orientation suggests
dextral movement (Figueiredo et al., 1996). These
strike-slip faults formed in response to oblique com-
pression during the main middle Cretaceous defor-
mational phase.
The central Deseado basin is characterized by ma-
jor anticlines (e.g., the El Tranquilo and Vanguardia
anticlines) formed by reactivation of Permian–Triassic
grabens along north-south–trending faults (Figures 4,

1802 Hydrocarbon Exploration Potential in Southern Argentina

12). Basement highs/horsts composed of metamorphic
Devonian rocks (e.g., La Modesta Block) have similar
orientations. Faults oblique to the primary trends are
common in the area, have a variety of geometries and
displacements, and produced wrench-related defor-
mation. These faults mainly strike 40⬚N–50⬚W and
were important in controlling the distribution of Ju-
rassic and Neocomian volcanic units (Figure 8).
Geodynamic Interpretation
The similarities between the late Paleozoic basins of
Africa and their South American equivalents are di-
rectly attributable to their paleogeographic proximity
in southern Gondwana. Both were subject to a major
extensional phase around the Permian–Triassic bound-
ary. In Africa this is recorded in most of the southern
African foredeep basins, as well as in the localized
fault-bounded rifts of central and East Africa (Daly et
al., 1989). In southern Africa, deposition of the Karoo
sediments was abruptly terminated with the onset of
voluminous basaltic volcanism during the Early–
Middle Jurassic. A similar phenomenon occurred in the
Patagonian region, the exception being that the Pata-
gonian volcanism was rhyolitic in composition.
The Permian–Triassic evolution of the Karoo ba-
sins of southern Africa and the Deseado–San Julián ba-
sins of southern Argentina may be viewed in terms of
compressive tectonics along the active margin of
Gondwana. In southern Africa, a major foredeep basin
developed at the front of the northward-directed Cape
fold belt (Daly et al., 1989) (Figure 13), whereas in
southern Argentina, volcanic provinces (Choiyoi
Group) evolved concurrently under increasing crustal
thinning (Kay Mahlburg, 1993; Llambı́as et al., 1993;
Veevers et al., 1994). This superposition of uplift and
extensional disruption of the Pantalassan margin of
Gondwana with compressional deformation of the
Cape fold belt resulted from the extensional collapse
of an orogen (Biddle et al., 1996). A similar tectonic
scenario was presented by Dewey (1988) for the Med-
iterranean region, where the Carpathian fold belt at the
external part of the system coexists with the shear
zones and Panonnian extensional basins of the internal
zone.
The La Golondrina rift sequences were deposited
during an initial extensional phase of rifting, followed
by block faulting and development of half grabens con-
taining lakes and deltas (La Golondrina and La Juanita
formations). The upper part of the rift sequence locally
overlaps its shoulders, suggesting slower, non-fault–
driven basin subsidence (El Tranquilo and Roca Blanca
formations) (Figure 14a).
Ramos (1996) pointed out that the most impor-
tant features of the Argentine continental margin in-
clude a submeridian rift system that crops out in
the Sierra Grande area (Ramos, 1996). This rift system
developed along the offshore and is interrupted
only by the east-west–trending Cretaceous San Jorge
basin. A similar, deeply buried, north-south–trending,
Permian–Triassic rift system in the El Tranquilo area
has been reactivated and is presently part of the Pata-
gonian foreland. The Jurassic Chon Aike Formation in
the major part of southern Argentina is a rhyolitic
sequence that fills north-south–trending, rift-related
half grabens (Ramos, 1996). Grabens in the nearby
Deseado–San Julián area evolved during the same tec-
tonic event but trend east-west, indicating that the
Deseado–San Julián developed during oblique exten-
sion of a pull-apart basin. This area eventually became
a transform plate boundary that is preserved as the
Agulhas-Malvinas fault zone.
The Jurassic ushered in a period of rapid rift prop-
agation into continental areas accompanied by major
doming of rift flanks, extrusion of basalts, and intrusion
of dikes (Figure 14b). In Patagonia this was manifested
in extension and active fault-driven subsidence. A
transtensional fault system developed to accommodate
this extension. Unfortunately, the thick cover of vol-
caniclastic sediments effectively masks much of the un-
derlying structure of these extensional basins. What is
clear, though, is that a new kinematic regime was es-
tablished in response to the development of a transfer
plate boundary.
In the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous, before the
onset of drift between South America and Africa,
crustal extension occurred throughout the Atlantic
margin. Large parts of southern South America were
pervasively stretched along a developing interior rift
(Uliana and Biddle, 1988). This extensional phase was
dated as 150 Ma (Tithonian) to 130 Ma (Hauterivian)
(Urien and Zambrano, 1973). During this time, the rift
propagated from the southernmost tip of the South
Atlantic to about 38⬚S, which is the vicinity of the Sal-
ado Basin of Argentina (Nürnberg and Müller, 1991)
(Figure 15). Rifting combined with strike-slip motion
is thought to have been the mechanism for this conti-
nental separation (Figure 15). The interference of this
motion with Permian–Triassic master faults created
depocenters such as the San Julián Basin (Figure 14).
The Neocomian structural grain (40⬚N–50⬚W) was a
new feature that transected older elements.
Homovc and Constantini 1803
 Wrenching brought about graben inversion and a
change in the polarity of the displacement between
blocks, effectively overprinting the old rift trend
within most of the Deseado–San Julián area The age
of this tectonic reactivation can be dated by the
strong angular unconformity observed from seismic
and outcrop data; it is upper Valanginian–Aptian.
During the upper Valanginian–Aptian, a major defor-
mational event (faulting), with a strong compressional
component affected the entire area (Figure 16). Major
structures such as the El Tranquilo and Vanguardia
anticlines (Figure 12) are thought to be inverted
depocenters.
A period of relative tectonic stability was ob-
served during the Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary, the
only interruption being a mild transpressive reactiva-
tion along major preexisting faults during the Miocene
Andean orogeny.

Figure 7. (a) Generalized stratigraphic column for the Deseado and San Julián basins. Thicknesses are not to scale. Continued.

1804 Hydrocarbon Exploration Potential in Southern Argentina

Figure 7. Continued. (b) Compiled lithostratigraphy of the Deseado basin based on outcrop data (modified from S. F. Courtade
and L. Constantini, 1994, personal communication).
Figure 8. Northwest-southeast regional section correlating the onshore Deseado basin outcrop stratigraphy with that encountered
by the San Julián es-1 well in the offshore San Julián Basin.

Figure 9. Seismic line 3

across the central Deseado ba-
sin illustrating a half-graben
structure of the Lower Jurassic
volcanigenic unit (Bajo Pobre
Formation) developed adjacent
to an east-west–trending princi-
pal fault.

1806 Hydrocarbon Exploration Potential in Southern Argentina

Homovc and Constantini

Figure 10. Seismic line 4 across the central area of the San Julián graben, illustrating the Jurassic sag depocenter and transpressive structures (modified from Figueiredo et al.,
1996). The dashed line marks the unconformity between the Neocomian and overlying Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary strata.
1807
Figure 11. Structural map of the San Julián Basin derived from gravity, magnetic, and seismic data highlighting the subdivision of
the basin into three main structural provinces: western, central, and northeastern (modified from Figueiredo et al., 1996).
EXPLORATION POTENTIAL
Neocomian Petroleum System
The essential elements of the petroleum systems pres-
ent in the study area are summarized in Figure 17. The
only documented occurrences of oil to date in the
Deseado–San Julián basins are the Santa Catalina and
Los Navarros hydrocarbon seeps (Figure 2). Reputed
oil shows found by South Comodoro Oil Co. in a well
they drilled in the southern extreme of the Deseado
basin in the 1960s have not been confirmed. Both seeps
consist of biodegraded oils, possibly because of the
rapid uplifting of the blocks and general lack of subsi-
dence in the central part of the Deseado basin. The
seeps are probably the product of a Neocomian source.
Regarding potential Neocomian source rocks,
there are two possibilities: the La Matilde and Bajo
Grande formations. In the Deseado basin, local out-
crops of the La Matilde Formation exhibit distal lacus-
trine facies containing coals. Where high-temperature
pyroclastic flows occur interbedded in the section in
overlying units, the coals have been thoroughly
cooked. No data are available on these coals to deter-
mine their true source potential.
In the San Julián Basin, the Bajo Grande Formation
appears to have been deposited under (at least local)
1808 Hydrocarbon Exploration Potential in Southern Argentina
anoxic conditions. This conclusion stems from Rock-
Eval pyrolysis run on samples from the San Julián es-1
well. The best potential source interval corresponds to
the Bajo Grande Formation, specifically the 1350 m–
depth sample. This sample is oil prone (type I), con-
tains 5.35% total organic carbon (TOC), and has a hy-
drogen index (HI) of 862 and a Tmax value of 445⬚C
(A. Pellón de Miranda and R. F. Ferreira, 1995, per-
sonal communication). Burial history reconstruction
and geochemical modeling, however, indicate that this
source-prone interval is immature throughout the de-
pocenter (Figure 18).
The potential reservoir rocks of the Deseado and
San Julián basins range from conglomerates, quartz ar-
enites, and wackestones of Permian–Triassic age, to
Neocomian sandstones and locally distributed Upper
Cretaceous conglomerates and sandstones (Table 1).
Good reservoir characteristics are not expected in
the Bahı́a Laura Group volcaniclastic unit, which is
composed mainly of ignimbrites, rhyolites, and asso-
ciated tuffs, but they are expected in the sandy tuffs
of the Neocomian Bajo Grande Formation. These
tuffs, composed of glassy shards and volcanic ash, have
excellent secondary porosity due to the dissolution of
analcime cement during late-stage diagenesis (V.
Meissinger, 1999, personal communication). In the
Santa Catalina seep area of the southern Deseado
Homovc and Constantini

Figure 12. Seismic line 5 across the central Deseado basin showing the El Tranquilo anticline: an inverted Permian–Triassic graben/depocenter with transpressional reactivation
occurring along the north-south–trending bounding fault.
1809
Figure 13. Tectonic element
map depicting the Permian–
Triassic rift basins of central Af- PERMIAN-TRIASSIC MADA GASCAR
rica (Karoo rift basins) and
southern Argentina, which de-
veloped contemporaneously
with the Cape fold and thrust AFRICA INDIA
belt of southern Africa as a SOUTH AMERICA
consequence of the extensional
collapse of the orogen (modi-
fied from Daly et al., 1989).

CUYO

ANTARCTICA

NEUQUEN
CAPE FOLD BELT

NORTH MALVINAS
SAN JULIAN
CHUBUT
DESEADO

Rifting

Compression
SAMFRAU ACTIVE MARGIN

Figure 14. (a) Schematic depiction of the evolution of the Deseado and San Julián basins at the end of the Late Triassic. (b) Schematic
depiction of the evolution of the Deseado and San Julián basins at the end of the Neocomian.
 Figure 15. Predrift recon-
SAM struction for the South Atlantic
(modified from Nürnberg and
Müller, 1991): a rift phase
PARANA-CHACO BASIN dated as 150 Ma propagated
DEFORMATION ZONE
from the southernmost tip of
the South Atlantic to the vicinity
of the Salado Basin. Rifting
PAR combined with strike-slip mo-
tion was the mechanism for this
SALADO B ASI N
AFR continental separation. Jurassic
depocenters in the Deseado–
SAL
San Julián basins shifted in re-
COL
CB sponse to oblique extension:
development of a transtensional
SJB pull-apart basin. Postextensional
Lower Cretaceous thermal sub-
DB sidence led to the development
SJ
AB
of the San Jorge and Austral
basins, in sharp contrast to the
Deseado–San Julián basins that
were emergent as a result of
transpressionally induced inver-
sion. AFR ⳱ southern Africa;
SAM ⳱ South America; PAR ⳱
Paraná plate; SAL ⳱ Salado
plate; COL ⳱ Colorado plate;
CB ⳱ Colorado Basin; SJB ⳱
San Jorge basin; DB ⳱ Dese-
ado basin; SJ ⳱ San Julián Ba-
sin; AB ⳱ Austral basin.

Figure 16. Schematic depiction of the evolution of the Deseado and San Julián basins at the end of the Upper Cretaceous highlighting
the main compressive features. Note: The Baqueró and Laguna Palacios formations have been vertically exaggerated (3⳯).

Homovc and Constantini 1811

Figure 17. Essential elements of the Permian–Triassic and Neocomian petroleum systems in the Deseado and San Julián basins.
The “critical moment” is chosen as the Valanginian–Aptian tectonic event, for it formed the main transpressive inversion structures.
Secondary inversion structures were formed during the Miocene Andean orogeny.

basin (Figure 2) these tuffs are thoroughly impreg-
nated with oil.
The Baqueró Formation conglomerates, composed
of rock fragments of tuffs, volcanics, and fine- to
medium-grained cross-bedded sandstones, are oil im-
pregnated in the Los Navarros seep area of the central
Deseado basin (Figure 2). The areally restricted nature
of these fluviolacustrine deposits is such that they are
not believed to represent an important reservoir
interval.
The occurrence of hydrocarbon seeps in the De-
seado basin suggests that structures, where preserved
in fact and within a viable migration pathway, consti-
tute prospective traps (Figure 19). The occurrence of
Neocomian and Upper Cretaceous sandstone facies be-
low the regional seal—Laguna Palacios Formation tuff-
aceous shales—greatly enhances the prospectiveness of
any given trap.
Permian–Triassic Petroleum System
Analysis of outcrop samples revealed organic-rich ho-
rizons in dark-gray claystones and shales of the upper
part of the Triassic El Tranquilo Formation. Optical
microscopy showed that the organic matter con-
sists primarily of inertinite with minor quantities of

Figure 18. Burial history re-

construction for the El Tran-
quilo area of the Deseado ba-
sin. The stratigraphic data and
regional geology are based on
work by Di Persia (1965) and
A. F. Viera and J. Gonzalez
Naya (1993, personal commu-
nication). A geothermal gradi-
ent of 3⬚C/100 m was used
(following G. A. Lafitte et al.,
1993, personal communication).

1812 Hydrocarbon Exploration Potential in Southern Argentina

 hydrogen-rich herbaceous material. These type III ker-

Low/medium, mechanical
matrix, secondary pores

diagenesis generation
ogens contain 0.88% TOC and have vitrinite reflec-

dissolution of glassy

compaction, matrix
Very high (⬎30%),
tance levels (Ro) of 1.52% (A. F. Viera and J. Gonzalez

High, intragranular

High, intragranular
High, intragranular

High, intragranular
Porosity

Naya, 1993, personal communication). The high Ro

levels (overmaturity) are due to the intrusion of dia-
base dikes, a local phenomenon in a structurally com-
plex zone (Figure 18). Lower argillaceous levels of the
Permian La Golondrina Formation are considered to
Low-sinuosity distributary be potential source rocks although they have never
been drilled.
Paleosoils, rare channels

Low sinuosity channels,

channels, upper delta
Sheet floods, channels

The El Tranquilo and La Golondrina formations

Low sinuosity, fluvial

lower alluvial plain

Environment

Lower delta plain have been folded into north-south–trending anticlines.

One scenario envisions hydrocarbons being forcefully
expelled from these potential source rocks as a result
of the lateral compression associated with the folding.
Table 1. Summary of Lithological Characteristics from Outcrop Samples of the Potential Reservoir Units in the Deseado Basin

plain

In this scenario, hydrocarbons would have migrated

vertically into overlying sandy units (Figure 19). Inter-
calated argillaceous strata would likely have acted as
and small sheets, broad
channels fining upward

5–6 m, tabular to broad

seals. In such a scenario, one would expect to encoun-

4–6 m, medium lenses,

3 m, broad channels to
3–4 m, medium lenses
3–4 m, small lenses,

ter stacked pays in the overlying Triassic section. The

Occurrence

2–3 m, lenticular,
medium lenses

intrusion of mafic rocks, aside from altering the folding

channels, bars

somewhat, locally would have elevated the maturity

channels

channels

levels of the prospective source intervals, generating

tabular

hydrocarbons at shallower structural depths than those

indicated by geochemical modeling (Figure 18). Alter-
natively, these locally elevated thermal maturities
could enhance the likelihood of encountering gas.
quartz, biotite, feldspars
Fragments of vitric tuffs,

Quartz, feldspars, lithics

The La Golondrina and La Juanita formations con-

anfibolites, feldspars
plagioclase, quartz,

stitute the primary Permian reservoirs (Table 1).

Mineralogy

Gneiss, quartzites,

Braided fluvial channel deposits (conglomerates and

Volcanic rocks,
Quartz lithics

sandstones) deposited in a flood-plain setting (Jalfin,

1987) comprise the main reservoir facies of the La Go-
biotite
Quartz

londrina Formation. Compositionally and texturally

mature quartzites derived from a low-relief Devonian
metasedimentary landscape (Chebli and Ferrello,
Lithic sandstones, fine to
Conglomerates, medium

1974) and deposited in a low-sinuosity fluvial environ-

coarse conglomerates
Conglomerates, coarse

Conglomerates, coarse
to coarse sandstones

Quartzites, medium to

ment exhibit the best reservoir qualities of the La Juan-

Sandy and silty tuffs,
medium to coarse
Lithology

ita Formation.
coarse grained

Potential Triassic reservoirs appear to be limited to

sandstones

sandstones

sandstones

the upper member of the El Tranquilo Formation. This

member comprises fine- to coarse-grained, moderately
sorted, lithic sandstones with intragranular porosity,
interbedded with thin claystones. It represents depo-
sition in a regionally extensive delta-plain environment
La Juanta Fm. (Permian)

with abundant distributary streams.

(Late Cretaceous)

La Golondrina Fm.
(upper member)

(lower member)
El Tranquillo Fm.

El Tranquillo Fm.
Bajo Grande Fm.
(Neocomian)
Baqueró Fm.

CONCLUSIONS
(Permian)
(Triassic)

(Triassic)
Formation

The similarities between the late Paleozoic basins

of Africa and their South American equivalents are

Homovc and Constantini 1813

Figure 19. Idealized north-south cross section from the central area of the Deseado basin to the northern terminus of the Austral
basin depicting four potential migration scenarios: (1) vertical migration from potential Permian source rocks into overlying Triassic
reservoirs, (2) lateral migration from distal lacustrine Neocomian source rocks into proximal reservoir facies, (3) vertical migration
from Neocomian source rocks into Upper Cretaceous Baqueró Formation sandstone lenses, and (4) long-distance (secondary) lateral
migration from Austral basin source rocks into Neocomian and Upper Cretaceous reservoirs. 1 ⳱ Permian–Triassic; 2 ⳱ Middle
Jurassic volcanics of the Chon Aike Formation; 3 ⳱ distal facies of the Neocomian La Matilde Formation; 4 ⳱ proximal facies of the
Bajo Grande Formation; 5 ⳱ sandstones of the Upper Cretaceous Baqueró Formation; 6 ⳱ Cretaceous overburden sequence; 7 ⳱
Cretaceous overburden sequence of the Austral basin; 8 ⳱ Laguna Palacios Formation and lateral equivalents; 9 ⳱ primary Neo-
comian migration path; 10 ⳱ secondary migration path; 11 ⳱ primary migration path.

directly attributable to their paleogeographic proxim-
ity in southern Gondwana. Both were subject to a ma-
jor extensional phase around the Permian–Triassic
boundary, and both experienced an abrupt termination
of clastic deposition with the onset of voluminous vol-
canism in the Early–Middle Jurassic.
On a more localized scale, the Deseado and San
Julián basins record a similar (linked) tectonostrati-
graphic evolution since their inception in the late Pa-
leozoic. Both basins evolved as continental intracra-
tonic rifts; both similarly had their clastic deposition
terminated by Middle Jurassic volcanism. Very low
rates of subsidence in the Lower Cretaceous were
abruptly interrupted by a strong compressional event
marked by a prominent angular unconformity from the
upper Valanginian–Aptian. Wrenching associated with
this compressive event produced transpressive struc-
tures in both basins.
The origin of the oil seeps in the Deseado basin has
yet to be determined because of the high degree of
biodegradation of the samples; however, detailed bio-
marker studies employing gas chromatography–mass
spectrometry–mass spectrometry (GC-MS-MS) may
shed some light on the oil-to-oil and oil-to-source cor-
relations. For now, they are presumed to be Neocom-
ian in origin (La Matilde or Bajo Grande formation).
A Permian (La Golondrina Formation) or Triassic (El
Tranquilo Formation) source needs to be explored fur-
ther as does the possibility of long-distance (lateral)
migration from the Austral basin.
Limited seismic coverage and thick Jurassic
volcanics inhibit identification of the depositional
limits of the upper Paleozoic sequences. Consequently
exploration efforts should focus on defining these
limits.
Temporal correlations between oil-bearing units of
the Austral basin (Springhill Formation) and the Bajo
Grande Formation of the Deseado basin suggest that
the latter could be an exploration target in the area
between the Triassic outcrops (El Tranquilo area) and
the northern boundary of the Austral basin: the Rı́o
Chico area (Figure 19).
The Deseado and San Julián basins remain virtu-
ally unexplored; only four wells having been drilled in
the entire area. As such, significant exploration poten-
tial remains. Possible play types include Paleozoic ob-
jectives in positive transpressive features, lateral updip
pinch-outs of Bajo Grande Formation sandstones, and
fractured Jurassic volcanics adjacent to fault zones
(Figure 19).

1814 Hydrocarbon Exploration Potential in Southern Argentina

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