Venezuela

Potential Source-Rocks

Transgressive Phase of the Continental Encroachment Cycle

Despite the fact the seismic line of this Canvas autotrace is located on the conventional offshore, it is almost certain that in the deep offshore, the most likely generating petroleum sub-system is associated with the Cretaceous transgressive sedimentary package. These sediments, deposited during the Mesozoic marine ingression, have a characteristic retrogradational geometry with a progressive increasing of the shelf, i.e., the distance between the shelf break and the shoreline increasing at each relative sea level rise (marine ingression). In fact, the transgressive phase is composed by a stacking of increasingly smaller sedimentary regressions, deposited during the periods of stability the relative sea level, which that increasingly important marine ingressions. As an alternative to the Mesozoic generating petroleum sub-system, it is always possible to invoke a Neogene generating petroleum sub-system consisting of deep water sediments with relatively low TOC. Actually, we can already see on this tentative geological interpretation the thickness of the post-Oligocene sediments reaches, practically, 5 seconds (t.w.t.), which is, largely, sufficient for the possible dispersive organic matter of the Lower Tertiary levels reach maturation.