Sedimentary basin covering most of Neuquén Province in Argentina
Neuquén Basin
Coordinates
38°14′S 69°16′W / 38.233°S 69.267°W / -38.233; -69.267 Etymology
Neuquén River Location Southern South America Country
Argentina
Chile State(s)
Mendoza ,
Río Negro ,
La Pampa , &
Neuquén Provinces
Araucanía &
Bío Bío Regions Cities
Neuquén ,
Bariloche On/Offshore Onshore Boundaries
Andean Volcanic Belt (W)
San Rafael Block (NE)
Sierra Pintada (E)
North Patagonian Massif (SE) Part of
Andean foreland basins Area 120,000 km2 (46,000 sq mi) River(s)
Río Negro ,
Colorado ,
Limay ,
Collón Curá &
Neuquén Rivers Lake(s)
Ezquiel Ramos Mexía ,
Los Barreales &
Mari Menuco Reservoirs
Basin type
Foreland basin
Plate
South American
Orogeny
Andean
Age
Triassic -
Holocene
Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy
Faults
Huincul
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
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
^ Some authors include the Agua de la Piedra Formation within the Malargüe Group, others do not
^ Some authors include the Tordillo Formation within the Mendoza Group, others do not
^ Some authors include the Los Molles Formation within the Cuyo Group, others do not
References
^
"Cuenca Neuquina" . Secretaría de Energía (in Spanish). Government of Argentina. Retrieved 30 November 2015 .
^ Howell et al., 2005
^
a
b
c Rojas et al., 2016
^
a
b Ramos & Mahlburg Kay, 2006
^ Ponce et al., 2015, p.10
^
a
b Mosquera & Ramos, 2006
^
a
b
c
d
e Pángaro et al., 2009
^ Leanza, 2017, p.150
^
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
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h Hoja Geológica 3969-II, 2007, p.6
^ Kramarz et al., 2005, p.276
^ Escosteguy & Franchi, 2010, p.425
^
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
^
a
b Escosteguy & Franchi, 2010, p.426
^
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
^ Escosteguy & Franchi, 2010, p.423
^
a
b
c
d
e Náñez & Malumián, 2019, p.186
^ Escosteguy & Franchi, 2010, p.422
^ Kramarz et al., 2015, p.586
^ Agnolin & Chafrat, 2015
^
a
b Escosteguy & Franchi, 2010, p.421
^ Wilf et al., 2005
^
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
^ Garrido, 2011, p.237
^ Garrido, 2011, p.236
^ Escosteguy & Franchi, 2010, p.420
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h Gómez Dacal et al., 2018, p.113
^ Ponce et al., 2015, p.16
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g Olivo et al., 2016, p.218
^ Voglino, 2017
^ Ponce et al., 2015, p.18
^ Iñigo et al., 2018
^ Ponce et al., 2015, p.27
^ Geologic Map, 2007, p.147
^ Mescua et al., 2013, p.105
^
a
b Ponce et al., 2015, p.17
^
a
b
c Zavala, 1993, p.74
^
a
b Zavattieri & Mego, 2008, p.484
^ Geologic Map, 2007, p.144
^ Mendiberri et al., 2004, p.1
^ Ponce et al., 2015, p.28
^ Ponce et al., 2015, p.29
Bibliography
Geologic map
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
Ventana Formation
Chichinales Formation
Cerro Bandera Formation
Further reading
Sedimentary basins of Argentina
Onshore & offshore
Offshore Sources