Abstract

EGUILUZ DE ANTUNANO, Samuel. Geological synopsis of the Burgos Basin, Northeastern Mexico: petroleum production and resources. Bol. Soc. Geol. Mex [online]. 2011, vol.63, n.2, pp.323-332. ISSN 1405-3322.

The Burgos Basin is located at the Coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. It consists of more than 5000 m of siliciclastic Cenozoic rocks and more than 3000 m of Mesozoic carbonate, evaporite and siliciclastic rocks. The basin contains stratigraphic sequences with transgressive and regressive cycles with unconformities limiting several of the sequences. This basin experienced several superimposed tectonic events. The complex basement contains both metamorphic and igneous rocks, affected by rifting during the opening of the Gulf of Mexico. As a result of crustal subsidence, marine pretectonic and syntectonic sediments accumulated from Late Jurassic to Eocene. The Laramide episode is represented by foreland deposits, deeply erosive surfaces, and broad folds. An upper detachment level, with syndepositional listric faults and roll-over structures, denotes tectonic extension during the Paleocene and Eocene. The post-tectonic stage is associated to basement uplift during the Oligocene, deep detachment on Jurassic evaporites, decoupling of sedimentary cover link to extension faults, and a main unconformity at 30 Ma. The early phase of the Perdido Fold Belt occurred at this stage. This event is linked to cortical uplift and may be related to the emplacement of the East Alkaline Magmatic Arc, during the Oligocene. Finally, from late Oligocene to Neogene thick siliciclastic prograding sequences accumulated towards the Gulf of Mexico. The late phase of deformation consists of growth faults associated to shale and Jurassic salt diapirs, and a late deformation of the Perdido Fold Belt. In this basin there have been discovered more than 220 onshore gas fields in Cenozoic and Mesozoic rocks, with a cumulative production of over 8 x 1012 ft³ of dry gas and subordinate condensate in over 60 years of exploitation. The next challenge will be to discover new productive plays in stratigraphic traps, Mesozoic structures and oil and gas reservoirs offshore.

Keywords : Burgos Basin; geology of northeastern Mexico; gas production.

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