Jequitinhonha Basin: Structural aspects, relationship with igneous activity, and hydrocarbon exudations

Abstract

The Jequitinhonha Basin (JB) is one of the sedimentary basins in the Brazilian Eastern Margin. Although several regional studies have been conducted to define its tectonic framework and petroleum system, neither one is very well-understood. For instance, the extent and influence of the volcanic rocks in the petroleum system of the JB are still matters of debate among geoscientists. We found a new integrated interpretation for the structural framework of JB in which we discover the major faults, the mapped volcanics, and a new basement map. Finally, we evaluate the correlation of known exudation occurrences with our findings. Several exudation occurrences are observed in the evaporite province (to the north), although only one exudation occurrence is seen in the Royal Charlotte domain (to the south) thus corroborating the negative impact of the Abrolhos magmatic event for the petroleum systems in the JB. At least seven exudation occurrences are observed in the oceanic crustal domain. This fact strengthens the possibility of the existence of an Urucutuca-Urucutuca postrift petroleum system.