The La Luna Formation, Venezuela: A prospective unconventional reservoir

Abstract

Since the early 2000s, the exploitation of unconventional reservoirs has become very important to the oil and gas industry because of their high potential source of energy and economic value. Venezuela possesses a world-class hydrocarbon source rock in one of the most prolific hydrocarbon basins in the world, namely the Cretaceous La Luna Formation in the Maracaibo Basin. Outcrop and core samples collected from the northwestern Maracaibo Basin provide the database for this study. A comprehensive multiscale characterization of the samples is undertaken to unravel the stratigraphic properties of the petroleum system. In addition, a geochemical approach is taken to evaluate the prospectivity of the La Luna Formation as an unconventional resource in the Maracaibo Basin. Rock-Eval pyrolysis and biomarker data indicate that the La Luna Formation is dominated by type II kerogen, indicating an oil-prone marine organic matter origin. Total organic carbon values range between 3.85 wt% and 9.10 wt%. Distributions of isoprenoids, steranes, and terpanes including gammacerane and monoaromatic steroid hydrocarbons indicate a hypersaline, marine carbonate anoxic depositional environment. Thermal maturity parameters indicate that most of the cores are currently in the oil window. This combined stratigraphic geochemical study indicates that the La Luna Formation has excellent potential as an unconventional reservoir for oil and gas in the study area.