Title
Thermal structure and source rock maturity of the North Peruvian forearc system: Insights from a subduction-sedimentation integrated petroleum system modeling
Date Issued
01 December 2020
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Lemgruber-Traby A.
Espurt N.
Souque C.
Henry P.
Baby P.
Brusset S.
Publisher(s)
Elsevier Ltd
Abstract
Basin modeling is commonly used for the hydrocarbon potential evaluation of underexplored areas, taking into account the full basin history to assess its thermicity and fluid distributions. In the case of forearc basins, however, the influence of the subduction on the internal thermal structure is difficult to predict. The existing subduction thermal models usually focus on the present day lithosphere and do not consider the sediment infill history, while industrial modeling tools handle the thermal evolution of sedimentary basins but not the subduction process. In this paper, we propose a solution model in which the cooling engendered by the subduction is represented by the advective term of the heat conservation energy equation throughout the sedimentation. This study focuses on the Talara-Tumbes-Lancones petroleum province, part of the North Peruvian forearc system. Despite the long term exploration of the Talara Basin, the origin of its massive oil fields still remains questioned. The new subduction-sedimentation integrated petroleum system modeling presented here, calibrated by numerous structural and thermometric data, allows to better constrain the thermal structure and source rock maturity history of this forearc system. We show that the exposure of the sedimentary basin to the subducting cold lithosphere, the sedimentation rate and erosion are important factors impacting the maturity of the source rocks. Consequently, even in the same subduction setting, each depocenter of the North Peruvian forearc system presents a different thermal history and maturity timing, and each basin presents an independent petroleum system.
Volume
122
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Geoquímica, Geofísica Geología
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85089852931
Source
Marine and Petroleum Geology
ISSN of the container
02648172
Sponsor(s)
This paper is part of AL-T PhD project at IFP Energies Nouvelles/Aix-Marseille University and conducted thanks to the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-PERUPETRO S.A. research agreement. The authors acknowledge the use of the MOVE Software Suite granted by Petroleum Experts Limited and thank Claude Gout and Boris Marcaillou for the discussions about the subduction thermal models. We also acknowledge the Associate Editor Johannes Wendebourg, Carolyn Lampe, and an anonymous reviewer for the constructive comments which greatly helped us improve our manuscript. Financial support for field work and analysis came from IFP Energies Nouvelles, IRD (UR 234), CEREGE (internal research grant: Thermal regime and reservoir properties of the Talara-Tumbes forearc basin, North Peru), and the Institut Carnot ISIFoR (Research project: Structural modeling and petroleum simulations in complex zones: insight into the giant petroleum field of the Nord Peruvian forearc).
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus