Origin of the gas in the lower Miocene Barzalosa Formation, Upper Magdalena Valley Basin, Colombia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32685/0120-1425/bol.geol.52.2.2025.755Keywords:
Petroleum system, Petroleum geology, Thermogenic gas
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Abstract
The Upper Magdalena Basin is a prolific hydrocarbon-producing sedimentary basin in Colombia. Fluvial and lacustrine Mio-cene reservoirs within the basin comprise multiple horizons that, at first glance, appear to be isolated from one another. Gas accumulations have been identified deep in the stratigraphic column, particularly within the middle Miocene Barzalosa For-mation, whose source and connection to the regional petroleum system remain unknown. These reservoirs are embedded with-in fine-grained lacustrine and swamp deposits.
Molecular and isotopic analyses of the gases reveal a thermogenic origin for the hydrocarbons contained within these reser-voirs. The presence of thermogenic gas in the coarser-grained layers of the Barzalosa Formation implies a connection to a deeper basin source. The hydrocarbons likely migrated along adjacent fault systems, reaching the coarse-grained beds of the overlying La Victoria Formation (basal formation of the Honda Group), and subsequently moved through the unconformable contact that juxtaposes the permeable beds of Barzalosa and La Victoria formations.
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