19

Campos, Henry and Paul Mann, 2015, Tectonostratigraphic evolution of the

Northern Llanos Foreland Basin of Colombia and implications for its
hydrocarbon potential, in C. Bartolini and P. Mann, eds., Petroleum geology
and potential of the Colombian Caribbean Margin: AAPG Memoir 108, p.
517–546.

Tectonostratigraphic Evolution of
the Northern Llanos Foreland Basin
of Colombia and Implications for Its
Hydrocarbon Potential
Henry Campos1
Shell Exploration and Production Company, 150 N. Dairy Ashford, Houston, Texas 77079, U.S.A.
(e-mail: [email protected])

Paul Mann
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University
of Houston, 3507 Cullen Blvd., Houston Texas 77004, U.S.A. (e-mail: [email protected])

Abstract
The Llanos Basin of Colombia is located along the eastern flank of the Andes in northern
South America. The basin covers an area of approximately 194,000 km 2 and it is drained
­toward the east and northeast by the Arauca, Meta, Casanare, and Vichada Rivers and their
tributaries that join the Orinoco River. Petroleum exploration activity in this basin began with
the drilling of the first well in 1944. Since then, two oil giants (Cano Limon and Castilla),
three major oil fields (Rubiales, Apiay, and the Tame Complex), and more than 50 minor oil-
fields have been discovered, representing 1500 MBOE of cumulative production and esti-
mated ­remaining reserves of more than 3050 MBOE. These hydrocarbon volumes make the
Llanos Basin very prospective for future giant- to medium-size field discoveries, for which
a complete understanding of the basin’s geologic evolution is necessary. Key factors in the
petroleum p ­ otential of the Llanos Basin include the deposition of Cretaceous marine source
rocks that were deeply buried and matured and multiple phases of orogeny that generated
numerous structural and stratigraphic traps and pathways for oil migration. The main aim of
this study is to provide an overview of the tectonostratigraphic evolution of the northern and
central parts of the Llanos Basin, based on previously published information and our own
seismic interpretations and flexural modeling of the foreland basin.

1
Previous Address: Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, 2305 Speedway, Stop
C1160, Austin, Texas 78712, U.S.A.

Copyright ©2015 by The American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

DOI:10.1306/13531948M1083651

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 518  Campos and Mann

Geologic and Tectonic Setting that separates the northern Llanos Basin from the
Barinas Basin of Venezuela (Figure 2B).
In the northwestern corner of South America, the We interpreted regional gravity and magnetic data
Andean mountain range trends northeast and to define a north−south-trending structural ­alignment
divides into three cordilleras: Oriental, Central, and in the eastern part of the basin separating two
­O ccidental (Aleman and Ramos, 2000). The late ­Paleozoic half-grabens.
­C enozoic uplift of these cordilleras was caused by
the combination of west−east shortening related to
the subduction of the Nazca and Caribbean plates Scope and Data
and the collision of the Panama Arc (Cediel et al.,
2003; V ­ argas and Mann, 2013). Between the G ­ uyana In 2007, the Colombian National Hydrocarbon
shield and the Cordillera Oriental the basement dips Agency (ANH) redefined the boundaries and
westward into the subandean Putumayo and L ­ lanos nomenclature of all the sedimentary basins of
Basins, which are separated by the Serrania de la Colombia based on geologic criteria for exploration
­Macarena and the Vaupes arch (Pachon, 2013). The activities in the petroleum industry (Barrero et al.,
Arauca arch ­separates the Colombian ­Llanos Basin 2007). This redefinition left the Llanos foothills as
from the ­Venezuelan Barinas−Apure Basin ­(Figure 1). part of the Cordillera Oriental Basin, and the bound-
The Llanos Basin is the product of three main ary between this and the Llanos Basin was drawn
regional tectonic episodes: (1) Pre-Cambrian to along the ­frontal thrust of the Cordillera Oriental.
­Cambrian passive margin, (2) late Paleozoic to late Based on the new Colombian Basin n ­ omenclature
Mesozoic back-arc rifting, and (3) a Cenozoic fore- and boundaries, this study aims to review the tec-
land phase (Sarmiento-Rojas, 2001). During the latter tonostratigraphic evolution of the northern and
episode, the basin showed a sudden and accelerated central part of the Llanos Basin, using the integra-
pulse of middle Miocene subsidence that was likely in tion of potential fields, well, and seismic data. Most
response to distant shallow subduction and collision of the previously published studies (Julivert, 1970;
events along the active Pacific Margin of northwest- Colletta et al., 1990; Dengo and Covey, 1993; Cooper
ern South America. Regional east−west shortening, et al., 1995; Sarmiento-Rojas, 2001; Branquet et al.,
driven in part by collision of the Panama Arc along 2002; Sarmiento-Rojas et al., 2006; Bayona et al.,
the Pacific Margin of Colombia (van der Hilst and 2008a; Parra et al., 2009a; Figure 3) have focused their
Mann, 1994; Vargas and Mann, 2013), has built the descriptions on outcrop areas of the Cordillera Orien-
widest part of the northern Andes, i­ ncluding a prom- tal of Colombia and the adjacent Llanos foothills and
inent arcuate thrust salient, the Cordillera ­Oriental, have not attempted a regional synthesis of the subsur-
which overthrusts the Llanos foreland along a broad face geologic history of the Llanos foreland basin to
V-shaped tip that projects 40 km (24.8 mi) eastward the east.
into the Llanos Basin.
The present shape of the Llanos Basin consists of an
asymmetrical sedimentary wedge, typical of ­foreland Potential Field Data
basins, that was deposited on top of the westward-
dipping basement surface of the Guyana shield, Regional Bouguer anomaly gravity maps and total
which also forms its eastern boundary (Figure 1). magnetic intensity reduced to the pole (TMIRP) maps
The basin is deeper in its western side adjacent to (Figure 2) were digitized from published maps after
the fold-and-thrust belt of the Cordillera O ­ riental, an airborne survey in the northern and central parts
as is shown by the Bouguer gravity anomaly map of the Llanos Basin (Graterol et al., 2007; Graterol and
­( Figure 2A). The Serrania de la Macarena and Carson Aerogravity, 2009). The contoured maps were
the ­Vaupes arch, underlain by Pre-Cambrian and first converted to points using ArcGIS and then these
­Cretaceous rocks, make up the southern boundary of points were gridded and converted to a color-shaded
the basin, which separates the southern Llanos Basin map as shown in Figure 2.
(Moreno and Escalona, 2015) from the Putumayo We used these maps as a first approach to define
foreland basin in southern Colombia and Ecuador the shape and geometry of the Llanos foreland basin
(Londono, 2004; Londono et al., 2012; Pachon, 2013). and to depict the existence of the different depozones
The northern boundary of the basin is commonly of a foreland basin system (wedge-top, foredeep,
referred to as the Arauca arch, a subtle, east−west- forebulge, and backbulge) as previously defined by
trending structural high observed on magnetic data DeCelles and Giles (1996) for the Llanos Basin.

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 Tectonostratigraphic Evolution of the Northern Llanos Foreland Basin of Colombia  519

Figure 1. Geologic map, active volcanoes, and seismicity (Mw ≥ 4) of northwestern South America based on the Caribbean
Basins Tectonics and Hydrocarbons (CBTH) consortium data (Mann et al., 2010). GPS vectors showing eastward motion of
accreted terranes at an average rate of 20 mm/yr relative to a fixed South American plate were compiled by Calais and Mann
(2009). Original sources of GPS data include Perez et al. (2001) and Trenkamp et al. (2002). The red dashed box shows the
location of Figure 2. 50 km (31.1 mi)

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 520  Campos and Mann

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 Tectonostratigraphic Evolution of the Northern Llanos Foreland Basin of Colombia  521

Figure 2. (A) Regional Bouguer gravity map of the Llanos Basin. Negative anomaly values (cool colors) are associated with
areas of high sedimentary thickness, whereas positive anomaly values (warm colors) represent areas where the basement
is either at a shallow depth or outcropping. Normal faulting of the basement that affects the overlying sediments produces
­sinuosity in the contour lines. (B) Magnetic intensity reduced to the pole map of the Llanos Basin. This magnetic map has
a higher frequency content because of lateral variations of magnetic susceptibility within the basement. This magnetic map
shows a high correlation with the Bouguer anomaly map shown in A, especially in the areas associated with the Serrania de la
Macarena in the southwest part of the map area and to the Arauca arch in the northern part of the map area. 50 km (31.1 mi)

Seismic Data The dataset comprised more than 64 different seis-

mic surveys acquired between the years of 1969 and
More than 4800 km (2982.6 mi) of two-dimensional 2005, most of them by foreign companies in associa-
(2-D) seismic reflection data covering the study area of tion contracts with Ecopetrol, the national oil ­company
approximately 135,000 km2 (Figure 3) were interpreted of Colombia. The many seismic datasets posed a major
for the generation of regional maps showing s­ tructural challenge in the early stages of the study due to the
contours and isopachs. The ANH through the different seismic parameters used during their acqui-
­Colombian Exploration and Production I­ nformation sition and during the processing of the data. Several
Service, also known as EPIS, kindly provided this post-stack geophysical processing techniques were
dataset. applied to the data to normalize the amplitudes and

Figure 3. Topographic map of the northern Llanos Basin showing the location of the most recent published studies identified in
the legend and the red boxed study area. The study area covers an area of approximately 135,000 km2. The lack of seismic and
well data in the eastern and southern part of the basin is evident. Only two, previous studies (Sarmiento-Rojas et al., 2006;
Bayona et al., 2008a) have used well data to study the history of the Llanos foreland basin. Most previous studies have focused
on outcrops in the Cordillera Oriental and the foothills west of the Llanos Basin. 50 km (31.1 mi)

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 522  Campos and Mann

Figure 4. Decompacted average velocity (Vo) contour map for the northern and central Llanos Basin. The velocity was
c­ alculated using checkshots and vertical seismic profiles (VSPs) data from 48 wells (red points) in order to have a more
­accurate time-depth conversion of the seismic data. Decompacted average velocity (Vo) is not affected by stratal dip and
fault effects and only depends on lithologic variations. 50 km (31.1 mi)

frequency content of the different surveys and to cor- that represents the decompacted average velocity
rect datum misties. Correction of misties was possi- at a depth of one foot from the surface. This param-
ble but normalization of the many different surveys eter was calculated from the time and depth of each
proved challenging. well penetration for which a top is picked based on
checkshot and VSP data. We used the checkshot and
VSP data from 48 wells in the basin to calculate the
Well Data Vo value for each well. We gridded and contoured
these calculated values to create a map of the param-
The dataset used in this study also included 48 well eter Vo for the Llanos Basin shown in Figure 4.
bores containing gamma ray, resistivity and sonic logs,
formation tops, checkshots, and vertical ­seismic pro-
files (Figure 3). Fourteen of these wells were tied to the Tectonic History and Depositional Processes
seismic lines and their formation tops were used as a of the Northern Llanos Basin
starting point for interpretation of sequences. The rest
of the wells were used as ­single points during grid- Regional Stratigraphic Framework
ding and contouring of surface maps.
Time-depth conversion was performed using the The stratigraphic framework that is most widely
faust’s method, which consists of the multiplication accepted for the Llanos Basin was proposed by Cooper
of each interpreted horizon by a parameter “Vo” et al. (1995) (Figure 5), which was mainly developed

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 Tectonostratigraphic Evolution of the Northern Llanos Foreland Basin of Colombia  523

Figure 5. Composite stratigraphic log based on outcrop studies in the foothills west of the Llanos Basin and from wells within
the foreland basin (modified from Villegas et al., 1994; Cooper et al., 1995). The wedge shape within the foreland basin
causes Paleogene sequences and unconformities in the deeper area of the basin near the thrust front to thin and merge
­upsection into pinch-outs or unconformities (Gomez et al., 2005). Petroleum system components are indicated: source rock
(S), reservoir rock (R), and seal rock (Se) (modified from Cazier et al., 1995; ANH, 2007).

from observations for the Cusiana field in the western The Llanos Basin consists of a series of Cretaceous
part of the Llanos Basin. The Cusiana stratigraphy was and ­Tertiary siliciclastic sequences deposited on top
correlated eastward to include the rest of the basin, of Pre-Cambrian and Paleozoic basement (Moreno-
although it is well known that different erosion and Lopez and Escalona, 2014), that includes a complex
lateral facies complicate the stratigraphy in the eastern of igneous and metamorphic rocks belonging to the
part of the basin (Villegas et al., 1994). Guyana shield. Crystalline rocks of the Guyana shield

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 524  Campos and Mann

crop out near the Orinoco River in the northeast part Conformably overlying the Carbonera Forma-
of the basin and in the Serrania de la Macarena in tion, the shaly Leon Formation was deposited over a
the ­s outhwest of the basin (INGEOMINAS, 2003a; wide area of the Llanos Basin under shallow marine
Figure 1). ­conditions during the middle Miocene (Bayona, 2008b;
Paleozoic and pre-Cretaceous sedimentary rocks Parra et al., 2009a). The late Miocene to ­Pleistocene
have been identified as the initial deposits of the section consists of a thick sequence of ­c ontinental
­Llanos Basin when the Arauca graben in the north- sedimentary rocks (sandstone, shale, and claystone),
ern part formed as a large failed rift of early Paleozoic which is commonly referred to as the Guayabo
age (McCollough and Carver, 1992). These rift-related ­Formation. These rocks discordantly underlie alluvial
deposits have a limited areal distribution and have Quaternary sediments, composed of unconsolidated
been described in some wells as a restricted shal- gravels of variable thickness (INGEOMINAS, 2003b).
low marine environment (Numpaque, 1986; Munoz-
Torres, 1991; Cooper et al., 1995; Arminio et al., 2013;
Moreno and Escalona, 2014). Sequence Stratigraphy of Three Major Transects
A back-arc (Pindell et al., 1988; Dengo and Covey,
1993) megasequence of alluvial, deltaic, and basal Seismic data were chosen from the ANH-EPIS data-
transgressive sandstones with interbedded shales base to maximize coverage of the Llanos Basin with
were deposited during Cretaceous time. This back-arc transects running from the wedge-top and foredeep
sequence forms a wedge with three stratigraphic units: areas in the west to the forebulge area in the east. Data
the transgressive sand of the Une Formation, the shale aligned in a north−south direction were also selected
of the Gacheta Formation, and the regressive sand to tie the different dip transects and keep a uniform
of the Guadalupe Formation (Cooper et al., 1995) interpretation (Figure 3).
(Figure 5). The equivalent to the shale unit of this Interpretation of seismic data was performed after
sequence, the Gacheta Formation, located beneath the tying seismic lines to wells at distances of less than
eastern flank of the Cordillera Oriental, comprises the 10 km (6.2 mi) from the well location. Six d ­ ifferent
main source rock of the Llanos foreland basin. ­seismic events, corresponding to the tops of d ­ ifferent
Accretion of the Cordillera Occidental of Colombia ­formations, were picked on all seismic data. The events
during Campanian and Maastrichtian time resulted chosen coincide with those intervals considered to be
in an abrupt change of the depositional environ- the most important for petroleum exploration in the
ment from shallow marine to transitional-continental Llanos Basin. The events, from shallower to deeper,
(Cooper et al., 1995). This tectonic event generated a include: the Leon Formation, the Carbonera Forma-
slight uplift that exposed late Maastrichtian−early tion (also known as C1), the Mirador Formation, the
Paleocene rocks of the Llanos Basin. Guadalupe Formation, the top of the Paleozoic, and
The Barco and Los Cuervos Formations, an estua- the top of Basement. Formation names of the events
rine basal sand overlain by a shale sequence with were changed for their ­geologic age based on recent
few sandstone intercalations, represent Paleocene published ­biostratigraphic ­information ­(Jaramillo et
sedimentation in the Llanos Basin. Massive coarse- to al., 2006, 2008).
medium-grained sandstone of the Mirador Formation Figure 6 is a northwest−southeast dip transect
rest unconformably on top of the Paleocene sedimen- showing the typical asymmetrical profile of a foreland
tary rocks over a large area of the basin (Villegas et al., basin with a sedimentary wedge adjacent to the fron-
1994) and constitute the main reservoir rocks of the tal thrust of the Cordillera Oriental. This configuration
Llanos Basin. resulted from rapid subsidence of the western part of
The Oligocene−lower Miocene section is repre- the basin during the Miocene Andean orogeny, which
sented by sedimentary rocks of the Carbonera Forma- also allowed the accommodation of large quantities
tion, which comprise a thick sequence of interbedded of continental sediments being deposited in the sub-
regressive sand units (C1, C3, C5, and C7 members) basins that surrounded the Cordillera Oriental.
and transgressive shale units (C2, C4, C6, and C8 Figure 7 shows a 440-km-long (273.4 mi) southwest−
members). Cooper et al. (1995) suggested that these northeast transect along the foredeep area of the basin.
sequences are sandier and onlap eastward as the sedi- Similar to the dip transect shown in ­Figure 6, the deep-
ment supply during this period was from the Guy- ening of the basement toward the south of the L ­ lanos
ana shield on the eastern edge of the basin. The C2 Basin is apparent. Different structural basement highs
member of the Carbonera Formation is considered the that influenced the deposition of the T­ ertiary sequences
regional seal due to its wide extent across the basin. (Geotec, 1986) are also evident on this strike transect.

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 Tectonostratigraphic Evolution of the Northern Llanos Foreland Basin of Colombia  525

Onlap at the top of the Paleozoic and Cretaceous Cretaceous

sequences can be recognized in these transects. The
occurrence of onlaps and pinch-out terminations in the The structural map of the Paleozoic (Figure 8B1) is simi-
shallow and younger sequence (i.e., Oligocene to early lar to that of the basement, indicating that the basin was
Miocene) is very difficult to identify, especially near thermally subsiding at a very slow rate. The map also
the eastern end of transects, due to poor vertical seis- shows that topography was almost flat, which makes
mic resolution. It is important to mention that classical it very difficult to differentiate nondeposition from
sequence stratigraphy concepts have been used for the ­erosional events that may have occurred between the
Tertiary sequences of the Llanos Basin despite the fact Ordovician and the late Cretaceous. The isopach map
that its dominant sedimentary environment is conti- for the Paleozoic to Cretaceous sequence (Figure 8B2)
nental. It is well known that the response of the fluvial suggests a shallow water environment for most of the
stratigraphy is erratic at different geologic scales and Llanos Basin. However, near the Cordillera Oriental to
varies according to the position along the river profile the west of the area of interest, the sequence reaches its
where deposition takes place. (Schumm, 1993; Emery maximum thickness of approximately 750 m (2460.6 ft).
and Myers, 1996). For these reasons, we propose that
classical sequence stratigraphy has few applications
for this mainly continental, foreland basin. Paleocene-Late Eocene

The top Cretaceous structural map (Figure 8C1) shows a

Observations well-defined hinge line at a depth of approximately 2200
m (7217.8 ft). The map also shows two large synclines
After interpretation of the different tectonosequences along the frontal thrust of the Cordillera Oriental which
along the available seismic reflection data for the Lla- seem to be controlled by left-lateral strike-slip faults (Mora
nos Basin, we constructed structural and isopach maps et al., 2006, 2010; Bayona et al., 2008a).: a southern one near
to summarize the structural configuration of the basin the town of Yopal at a depth of 6700 m (21,981.6 ft), and
at different depths and to constrain its geologic evolu- the Tame syncline in the north at 8600 m (28,215.2 ft) deep.
tion history. The present-day structure of the basin is The isopach map for the Cretaceous to late Eocene
simple and reflects the stable nature of the craton on sequence (Figure 8C2), including the Mirador and
which it developed. Structural maps show the eastern Barco Formations, suggests the occurrence of a paleo-
flank of the basin having a NE−SW strike with a gentle high in the southern part of the study area, which may
dip to the west (Figures 8A to 13A). be related to the Macarena High. Thickness variations
in the foothills area near Yopal were interpreted by
Cooper et al. (1995) as a a result of a southward prolon-
Lower Paleozoic gation of the Cusiana fault system. In the north-central
part of the basin, the Casanare platform (Sarmiento,
The basement surface of the Guyana shield dips gen- 2011) extends for approximately 200 km (124.3 mi)
tly westward. The basement ranges in depth between in a northeast direction from an area east of the town
300 m (984.2 ft) and 10,000 m (32,808.4 ft) in the area of Yopal up to the vicinity of the city of Arauca at the
of interest, although these rocks are exposed in the international border with Venezuela.
southern and southeastern portions of the basin, and
are relatively shallow (1500 m [4921.3 ft]) in the north-
east (Figure 8A1). The basement depth in the western Late Eocene–Early Miocene
portion of the basin exceeds 6000 m (19,685 ft) making
this level very difficult to be reached by wells. A structural map of the Mirador Formation, a sandy for-
The Basement−Paleozoic isopach map (Figure 8A2) mation deposited in the late Eocene, is shown in Figure 9.
shows the presence of a structure in the southwestern This map does not differ much from the top Creta-
corner of the area of interest, possibly an expression ceous map in Figure 8. The possible occurrence of a
of the Macarena High. North of this feature, the map NW−SE oriented fault in the southwest corner of the
shows an east−west-oriented broad platform ­dipping area of interest and the existence of strike-slip faults in
westward. In the northern part of the basin near the the Tame and Arauca areas in the northern part of the
Colombian−Venezuelan border, there is a subtle east− basin are apparent on this map.
west oriented feature that appears to be an expression The isopach map for the late Eocene to early
of the Arauca arch. ­M iocene (Figure 9) shows that clastic sequence

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13880_ch19_ptg01_517-546.indd 526

526  Campos and Mann

Figure 6. (A) Uninterpreted regional seismic transect in the northern part of the Llanos Basin based on seismic lines shown in C. (B) Interpreted regional seismic
transect in the northern part of the Llanos Basin showing the asymmetrical profile of the foreland basin with a 7-km (4.3 mi)-deep sedimentary wedge adjacent
to the Cordillera Oriental. The top of the Paleozoic and the late Cretaceous sequences onlap onto the top basement surface. (C) Base map of the Llanos Basin
showing the location of the individual lines that were merged to construct the northern regional seismic transect (bold red line). 20 km (12.4 mi)
10/21/15 11:30 AM
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Tectonostratigraphic Evolution of the Northern Llanos Foreland Basin of Colombia  527

Figure 7. (A) Uninterpreted regional seismic transect in the strike direction of the Llanos Basin based on seismic lines shown in C. (B) Interpreted regional
seismic transect in the strike direction of the Llanos Basin showing its main structural elements, which have persisted since Paleozoic time. (C) Base map of the
Llanos Basin showing the location of the individual lines that were merged to construct the regional seismic transect (bold red line). 20 km (12.4 mi)
10/21/15 11:30 AM
 528  Campos and Mann

Figure 8. Structural maps in depth to the top of Basement (A1), top of Paleozoic (B1), and top of Cretaceous (C1). Depth is
­ easured in meters with the deeper values being the cooler colors and the shallower values being the hotter colors.
m
Isopach maps for Basement−Paleozoic (A2), Paleozoic−Cretaceous (B2), and Cretaceous−Eocene (C2) intervals.
50 km (31.1 mi)

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 Tectonostratigraphic Evolution of the Northern Llanos Foreland Basin of Colombia  529

Figure 9. Structural maps in depth to the top of Eocene (A1), top of early Miocene (B1), and top of middle Miocene (C1).
Depth is measured in meters with the deeper values being the cooler colors and the shallower values being the hotter colors.
Isopach maps for Eocene−early Miocene (A2), early Miocene−middle Miocene (B2), and middle Miocene−Recent (C2).
50 km (31.1 mi)

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 530  Campos and Mann

Figure 10. (A) Tectonic reconstruction of basement blocks for the northwestern South American plate at approximately
85 Ma ­(Coniacian). Light blue areas reflect areas of future shortening that will elevate the Colombian Andes. (B) P
­ alinspastically
reconstructed paleogeographic map of the Llanos Basin of Colombia (modified from Geotec, 1986; Cooper et al., 1995;
­Villamil, 1999; Sarmiento-Rojas, 2001; Cediel et al., 2003; INGEOMINAS, 2003a, b; Gomez et al., 2005) for the late Cretaceous.
During this time, most of northern South ­America is a thermally subsiding continental passive margin that overlies older rifts of
late Jurassic age. ­Shallow marine ­conditions prevailed in the western part of the Llanos Basin and the eastern part of the basin
was subaerially exposed. 50 km (31.1 mi)

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 Tectonostratigraphic Evolution of the Northern Llanos Foreland Basin of Colombia  531

Figure 11. (A) Tectonic reconstruction of basement blocks for the northwestern South American plate at approximately
35 Ma (Priabonian). Light blue areas reflect areas of future shortening and mountain building in the Colombian Andes.
(B) Palinspastically reconstructed, late Eocene paleogeographic map of the Llanos Basin of Colombia (modified from Geotec,
1986; Cooper et al., 1995; Villamil, 1999; Sarmiento-Rojas, 2001; Cediel et al., 2003; INGEOMINAS, 2003a, b; Gomez et al.,
2005). Oblique collision of the Great Arc of the Caribbean previous to this time (Mann, 1999; Mann et al., 2006) produced a
widespread period of tectonic activity that affected the Llanos Basin and resulted in the widespread deposition of continental
and fluvial sedimentary rocks. 50 km (31.1 mi)

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 532  Campos and Mann

Figure 12. (A) Tectonic reconstruction of basement blocks for the northwestern South American plate at approximately 15 Ma
(Langhian). Light blue areas reflect areas of future shortening and mountain building of the Colombian Andes. (B) Palinspas-
tically reconstructed, middle Miocene paleogeographic map of the Llanos Basin of Colombia (modified from Geotec, 1986;
Cooper et al., 1995; Villamil, 1999; Sarmiento-Rojas, 2001; INGEOMINAS, 2003a, b; Gomez et al., 2005). The foreland basin
period of the Llanos Basin initiated at this time as the result of the Andean orogeny. During this time, the erosion and supply
of clastics from the Guyana shield in the east began to decrease and the Cordillera Oriental in the west became the main
source of clastic sediments in the area of the Llanos Basin. 50 km (31.1 mi)

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 Tectonostratigraphic Evolution of the Northern Llanos Foreland Basin of Colombia  533

Figure 13. (A) Tectonic reconstruction of basement blocks for the northwestern South American plate at approximately
5 Ma (Zanclean). Light blue areas reflect areas of future shortening and mountain building of the Colombian Andes.
(B) Palinspastically reconstructed, ­Plio–Pleistocene paleogeographic map of the Llanos Basin of Colombia (modified from
­Geotec, 1986; Cooper et al., 1995; Villamil, 1999; Sarmiento-Rojas, 2001; INGEOMINAS, 2003a, b; Gomez et al., 2005).
­Collision of the Panama Arc starting in the late Miocene (about 12 Ma) contributed to the continuation of the Andean o ­ rogeny
up to the present day. Migration of ­paleodrainages to the east of the basin may reflect the presence of a forebulge in the
­central part of the Llanos foreland basin. 50 km (31.1 mi)

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 534  Campos and Mann

t­ hickens westward as a result of progradation of the adjacent and beneath the Cordillera Oriental fold belt,
foreland wedge in this direction with onlap to to enter in the oil and gas generation window.
the east. The Casanare platform in the north and cen-
tral part of the basin almost disappears and a hinge
line with a SW−NE direction appears toward the east- Discussion
ern part of the basin. Although not evident on this
map, the Arauca arch may have affected deposition in Sedimentary Fill Evolution of Llanos Basin
the northern part of the basin.
Several authors and institutions (e.g., Geotec, 1986;
Cooper et al., 1995; Villamil, 1999; Sarmiento-Rojas,
Middle Miocene 2001; Cediel et al., 2003; INGEOMINAS, 2003a, b;
Villamil, 2003; Gomez et al., 2005; Sarmiento, 2011)
The top of the Carbonera Formation (Figure 9) shows have published paleogeographic maps for the Llanos
almost no structural features related to either paleo- Basin. We compared and integrated these paleogeo-
topography or faulting in the central and eastern part graphic maps with the isopach maps produced from
of the basin. The lack of structure in the top of this the seismic interpretation carried out in this study. The
sequence marks the initiation of the overfilled stage of resulting paleogeographic maps were taken into plate
the Llanos foreland basin during the deposition of the tectonics reconstruction software developed by the
shallowest members (C1 and C2). The isopach of the PLATES Project at UTIG. By doing this, it is possible
middle Miocene sequence (Figure 9)—equivalent to the to illustrate the integrated depositional paleoenviron-
Leon Formation—shows how sediments covered the ments and structural features on a basemap of quanti-
entire basin and reached a maximum thickness of 850 m fiable blocks and larger plates.
(2788.7 ft) in the northwestern corner of the study area. The palinspastically reconstructed paleogeogra-
However, the sedimentary sequence remained thin in phies include the late Cretaceous, the late Eocene, the
the central and eastern parts of the basin. middle Miocene, and the Plio−Pleistocene, which rep-
resent the most significant tectonosequences for the
Llanos Basin (Figures 10B to 13B).
Late Miocene–Recent The depositional strike of the Llanos Basin was
established during early Paleozoic time with a NE−
Figure 9 shows the structural map at the top of the SW o ­ rientation that remained unchanged throughout
middle Miocene at the beginning of the most recent the basin history. During this time, ­sediments from
tectonic pulse. Continued uplift of the Cordillera Ori- the Guyana shield were deposited in the central part
ental since middle Miocene time due to the collision of the basin under marine conditions. After a period
and accretion of the Choco Block in the northwest cor- of tectonic activity during Jurassic to early Cretaceous
ner of South America (Duque-Caro, 1990) generated time when a synrift followed by a back-arc system
the asymmetrical wedge geometry—characteristic developed, marine conditions were established in the
of foreland basins—in the Llanos Basin area (Cooper northwestern part of the basin that were favorable for
et al., 1995). As a result, several convergent ­structures the deposition of source rock shales of the Gacheta
developed in the eastern flank of the Cordillera Formation.
­Oriental that affected the deposition of late Miocene to Figure 10 shows the generalized ­paleogeography
Quaternary sediments in the Llanos Basin. for late Cretaceous time. Favorable climate condi-
The isopach map for Pliocene and Quaternary sedi- tions in the Guyana shield allowed the initiation
ments (Figure 9C2) shows an undeformed section of a ­p rogradational sequence that forced a marine
across most of the Llanos Basin area. Sediment thick- ­regression to retreat in the area of the Llanos Basin.
ness increases westward and reaches its maximum in Deltaic conditions were established in the central
the thrust faults that define the western boundary of part of the Llanos Basin, while the easternmost part
the basin. The sequence ranges in thickness from rang- remained as a low-relief positive area. This regressive
ing between 0 m and 2800 m (9186.3 ft) and consists of cycle remained through the Paleocene, at the end of
continental sediments, mainly unconsolidated sands which almost the entire basin was d ­ ominated by flu-
and conglomerates, derived from the erosion of the vio-deltaic environments.
Cordillera Oriental. The deposition of this sequence The convergence rate between the Nazca and
allowed the deeper source rocks in the foredeep South American plates increased during the late

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 Tectonostratigraphic Evolution of the Northern Llanos Foreland Basin of Colombia  535

Paleocene−middle Eocene (Daly, 1989) and produced tectonic loading of the adjacent Cordillera Central and
increased shortening and uplift of the Cordillera Cen- ­ ordillera Oriental (Cardozo, 1997) and sedimentary
C
tral. This tectonic activity affected the basin during loading from non-marine and transitional depos-
Eocene time and fluvial paleoenvironments prevailed its (Cooper et al., 1995). Tectonic and sedimentary
in most parts of the basin (Figure 11). Deltaic condi- loads are considered to produce independent vertical
tions existed in the northern part of the basin, extend- stresses that act on discrete parts of the elastic plate at
ing toward the southern part of the Maracaibo Block, different scales (Londono, 2004; Allen and Allen, 2005;
where the presence of marine conditions are well doc- Londono et al., 2012). The resultant regional flexure is
umented in Paleocene and Eocene time (Mann et al., the sum of both deflections at each point (Figure 14).
2006). The adjustment in the magnitude and spatial distri-
During late Eocene to early Miocene, a signifi- bution of these types of loads through time produces
cant sediment supply was still being derived from changes in the geometry of the basin, in addition to
the Guyana shield, with some minor c­ ontribution the changes produced by the spatial and time varia-
from localized deltas that developed in the l­ ow-relief tion of the plate strength as discussed by several pre-
areas produced by uplift of the incipient C ­ ordillera vious authors (Beaumont, 1981; Lavier and Steckler,
Oriental (Mora et al., 2008; Horton et al., 2010a; Parra 1997; Clark and Royden, 2000; Cardozo and Jordan,
et al., 2010) that was driven by collision of the Choco 2001). Two-dimensional flexural modeling was per-
terrane along the northwestern margin of South formed on regional transects spanning the thrust sali-
America (Duque-Caro, 1990). Recent ­s tudies have ent area of the northern Llanos Basin (Figure 15D) to
also observed changes in the paleoflow of Eocene distinguish the t­ ectonic versus sedimentary loading
and Oligocene rivers in the Llanos Basin from south- components of the observed fl ­ exural subsidence of the
west to northeast (Torrado et al., 2014). The tectonic basin ­(Campos et al., 2011).
loading of the foreland and eustatic sea level rise Several tectonic models have been proposed for
generated a restricted environment (either a lake the evolution of the Cordillera Oriental and its adja-
or an interior sea slowly draining to the northeast) cent Llanos Basin (Dengo and Covey, 1993; Cooper
that covered most of the basin during the middle et al., 1995; Cardozo, 1997; Sarmiento-Rojas, 2001;
­M iocene, when the Leon shales were being depos- Restrepo-Pace et al., 2004; Gomez et al., 2005; Montes
ited under very low energy conditions (Bayona et al., 2005; Bayona et al., 2008a; Mora et al., 2008;
et al., 2008b) (Figure 12). Parra et al., 2009a, b; Horton et al., 2010a, b) but only
The last tectonic pulse of the foreland stage of the a few previous studies have interpreted the geody-
basin occurred during late Miocene to Recent times namic processes that involve deformation of the litho-
as a result of the collision of the Panama Block with sphere. From this reduced group, only three authors
northwestern South America (Vargas and Mann, (Cardozo, Sarmiento-Rojas, and Bayona) have used
2013). This event isolated the Llanos Basin from modeling to quantify the observed flexural subsidence
the Magdalena V ­ alley by uplifting the Cordillera (Figure 15A–C). These three previous studies have
Oriental (Duque-Caro, 1990; Gomez et al., 2005; quantified different amounts of subsidence for the Lla-
Parra et al., 2009b, 2010; Horton et al., 2010b). As a nos Basin, most likely due to the fact that the models
consequence of this event, the Cordillera Oriental include data from different geographic areas within
became the main source of ­sediments for the Llanos the basin. For example, subsidence in the northern
Basin while the sediment supply from the Guyana Llanos, near the Arauca River and the Colombian−
shield decreased (Figure 13). Venezuelan border, might be affected by the uplift of
the Sierra de Perija and the Merida Andes, which rep-
resent more distant tectonic loads that are not consid-
Influence of Tectonic and Sedimentary Loading ered in this a­ nalysis. Similarly, the load of the Serrania
on the Llanos Basin de la Macarena might affect subsidence in the south-
ern Llanos Basin.
After reviewing the geologic history of the Llanos Following an approach similar to the methodol-
Basin, it is evident that different fault types, ­patterns, ogy previously used in the adjacent Putumayo Basin
and trends have developed as a consequence of s­ everal to the southwest (Londono, 2004; Londono et al.,
major tectonic events that affected the region. 2012), we applied sedimentary backstripping to sub-
The Llanos foreland basin of Colombia devel- surface structural maps of six Eocene to Pleistocene
oped since late Maastrichtian time as a result of interpreted horizons in the foreland basin to remove

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 536  Campos and Mann

Figure 14. Effect of combined sedimentary load from foreland basin sediments (bars shown in green) and tectonic load from
weight of overthrusting fold-and-thrust belt (bars shown in red) modified from Allen and Allen (2005). The combined effect
of the tectonic and sedimentary loads determines the overall, asymmetrical cross-sectional shape of the foreland basin and
the underlying lithosphere (stippled area). The arrows show the buoyancy effect of the lower mantle beneath the lithosphere
with the length of the arrows equivalent to their relative magnitude.

the effects of sedimentary and water loading. A occurs between 150 km (93.2 mi) and 200 km (124.3 mi)
change through time in the location of the foredeep from the same point of reference and migrates from
margin and in the height of the forebulge at its axis the thrust front to the east a total distance no longer
can be observed on all four transects. Predicted fore- than 50 km (31.1 mi). The positions of the distal fore-
bulges related to sedimentary loading show heights deep margins for sedimentary and tectonic loading
ranging from 10 m (32.8 ft) in the late Cretaceous to of each transect were plotted in map view and then
40 m (131.2 ft) in the Quaternary, while those related combined with the map of hydrocarbon-producing
to tectonic loading reach 70 m (229.7 ft). However, the areas of the Llanos Basin, in an attempt to establish
difference between modeled sedimentary and tectonic possible patterns for the hydrocarbon accumulations
forebulges lies in their position and migration dis- (Figure 16). It is evident from the figure that the posi-
tances through time. The sedimentary forebulge axis tion of the tectonic forebulge marks the outer limit of
occurs in excess of 400 km (248.5 mi) from the thrust most of the hydrocarbon accumulations in the Llanos
front and migrates to the east a total distance of up Basin because the forebulge forms a large high within
to 200 km (124.3 mi), while the tectonic forebulge axis the area of maximum, tectonic flexure.

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 Tectonostratigraphic Evolution of the Northern Llanos Foreland Basin of Colombia  537

Figure 15. Comparison of results from previous flexural models for the Llanos foreland basin: (A) Cardozo (1997); (B) Sarmiento-
Rojas (2001); and (C) Bayona et al. (2008a). (D) Topographic map showing the location of regional foreland basin transects used
in previous flexural modeling studies (blue 5 Cardozo, purple 5 Sarmiento-Rojas, and orange 5 Bayona et al.). Dashed red lines
numbered 1 to 4 were used for flexural modeling by Campos et al. (2011) and this study. 50 km (31.1 mi)

13880_ch19_ptg01_517-546.indd 537 10/21/15 11:31 AM

13880_ch19_ptg01_517-546.indd 538

538  Campos and Mann

Figure 16. Map of study area showing the evolution through time of the fold-and-thrust belt front of the Cordillera Oriental, the position of the tectonic fore-
bulge (dashed lines), and sedimentary forebulge (continuous lines) (see Figure 14 for an explanation of tectonic versus sedimentary forebulges). The position
of the tectonic forebulge marks the eastern limit of most hydrocarbon accumulations in the Llanos Basin, or the maximum tectonic flexure area. Sedimentary
forebulge position relates to the base level at each geologic time and marks the cratonic edge of the foreland basin. 50 km (31.1 mi)
10/21/15 11:31 AM
 Tectonostratigraphic Evolution of the Northern Llanos Foreland Basin of Colombia  539

In the distal part of the foreland basin, the position • Backstep wedging area: this far eastern area
of the foredeep edge is controlled through time by ­consists of a thin zone of sedimentary onlap onto
base level. Sediments at a given time will be deposited cratonic basin, which makes it a good candidate for
as far eastward as the intersection between the base the occurrence of stratigraphic traps. Small and/or
level and the sedimentary forebulge. Climatic forces noncommercial hydrocarbon accumulations have
are also important controls on the location of the sedi- been discovered in this part of the basin.
mentary forebulge (Saylor et al., 2009).
Of interest is the large variability in the position of The four structural provinces we recognize in the
the sedimentary forebulge in the central part of the Llanos foreland basin are similar to those seen by pre-
basin. This feature is related to local paleohighs in the vious workers in the eastern Venezuela Basin (Yoris
Vichada domain (Sarmiento, 2011), indicating that that and Ostos, 1997) to the northeast and the Oriente
the position of the sedimentary forebulge also is likely foreland basin to the south in Ecuador (Dashwood
controlled by paleotopography. and Abbotts, 1990; Christophoul et al., 2002). Each of
these structural provinces have produced the giant
fields listed by name in Table 1. New well data must
Implications for Hydrocarbon Exploration be incorporated with to ongoing organic geochemistry
in the Llanos Basin studies (Mora, 2000; ANH et al., 2009; Aguilera et al.,
2010) to better define the hydrocarbon migration path-
Several structural traps formed in the Llanos Basin ways in the Llanos Basin.
due to the uplift of the Cordillera Oriental during the The existence of the Llanos Heavy Oil Belt in
middle Miocene. The largest volumes of reserves that Colombia is not only supported by examples in adja-
have been found in the Colombian basins are related cent basins in Ecuador and Venezuela (Table 1), but by
to structures that formed during this tectonic event. analogues in the western Canada Basin (Catuneanu
The same event caused an increase in the overburden et al., 1997, 1999) and the United Arab Emirates Basin
material over the foredeep area of the Llanos Basin (Rodgers and Gunatilaka, 2003; Ali and Watts, 2009).
that led to maturation of the late Cretaceous and early There is evidence of pinch-outs and truncations occur-
Oligocene source rocks. ring at different reservoir levels in the eastern flank of
Based on the results obtained from flexural modeling the Llanos Basin, but the existence of an effective seal-
(Figure 16), we propose the existence of four subsurface ing rock, the long migration distance, and biodegrada-
zones of the Llanos Basin with differing structural styles tion are all negative geologic factors that increase the
and hydrocarbon trapping mechanisms. The position risk of hydrocarbon heavy oil play in eastern Colom-
and boundaries of these areas, shown as a schematic bia (Bachu et al., 1995; Moretti et al., 2009). Moreover,
cross section and in map view in Figure 17, could help the lack of seismic data coverage with sufficient verti-
to better define future exploration activity in the basin. cal resolution does not allow an accurate interpretation
The four zones include from west to east: of the different sequences, especially those associated
with small-heave faults and stratigraphic traps.
• Blind thrust area: this deep basinal area is adja- Based on the available data and on the interpreta-
cent to the Cordillera Oriental thrust and contains tions made in this study, there is a good possibility
large buried folds and blind thrusts. Oilfields with that significant reserves can still be found in the Lla-
significant reserves are within this area, such as La nos Basin. Chance of success can be increased if larger
Gloria, Trinidad, and Barquerena (Figure 16). amounts of high-resolution subsurface data are care-
• Maximum tectonic flexure area: this area contains fully acquired, interpreted, and integrated.
normal faults striking in SW−NE direction related
to bending of the lithosphere mainly as the result
of tectonic loading. Several small and mid-size oil- Conclusions
fields have been discovered in this area, including
Sardinas, Jordan, Guarilaque, and Guarimena. The Llanos foreland basin of Colombia is one of the
• Basement inversion area: the major oilfield Rubi- main basins developed along the eastern side of the
ales is located within this area, which is character- Andes in Colombia and is in alignment with hydro-
ized by small-heave normal faults affecting older carbon-bearing foreland-type basins in Peru and Ecua-
strata. Most of these faults are basement-related dor to the south and Venezuela to the north. The basin
structures with a north−south strike direction. corresponds to the eastern flank of a major basin that

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 540  Campos and Mann

Figure 17. (A) Schematic regional cross section of the northern Llanos foreland basin (not to scale) showing the relative
locations of five hydrocarbon habitats that include from west to east: (1) foothills area of outcrop and exposed thrust faults;
(2) blind thrust area of deeply buried thrusts and folds; (3) maximum tectonic flexure area, where the basement underlying
the foreland basin has experienced its greatest amount of flexure; (4) basement inversion area, a localized area of basement
inversion underlying the Rubiales oil field; and (5) the backstep wedging area where foreland basin sedimentary rocks onlap
cratonic basement. (B) Map view of the Llanos Basin showing locations of possible hydrocarbon accumulation areas based
on flexural modeling. Most oil is found in the deeper, western parts of the foreland basin. 50 km (31.1 mi)

13880_ch19_ptg01_517-546.indd 540 10/21/15 11:31 AM

 Tectonostratigraphic Evolution of the Northern Llanos Foreland Basin of Colombia  541

Table 1.  Comparison of oil production zones for foreland basins in eastern Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela using
terminology proposed in this study.

Oriente Basin Llanos Basin Eastern Basin

(Ecuador) (Colombia) (Venezuela)
Foothills area Bermejo Cusiana-Cupiagua Quiriquire
Blind thrust area Coca trend La Gloria El Furrial
Maximum tectonic flexure area Shushufindi Guarilaque Oficina
Basement inverted structures area Mariann Rubiales Jobo-Melones
Backstep wedging area ITT Complex Llanos Heavy Oil Belt (?) Orinoco Heavy Oil Belt

began to form in Paleozoic time and evolved in the 2003; Gomez et al., 2005). The period from late Eocene
Mesozoic and Cenozoic. through middle Miocene is characterized by the exist-
The evolution of the Llanos Basin involves a long ence of regressive-transgressive conditions in most of
and complex geologic history in an area in which seis- the Llanos Basin (Cooper et al., 1995), which allowed
mic data has a very limited resolution. Integration of the deposition of meandering fluvial systems over a
different types of data has proven to be a useful way wide area (Barrero et al., 2007; Torrado et al., 2014). The
to summarize the basin history. onset of the deposition of the Leon Formation recorded
The Pre-Cambrian Guyana shield formed the the maximum marine transgression for this period.
foundation of the Llanos Basin and also acted as the From middle Miocene to Plio−Pleistocene, uplift
most important source of sediments until the middle of the Cordillera Oriental in the west of the basin
Miocene. The shield is made up of a complex assem- increased progressively and forced the marine embay-
blage of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary ment to retreat toward the northeast. At this point in
rocks grouped into the Guainia Formation. During time, the Cordillera Oriental became the main source
early Paleozoic time the Llanos Basin was part of a of sediments for the continental Guayabo Formation.
larger basin in which transgressive marine sediments The modern tectonic setting of the Llanos Basin was
were deposited. Low-grade metamorphism or high strongly shaped by the eastward convergence of the
degree of diagenesis and localized intrusions plus Panama Arc, which began about 12 Ma and produced a
the occurrence of volcanic events affected this section widespread east−west shortening in the northern Andes
­(Feo-Codecido et al., 1984; Mojica et al., 1996; Arminio and has been pushing the Cordillera Oriental eastward
et al., 2013; Moreno-Lopez and Escalona, 2014). over the Llanos foreland basin (Vargas and Mann, 2013).
Extension in a north−south direction prevailed from Isopach maps constructed from 4800 km (2982.6 mi)
late Paleozoic until the end of Jurassic following breakup of seismic reflection data and 48 wells (Figures 8B to
of the Pangaea supercontinent (Bartok, 1993; Bartok et 13B) show that the Llanos Basin has a maximum sedi-
al., this volume). A series of rifted basins and east−west- ment thickness of 9000 m (29,527.6 ft) along the Cor-
trending arches resulted from this period. As is common dillera Oriental frontal thrust. Most wedging in the
during rifting events, several regional hiatuses occurred asymmetrical foreland basin occurs from early Mio-
due to the continuous adjustment and reactivation of cene to the present and coincides with the main period
fault blocks. These restricted basins area are a key fea- of eastward thrusting of the Cordillera Oriental fold
ture of the hydrocarbon potential of the Llanos Basin as belt (Mora et al., 2006, 2008b).
they formed closed systems in which conditions were Flexural modeling revealed that the observed
ideal for the accumulation and preservation of organic- asymmetric, cross-sectional geometry of the Maas-
rich sediments during Cretaceous time. trichtian to Recent Llanos Basin was produced as the
During the early Cretaceous, the sea transgressed result of a wide sediment load filling the basin, rather
the basin from the west and northwest and progres- than a narrow tectonic load imposed by the eastward
sively moved to the southeast (Bayona et al., 2008b). thrusting of the Cordillera Oriental. The sediment-
Two main depositional cycles, a transgressive followed load effect on the cross-sectional basin shape obscures
by a regressive, characterize Cretaceous sedimentation the initial basin formation that was produced by the
in the Llanos Basin (Geotec, 1986). A pulse of tectonic tectonic-load effect of the Cordillera Oriental. Fore-
activity in the Cordillera Oriental in the early Eocene bulges related to the tectonic load are not distin-
led to an erosive event recorded by an unconformity guishable at the scale of 2-D seismic lines because the
at the base of the Mirador Formation (Villamil, 1999, predicted amplitude of their uplift is only on the order

13880_ch19_ptg01_517-546.indd 541 10/21/15 11:31 AM

 542  Campos and Mann

of 30−50 m (98.4–164 ft). Modeled forebulges ranging Aleman, A., and V. Ramos, 2000, The Northern Andes, in
in age from 65 Ma to 0 Ma define a parallel zone that U. G. Cordani, E. J. Milani, and D. A. Campos, eds.,
is 60 km (37.3 mi) wide and coincident with the zone Tectonic evolution of South America: 31st International
of maximum tectonic flexure in the basin. Periods of Geological Congress: Rio de Janeiro, p. 635–685.
Ali, M. Y., and A. B. Watts, 2009, Subsidence history, gravity
largest forebulges, in height and width, coincide with
anomalies and flexure of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
periods of maximum thrusting of the Cordillera Ori-
foreland basin: GeoArabia, v. 14, p. 17–44.
ental in the Oligocene and late Miocene. Allen, P. A., and J. R. Allen, 2005, Basin analysis: Principles
As in the continuation of the Llanos foreland basin and applications: Oxford, Blackwell Publishing, 549 p.
to the south in Ecuador and to the northeast in Ven- ANH (Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos), 2007, ­Eastern
ezuela, the flexural origin of the basin produces four Llanos Basin: Open round Colombia 2008 brochure:
distinctive zones of structural and stratigraphic traps ­Republica de Colombia, 6 p.
for hydrocarbons, including from west to east: (1) a ANH, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, RA Geologia
deep basinal area adjacent to the Cordillera Oriental E. U., and GEMS Ltda., 2009, Organic geochemistry ­atlas
containing large buried folds and blind thrusts, (2) a of Colombia: Earth Sciences, Research Journal, Special
zone of maximum tectonic flexure containing normal Edition, v. 13, 135 p.
Arminio, J. F., F. Yoris, C. Quijada, J. M. Lugo, D. Shaw,
faults related to bending, (3) an area east of flexural
J. B. Keegan, and J. E. A. Marshall, 2013, Evidence for
zone exhibiting isolated inverted structures, and (4) a
­P recambrian stratigraphy in graben basins below the
far eastern area consisting of a thin zone of sedimen- Eastern Llanos foreland, Colombia: AAPG International
tary onlap onto cratonic basin that lacks major faults Conference and Exhibition, Cartagena, Colombia.
and folds. Recognition and future studies of these dis- Bachu, S., J. C. Ramon, M. E. Villegas, and J. R. Underschultz,
tinctive hydrocarbon zones could help to better refine 1995, Geothermal regime and thermal history of the
future exploration activity in the Llanos foreland basin. ­Llanos Basin: AAPG Bulletin, v. 79, p. 116–128.
Barrero, D., A. Pardo, C. A. Vargas-Jimenez, and J. F. Mar-
tinez, 2007, Colombian sedimentary basins: Nomencla-
ture, boundaries and petroleum geology, a new proposal:
Acknowledgments
ANH and B&M Exploration Ltd., 91 p.
Bartok, P., 1993, Pre-breakup geology of the Gulf of Mexico-
We would like to express our gratitude to Drs. Ronald Caribbean: Its relation to Triassic and Jurassic rift systems
Steel, Brian K. Horton, and Nestor Cardozo for their of the region: Tectonics, v. 12, p. 441–459.
constructive criticisms on this chapter. Special thanks Bayona, G., M. Cortes, C. A. Jaramillo, G. Ojeda, J. J. Aristiza-
to Drs. Victor Graterol, Carlos Alberto Vargas-Jimenez, bal, and A. Reyes-Harker, 2008a, An integrated analysis
and Alejandro Escalona for discussions, to Lisa Bingham of an orogen-sedimentary basin pair: Latest Cretaceous-
and Ruth Costley for providing GIS technical support, Cenozoic evolution of the linked Eastern Cordillera oro-
Jeff Storms for his assistance during the preparation of gen and the Llanos foreland basin of Colombia: GSA
the manuscript and figures, and to ­Dallas Dunlap for Bulletin, v. 120, p. 1171–1197.
his IT support. We would like to thank the sponsors Bayona, G., A. Valencia, A. Mora, M. Rueda, J. E. Ortiz, and
O. Montenegro, 2008b, Estratigrafia y procedencia de las
of the Caribbean Basins, Tectonics, and Hydrocarbons
rocas del Mioceno en la parte distal de la cuenca antepais
(CBTH) consortium for their continued support, and
de los Llanos de Colombia: Geologia Colombiana, v. 33,
especially to Shell Exploration and Production Com- p. 23–46.
pany for supporting a summer targeted internship to Beaumont, C., 1981, Foreland basins: Geophysical Journal of
the first author in its ­Houston offices. We would also the Royal Astronomical Society, v. 65, p. 291–329.
like to thank the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos Branquet, Y., A. Cheilletz, P. Cobbold, P. Baby, B. Laumo-
de Colombia (ANH) for providing access to the seismic nier, and G. Giuliani, 2002, Andean deformation and rift
and well database for the Llanos Orientales Basin. We inversion, eastern edge of Cordillera Oriental (Guate-
greatly appreciate the constructive reviews of this chap- que–Medina area), Colombia: Journal of South American
ter by Victor Vega and Claudio Bartolini. Earth Sciences, v. 15, p. 391–407.
Calais, E., and P. Mann, 2009, A combined GPS velocity
field for the Caribbean plate and its margins: American
­Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, Abstracts, San
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