Undiscovered Petroleum of the Brazilian Interior Rift Basins

Brazil is estimated to contain 52% of the undiscovered oil and gas resources of South America, outside of Venezuela and Colombia. The Reconcavo, Tucano-Jatoba, and Tacutu interior rift basins of Brazil are investigated in this paper, the first in a series dealing with undiscovered petroleum of South America (exclusive of Venezuela and Colombia). Preliminary estimates of the undiscovered petroleum resources are 0.273 billion barrels of oil (BBO) and 1.234 trillion cubic feet of gas (TCFG) for the four basins. A review of the 1983-1993 history of petroleum reserves in South America indicated that an initial consensus estimate of 0.27 BBO and 4.15 TCFG (mean values) by the World Energy Program Group at the U.S. Geological Survey is too low. An adjusted range of probabilities is recalculated from original identified reserves, resulting in revised mean values of 0.29 BBO and 4.15 TCFG for the four interior rift basins. Of these four basins, the Reconcavo is in a mature stage of exploration with 80 fields; the other rift basins, as well as most of the other basins in Brazil, have not been as extensively investigated. In the Reconcavo basin, the principal plays are found in the pre-rift fault blocks, and in lower Cretaceous turbidites and sand lenses. Three gas fields are known in the southern Tucano subbasin. The three subbasins (southern, central, and northern) and the adjacent Jatoba basin become progressively less prospective northward because of lower levels of source-rock maturation. The plays in these basins are similar to those of the Reconcavo. The main play in the small Tacutu basin of northwestern Brazil is in deltaic sandstones; fractured basement rocks and volcanics constitute a minor play. The best reservoirs may be expected on the margins of the basin, although the reservoir seals are absent or poorly developed.