Neogene history of the Carapita Formation, Eastern Venezuela basin

• Main Author: Sanchez Zambrano, Dennis Alberto
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: No Publisher Supplied 2010
• Subjects: Trinidad; Seal Rock; Planktonic foraminifera
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.7282/t3057fmx; https://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/30423/

The planktonic and benthic foraminifera from the lower to middle Miocene shales of the Carapita Formation of Eastern Venezuela in three exploration wells and one outcrop section are analyzed with the objectives of establishing a precise biostratigraphy of the formation and its bathymetric history. Comparison with the well-preserved microfaunas of the correlative Cipero Formation of Trinidad made possible the achievement of these objectives. The formation, up to 4500 to 6000 m thick in outcrops, extends from northeastern Anzoátegui and North of Monagas States to the Gulf of Paria and is both an important oil reservoir towards the east and the main seal rock for the Oligocene reservoir in the north of Monagas State. In the area studied the Carapita Formation spans lower to lower middle Miocene Zones N6/M3 to N9/M6; its upper part is unconstrained as only rare long ranging early Miocene to early Pliocene planktonic foraminifera occur above the Orbulina datum. Unexpectedly, we found that the four lower to middle Miocene sections are highly discontinuous, with hiastuses as long as 4 Myr. Based on the abundance patterns of sixty-nine species of benthic foraminifera and analysis of morphotype abundance following the methodology of Corliss and Chen (1988) and Corliss and Fois (1993), we show that the Carapita Formation was deposited at outer neritic to middle bathyal depths (≥ 200-1000 m), whereas the Cipero Formation was deposited at middle to lower bathyal depths (≥600-2000 m). Importantly, the bathymetric changes are associated with unconformities in all sections, strongly suggesting that both (shallowing and associated unconformities) were tectonically induced.