THE 7 MOST IMPORTANT OIL BASINS OF VENEZUELA - ENVIRONMENT - 2025

The most important oil basins in Venezuela are the Gulf of Venezuela basin, the Lake Maracaibo basin, the Falcón state basin, the Barinas-Apure basin, the Cariaco basin, the Eastern basin and the Orinoco oil belt.

An oil basin is an area or expanse of land that at some point in the past was found submerged or below sea or river levels. As a consequence of this activity, the sediments carried by the water underwent an accumulation process.

These sediments were particularly rich in organic decomposition matter, either of animal or vegetable origin. Over the centuries, these elements were decomposing and were imprisoned in the layers of rock that make up the current subsoil.

This is the origin of oil as it is believed today, and the evidence that validates it is that in all oil fields there are sediments of animal or vegetable origin.

In Venezuela there are several oil basins, all of them are formations that at some point were submerged and the process described above took place.

Although the existence of oil basins was well known for many years, their exploitation has been limited by the cost-benefit ratio of oil, which, in the past, had a very low cost and the exploitation of certain types was not profitable. of deposits.

Throughout the national geography, refineries and pipelines have been built to bring oil from the fields to the docks for export.

Cities such as Maracaibo, Punto Fijo, Morón, Puerto La Cruz and Caripito at the time, developed thanks to the oil industry.

The main oil basins in Venezuela

The main oil basins of Venezuela are the following:

1- The basin of the Gulf of Venezuela

Located in the north of the country, in the maritime area of ​​the Zulia state, adjacent to the Goajira, whose sub-basin is also part of it. It begins in the Goajira peninsula and extends to the Paraguaná peninsula in its western part.

Given its importance as an energy potential, and because of its location very close to the maritime border with Colombia, there have been claims and even war incidents with the neighboring country in the past.

Due to its marine characteristics, which has made its exploitation difficult, it has been little developed.

2- The Lake Maracaibo basin

It is located in the depression of Lake Maracaibo, occupying an area of ​​approximately 67,000 square kilometers.

Most of the oil production in Venezuela is located in this area, particularly the eastern shore of the lake (COL) where the most important oil fields in the country are located.

The most important fields in this basin are, in the Zulia state: Lagunillas, Tía Juana, Bachaquero, La Paz, Lama, Lamar, Cabimas, Centro, Boscan, Lago, Ceuta and Grande.

3- Falcón Basin

The Falcón basin is geologically a part of the Lake Maracaibo basin. It includes the sub-basin of Aroa, Golfo de la Vela, Paraguaná and Gulf of Venezuela.

It is located in the Falcón state and the northern part of the Lara state. It is characterized by having important oil reserves, although it has not been developed except in a small part. The most important fields are Mene, Media, Painted Man, Mene Mauroa and Tiguaje.

4- Barinas-Apure Basin

It occupies an area of ​​approximately 87,000 square kilometers, and is located between the states of Portuguesa, Barinas, Cojedes and Apure. The exploitation it has suffered in recent years has made it the third most important basin in the country.

The eastern plains of Colombia are part of this oil basin. It is made up of the hato Viejo, Maporal, Silvan, Páez, Sinco and Silvestre fields.

5- Cariaco Basin

It is located between the states of Miranda and Sucre, covering an area of ​​approximately 14,000 square kilometers, and it is estimated that it has large deposits of natural gas given the results of the explorations carried out.

6- Eastern Basin

Due to the production volumes it handles, it is the second most important in the country. It includes the states of Anzoátegui, Monagas, Delta Amacuro and Sucre, covering an approximate area of ​​150,000 square kilometers. Geographically, it also includes the Island of Trinidad.

It is made up of Cenozoic Mesozoic strata. Due to its sedimentological, tectonic and stratigraphic characteristics, it is subdivided into two sub-basins: Maturín and Guárico.

Due to its reserve capacity, it is the second largest in South America, after Lake Maracaibo.

Its oil fields are very diverse and include wells of almost all types, from natural flow to mechanical pumping, with crude oils also of very different viscosities.

The proximity of the fields to the cities has allowed the development of the latter as well as the migration of the population in search of employment opportunities.

The most outstanding fields in this basin are in the Anzoátegui state: Oficina, Guara, Santa Rosa, Nipa, Merey, Dación, Leona and Yoaples; in Delta Amacuro: Tucupita and Pedernales; in Guárico: Budare, Las Mercedes, Gabán, Ruiz and Barzo; in Monagas: Lobo, Acema, Pilón, Quiriquire, Oritupano and Morichal.

7- Orinoco Oil Belt

Its area is about 45,000 square kilometers, located south of the states of Guárico, Anzoátegui, Delta Amacuro and Monagas, north of the Orinoco river.

As large as 700 billion barrels of oil in reserve make it one of the largest in the world.

Some years ago, extra-heavy oil was exploited, which was used to produce and export orimulsion.

Currently, crude improvers are used, which are equipment that fractionate oil molecules to convert it into lighter and more commercially attractive elements.

Light oil is also imported from other countries to blend with extra heavy crude to produce a better commercial value blend for sale.

It is divided into four fields: Boyacá, Junín, Ayacucho and Carabobo. Through the Magna reserva project, some 172,000 million barrels of oil were certified, with a recovery factor of 20%, which makes Venezuela the first country in crude oil reserves in the world, above Saudi Arabia.

References

1. Monsalve, E. Position of our oil in the world. SIC Magazine. Recovered from: www.gumilla.org
2. The oil. Recovered from: www.geoeconomia5.blogspot.com
3. Oil Exploitation in Venezuela. Recovered from: www.mineraypetrolera.blogspot.com
4. Exploration and Production. Recovered from: www.pdvsa.com
5. Pérez, M. (2006). Geological Characterization of the Morichal 05 Deposit, Morichal Member, Jobo Field, Morichal Social District. Caracas, Central University of Venezuela