Golfo San Jorge Basin

Golfo San Jorge Basin
Cuenca del Golfo San Jorge
Oil well near the port city of Comodoro Rivadavia
Map showing the location of Golfo San Jorge Basin
Map showing the location of Golfo San Jorge Basin
Location of the basin in Argentina
Coordinates45°00′S 67°50′W / 45.000°S 67.833°W / -45.000; -67.833
EtymologySan Jorge Gulf
LocationSouthern South America
RegionPatagonia
Country Argentina
State(s)Chubut, Santa Cruz
CitiesComodoro Rivadavia
Characteristics
On/OffshoreBoth
BoundariesNorth Patagonian Massif, Deseado Massif, Andes
Part ofSouthern Atlantic rift basins
Area170,000 km2 (66,000 sq mi)
Hydrology
Sea(s)South Atlantic
River(s)Chico River
Lake(s)Lake Musters and Lake Colhué Huapí
Geology
Basin typeRift
PlateSouth American
OrogenyOpening of the South Atlantic
AgeEarly Jurassic-Pleistocene
StratigraphyStratigraphy
Field(s)Cañadón León, Cerro Dragón, Diadema, El Tordillo
Photograph of the first oil well in Comodoro Rivadavia

The Golfo San Jorge Basin (Spanish: Cuenca del Golfo San Jorge) is a hydrocarbon-rich sedimentary basin located in eastern Patagonia, Argentina. The basin covers the entire San Jorge Gulf and an inland area west of it, having one half located in Santa Cruz Province and the other in Chubut Province. The northern boundary of the basin is the North Patagonian Massif while the Deseado Massif forms the southern boundary of the basin. The basin has largely developed under condition of extensional tectonics, including rifting.[1]

The basin is of paleontological significance as it hosts six out of 22 defining formations for the SALMA classification, the geochronology for the Cenozoic used in South America.

At the center of the basin accumulated sediments reach more than 8,000 metres (26,000 ft) of thickness. Oil was first discovered in 1907 and over the years it has become the second most productive hydrocarbon basin in Argentina after Neuquén Basin.[1]

  1. ^ a b Sylwan, Caudio A. (2001). "Geology of the Golfo San Jorge Basin, Argentina". Journal of Iberian Geology. 27: 123–157. Retrieved 4 December 2015.