Compression

Caigual Fault zone

L’Ebranche Syncline

Central Range Fault zone

Major Folding and Faulting
Naparima Hill Fm.
Possible Mid Miocene angular unconformity

Compression

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Figure 1 displays the tectonic setting of the area of interest.

The Caribbean plate moves eastward with respect to the South American plate.
This movement would play a major role in the history of these faults. The
transpressional, right-lateral Central Range strike-slip fault system is the major
strike-slip fault crossing the island and eastern offshore area of Trinidad and is
responsible for the formation and deformation of fault-parallel basins of post-
middle Miocene age that are expressed as downthrown, south-eastern block of
the fault zone [ CITATION Bab99 \l 11273 ]. The Central Range Fault Zone is the
major plate boundary zone strike-slip fault on Trinidad.

The Caribbean plate is moving eastwards, relative to the North American plate
and the South American plate. These faults are not straight can lock against
blockages known as restraining bends. When the strain is released, they rupture
and cause earthquakes. The longer the strain build up, the larger the resulting
earthquake [ CITATION Xav132 \l 11273 ].

Studies done by [ CITATION Sot20 \l 11273 ] described the Central Range Fault zone
to have a deformation zone and is composed of anastomosing southwest-
northeast faults that diverge upward in cross sections into a positive flower
structure (Figure 3). They continued to describe secondary faults (west-east-
striking faults) further to the east to behave as normal faults, although a
component of right lateral strike-slip motion cannot be ruled out.

Furthermore, they found that the Central Range Fault zone consists of an
elongate and irregular flower structure where the north western side is

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consistently upthrown relative to the depressed southereastern block. This uplift
in the area is the product of the transpressional regime dominating the northern
part of the study area and onshore in eastern Trinidad (Figure 2).

Figure 2 showing the oblique under thrusting of Cretaceous passive margin of South
America shown in blue. Transpression along right-lateral Central Range Fault Zone
depresses a basin to the south that becomes a site of post-Miocene deposition.

The Central Range Fault Zone is interpreted as a low angle thrust modified from
the surface outcrop mapping by Kugler (1959). The thrusts in Figure 3 display
dipping north-westward beneath the eastern Central Range.

Figure 3 displays A) the geological cross section across eastern Trinidad with low angle
thrusts beneath the Central Range and B) the geologic cross section in Central Trinidad
showing shallow thrusts rooting onto steeper-dipping deeper right-lateral strike-slip
faults.

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A depressed basinal area in the southeast central portion of the block is along-
strike from the Nariva swamp bordering the onshore Central Range Fault Zone
in east-central Trinidad and was likely produced by a normal component along
the west-east system of secondary faults associated with the Central Range
Fault Zone.

During the Late Cretaceous, the Gautier, Naparima Hill and Guayaguayare
Formations were deposited in deep water environments; which were produced
from post-rift thermal subsidence. Limited outcrops of these rocks are seen in
the core of the Central Range and from deep wells in the Northern basin and the
Gulf of Paria.

Naparima Hill Formation on Surface

geology map

During Paleocene to Early Miocene, Erosion of the Chaudiere and Point-a-

Pierre Formations produced shale with layers of turbidites in the central area of
Trinidad which was dominated by deep water clastic sedimentation [ CITATION
Xie10 \l 11273 ]. According to[ CITATION Erl93 \l 11273 ], the turbidites were deposited
along folded troughs parallel to the Central Range and were interpreted as
precursors to the folding and thrusting event that culminated in Trinidad during
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the Middle Miocene. He continued to describe the link between shallowing of
water depths in basins with the early Miocene deformation.

The Trinidad region reached its peak with the expansion of an outer-shelf which
developed the Brasso formation consisting of mudstones, shale and
conglomerate over areas of the Northern basin and Gulf of Paria. The sudden
shift from clastic rocks of the Brasso Formation to carbonate formation displays
the termination by folding and thrusting of the passive margin of Trinidad. The
variety of Miocene facies is related to active faulting and folding controlling the
sedimentation. The increased intensity of convergent deformation caused a
renewed input of clastic sediments and terminated carbonate sedimentation of
the Tamana Formation after the middle Miocene folding and thrusting event
[ CITATION Erl93 \l 11273 ].

The major middle Miocene erosive event caused deformation, uplift, exposure
and truncation in the Miocene section. This event caused the geologic record of
Trinidad to be subdivided into two distinctive sections; the older, highly
deformed section beneath the unconformity and a younger, less deformed
section above the unconformity. The middle Miocene angular conformity
surface marks this erosive event Figure 4. The initial uplift of the Central Range
during the middle Miocene folding and thrusting event divided the stratigraphy
of Trinidad in a vertical stratigraphic succession and in map view by creating
two independent clastic basins; Northern and Southern Basin [ CITATION Erl93 \l
11273 ].

Different clastic units were deposited in Trinidad from source areas in the north
and south which eventually prograded over the early topographic high formed
by the Central Range in the middle Miocene folding and thrusting event.

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The northern flank of the Central Range included the Late Miocene Manzanilla
Formation followed by the early Pliocene Sprinvale Formation and finally, the
late Pliocene Talparo Formation.

According to [ CITATION Bab99 \l 11273 ], three tectonic phases of deformation have

controlled the basins of Trinidad since the middle Miocene. In the first phase,
the Northern and Central Range were initially uplifted due to transpression
along the onshore section of the El Pilar fault zone and along the Central Range
fault zone. In the Central Range, the uplift along the island allowed shallow-
water carbonate sedimentation of the Tamana Formation on structural highs
produced during the Middle Miocene folding and thrusting event.

During the initial part of the second phase, a southward-tapering wedge of

Cunapo conglomerate indicates the termination of deformation and uplift in the
Northern Range. While the interplate strike-slip system expanded to the south of
the El Pilar Fault zone to the Central Range Fault zone and the Los Bajos Fault
zone continuing for the rest of the phase. The Central Range Fault zone
gradually gained importance and a major pull-apart basin developed in the area
of the Gulf of Paria [ CITATION Bab99 \l 11273 ].

In the third and final phase of deformation, southward expansion of strike-slip

faults is pronounced with the consequent expansion of the Gulf of Paria pull-
apart between the El-Pilar and Warm Springs-Central Range Fault zone,
causing a shift of the main pull apart depocenters to the south and east. The
present day relief of the Central Range is most likely the result of the modern
transpressional deformation, which was derived from the eastward tilting of the
Northern basin towards the pull-apart basin. The uplifted Central Range and
continued deposition of deltaic materials from the Orinoco River provided the
main sources of sediments into the Gulf of Paria as well as on the eastern
offshore area during this final phase of basin filling [CITATION ABo03 \l 11273 ].

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The Darien ridge is the offshore extension of the onshore Trinidad Central
Range. This structure generates significant relief in the Mesozoic section and is
interpreted to be a product of successive thrust imbrication and fault-bend
folding. To the north and east, on oceanic crust, the fault-bend folds in the plate
boundary zone decrease in magnitude and merge with the Barbados
accretionary complex. The Darien ridge is describes as an east-northeast
trending elongate high along the southwestern edge whose shallowest point
forms an isolated high called the Darien rock.

Caigual Fault Zone

Central Range Fault Zone

Evolution of the deep-water exploration area begins with Jurassic and Lower
Cretaceous rifting, leading to the development of transitional continent/ocean
crust. A passive-margin phase follows rifting and contains the only proven
source rocks in Trinidad- marine clastic/carbonate Upper Cretaceous Gautier
and Naparima Hill Formations.

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 As we traverse NW to SE, intense folding and faulting is seen where we get
younger rocks as we go toward the SE. By comparing the findings onshore and
offshore, it is seen that there are more oil shows. This may be due to the intense
folding toward the NE.

NW SE

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By analysing the cross section data above, as we move from a NW to SE
direction, a series of thrust faults are seen with oil findings in Nidoking-1 and
Arcanine-1. From the information given, it is said that oil discovery in the AN-1
is not commercial. The source rock appears to be in the Cretaceous, and the
thrust faults in the area may provide the migration pathway to charge the
reservoirs in the Oligocene and Eocene.

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W E

Area of
extreme
uplift and
overturn

By analysing the well above and attempting to correlate it with the seismic, it is
seen that the seismic displays different data when compared to the well data.
From the seismic data, the Oligocene beds were in contact with the well once
whereas in the well data displayed that the Oligocene beds were in contact with
the well 3 times. As we move further down the Snorlax-1 well, the repeated
section appears to be overturned displaying the order of oldest to youngest;
Paleocene, Eocene and Oligocene. This indicates that the section is heavily
faulted and this may have occurred during the middle Miocene folding and
thrusting event. The success in the Snorlax-1 well appears to be excellent since
the beds are tilted such that it becomes vertical. Drilling into these vertical beds

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would ensure a more commercial recovery since greater areas of these beds
would be penetrated. In my perspective, this is the best oil finding compared to
the rest of wells.

The Gyarardos-1 well encountered oil shows in the Cretaceous (Naparima Hill
source rock). The oil has been trapped and sealed by the intense thrusting in the
area and the overlying shales respectively. This Gyarardos-1 well is pretty
successful since it consists of all required petroleum systems to accumulate
hydrocarbons.

By analysing the data below, thrusting and folding is seen by correlating these
two wells. The Exeggutor-1 well encounters 3 oil shows which says that this
well seem to be successful in discovering commercial oil. Intense thrusting is
seen as we move toward the SE as seen in the Snorlax-1 well.

DARIEN Pikachu-1
RIDGE Proposed wells

Jigglypuff-1

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It is seen that increase folding occurs toward the NE onto the Darien Ridge, two
wells are proposed where Pikachu-1 would most likely encounter vertical beds
due to intense folding and thrusting. This would enhance our chances of success
with repeated sections and increase commercial oil.

Sediments derived from the Orinoco drainage system extend northward to the
Tiburon rise located east of Barbados. A decrease in total sediment thickness
occurs gradually. North of the Tiburon rise, where sediments cover the thinnest,
the accretionary prism narrows considerably. The area of thickest sediment
accumulation in the deep-water exploration area occurs immediately to the
southeast of the Darien Ridge. Therefore, Jigglypuff-1 is an attempt to hit
thicker sediments increasing the changes of commercial oil discovery.

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 NW SE

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Highly deformed rocks underlying the middle Miocene unconformity are
correlated between the Southern and Central Ranges and partially with the
Northern Basin. Erosion at the middle Miocene unconformity has removed the
late Miocene and Pliocene section from the Central Range. Right-lateral strike-
slip faults are inferred to subdivide post-middle Miocene stratigraphy of the
Northern basin, Central Range and Southern Basin (Figure 4).

Figure 4 displays a comparison of Oligocene-Pleistocene stratigraphy from the Northern Range, Central Range and
Southern Basin/Range

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Bibliography
Babb, S, and P Mann. "Structural and sedimentary development of a Neogene transpressional plate
boundary between the Caribbean and South America plates in Trinidad and the Gulf of
Paria." Sedimentary Basins of the World, 1999.

Bowman, A. "Sequence Stratigraphy and reservoir characterization in the Columbus basin, Trinidad."
London, 2003.

Erlich, R, P Farfan, and P Hallock. "Biostratigraphy, depositional environments, and diagenesis of the
Tamana Formation, Trinidad: a tectonic market horizon. ." Sedimentology, 1993.

Soto, David, Paul Mann, and Alejandro Escalona. "Miocene-to-recent structure and basinal
architecture along the Central Range strike-slip fault zone, eastern offshore Trinidad."
ELSEVIER, 2010.

Xie, X, A Escalona, and P Mann. "Regional provenance study of Eocene clastic sedimentary rocks
within the South America-Caribbean plate boundary zone using detrital zircon
geochronology." Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2010.

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