As described in “Geology of the Neuquén Basin and its Petroleum Systems,” the Neuquén Basin, one of the largest hydrocarbon producers in southern South America, is located east of the Andes in northern Patagonia. It covers an area of ​​over 120,000 km2 in west-central Argentina and contains a stratigraphic record 6,000 meters thick, ranging in age from the Triassic to the Paleogene. The sedimentary succession includes continental and marine siliciclastic, carbonate and evaporite facies, making the basin an excellent field laboratory for detailed sedimentological, sequence stratigraphic and tectonic analyses. It also contains one of the most complete marine and continental fossil records of the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous interval, and some of the most recognized dinosaur deposits in the world. The Neuquén basin also has a series of characteristics that make it special in the international arena:

The multiplicity of existing structural styles.
Numerous orogenic phases have given it a complex and heterogeneous structural imprint.

The quality and variety of its outcrops.
Related to its structural complexity, the stratigraphic succession present in the subsoil of the eastern region of the basin is exposed at the foot of the Andes. This situation makes it an excellent case study for professionals from all over the world.

The diversity of sedimentary paleoenvironments present.
Throughout its history, numerous depositional environments (continental, transitional and marine) were established, responsible for the plurality of facies that make up its filling.

The available subsoil information.
The fact that it is one of the main hydrocarbon basins in Argentina (with 42% of the country’s oil production and 55% of its gas production) means that there is abundant information available on the subsoil.
This allows for a good understanding of the basin, mainly from the perspective of hydrocarbon exploration and production.