Sergipe-Alagoas Basin: current exploration status

Abstract

Exploration oi the Sergipe-Alagoas Basin has reached an advanced stage il compared with other eastern Brazilian margin basins. Fifty years 01 research activities have resulted In the appropriation oi substantial volumes 01 hydrocarbons and the accumulation of an immense bank of geological and geophysical data. During its rich and varied lithostructural history, the basin evolved Irom a Paleozoic Intracontinental syneclisis to its present-day status as a passive margin basin. Intense tectonism and differential subsidence within structural compartments during the rift phase practically defined its current configuration. Although its largest oil and gas fields were discovered at an early stage of exploratory activities and the sites of these fields, within structures formed by domes, have already been extensive/y researched, the basin still contains attractive prospects in the form of subtle traps and new frontiers. Exploratory efforts are being re-directed toward stratigraphic traps, small accumulations in areas already equipped with production infrastructure, deep gas reservoirs, and deep-water areas, an effort that will demand enhanced seismic resolution, more sophisticated data treatment, and creativity in interpretation of results.