Los Molles Formation
The Los Molles Formation is a geologic formation of Early Jurassic age, located at northern and central part of Neuquén Basin at Mendoza Shelf in Argentina. It is overlain by the Niyeu–Lajas Formation.[1]
It is the second largest oil and gas formation in the Neuquén Basin after Vaca Muerta Formation. The Los Molles Formation is estimated to have 275 trillion cubic feet (7.8×1012 m3) of technically recoverable shale gas and 3.7 billion barrels (590,000,000 m3) of technically recoverable oil.[2] In July 2015, the Buenos Aires Herald indicated that Pan American Energy and YPF planned to drill 46 shale gas wells in the Grupo Cuyo formation (Los Molles) over the next four years in their Lindero Atravesado drilling block, at an estimated cost of US$590 million.[3]
Where it surfaces, the Los Molles formation has been the site of paleontological discoveries: the ichthyosaurs Chacaicosaurus and Mollesaurus.
References
- ^ McIlroy, Duncan; Flint, Stephen; Howell, John A.; Timms, Nick (2005). "Sedimentology of the tide-dominated Jurassic Lajas Formation, Neuquén Basin, Argentina". In Veiga, Gonzalo D. (ed.). The Neuquén Basin, Argentina: A Case Study in Sequence Stratigraphy and Basin Dynamics. Geological Society of London special publication. Geological Society of London. p. 84. ISBN 9781862391901. ISSN 0305-8719.
- ^ "Technically Recoverable Shale Oil and Shale Gas Resources: An Assessment of 137 Shale Formations in 41 Countries Outside the United States" (PDF). U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). June 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
- ^ http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/194048/shale-fields-to-get-US$14-billion-boost
39°10′18″S 69°39′35″W / 39.17167°S 69.65972°W
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