U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2017–3060

September 2017

National and Global Petroleum Assessment

Assessment of Continuous Oil and Gas Resources in the 

Middle and Upper Magdalena Basins, Colombia, 2017

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable

continuous resources of 0.45 billion barrels of oil and 1.0 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Middle and Upper Magdalena Basins, Colombia.

Introduction

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed an 

assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous 

(unconventional) oil and gas resources in the Middle and Upper 

Magdalena Basins of Colombia (fig. 1). These basins share a 

history of several tectonic events along the northwestern part of 

South America that largely shaped the development of petroleum 

systems and potential shale-oil and shale-gas resources (Cooper 

and others, 1995; Acosta and others, 2007).

Total Petroleum Systems and Assessment Units

For the Middle Magdalena Basin, the USGS defined the 

Middle Magdalena La Luna Total Petroleum System (TPS) 

based on the presence and thermal maturation of organicrich marine shales of the La Luna Formation. These shales 

are as much as 700 meters thick, and the organic matter is 

predominantly Type II and Type IIS. Total organic carbon 

content is as much as 18 weight percent (Rámon and others, 

2001; Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos, 2009 a, b; Veiga 

and Dzelalija, 2014). For this assessment, the USGS defined a 

Middle Magdalena La Luna Shale Oil Assessment Unit (AU) 

and a Middle Magdalena La Luna Shale Gas AU within the 

TPS based on data from Spickert (2014). The geologic models for the Middle Magdalena La Luna Shale Oil AU and the 

Middle Magdalena La Luna Shale Gas AU have some portion 

of recoverable oil or gas retained within the La Luna Formation 

shales following migration into conventional traps.

For the Upper Magdalena Basin, the USGS defined the 

Upper Magdalena Villeta TPS and the Upper Magdalena Villeta 

Shale Oil AU within this TPS based on data from Sarmiento and 

Rangel (2004). The geologic model for this AU is for oil generated within organic-rich shales of the Villeta Group to have been 

partially retained following migration of oil out of the shales.

Assessment input data for the AUs are shown in table 1. 

Well drainage areas, estimated ultimate recoveries, and success 

ratios were guided by U.S. shale-oil and shale-gas assessment 

unit analogs.

Undiscovered Resources Summary

The USGS quantitatively assessed undiscovered, technically 

recoverable, continuous oil and gas resources in the Middle and 

Upper Magdalena Basins of Colombia (table 2). The estimated mean 

total continuous resources are 449 million barrels of oil (MMBO), 

or 0.45 billion barrels of oil, with an F95–F5 range from 98 to 

1,004 MMBO; 1,022 billion cubic feet of gas (BCFG), or 1.0 trillion 

defined in this study.

cubic feet of gas, with an F95–F5 range from 213 to 2,377 BCFG; 

and 14 million barrels of natural gas liquids (MMBNGL) with an 

F95–F5 range from 2 to 34 MMBNGL. For the Middle Magdalena 

La Luna Shale Oil AU, the estimated mean resources are 233 MMBO 

with an F95–F5 range from 51 to 521 MMBO, 232 BCFG with an 

F95–F5 range from 48 to 540 BCFG, and 2 MMBNGL with an F95–

F5 range from 0 to 6 MMBNGL. For the Middle Magdalena La Luna 

Shale Gas AU, the estimated mean resources are 639 BCFG with an 

F95–F5 range from 134 to 1,490 BCFG and 10 MMBNGL with an 

F95 to F5 range from 2 to 24 MMBNGL. For the Upper Magdalena 

Villeta Shale Oil AU, the estimated mean resources are 216 MMBO 

with an F95–F5 range from 47 to 483 MMBO, 151 BCFG with an 

F95–F5 range from 31 to 347 BCFG, and 2 MMBNGL with an F95–

F5 range from 0 to 4 MMBNGL.

Figure 1. Location of the three continuous assessment units (AUs) 

IP-087769_MK_fig 01

COLOMBIA

 Magdalena

 River

VENEZUELA

Cali

Cúcuta

BOGOTÁ

Medellín

Bucaramanga

CARIBBEAN

SEA

–76° –74° –72°

8°

6°

4°

2°

Source: U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service

EXPLANATION

Middle Magdalena La Luna Shale Oil AU

Middle Magdalena La Luna Shale Gas AU

Upper Magdalena Villeta Shale Oil AU

NORTH

PACIFIC

OCEAN

CORDILLERA

DE MERÍDA

CORDILLERA

OCCIDENTAL

CORDILLERA

CENTRAL

CORDILLERA ORIENTAL

Map NORTH area PACIFIC

OCEAN

CARIBBEAN

SEA

PANAMA

COLOMBIA

BRAZIL

VENEZUELA

PERU

ECUADOR

0 50 100 KILOMETERS

0 50 100 MILES
Magdalena Basins Assessment Team

Christopher J. Schenk, Michael E. Brownfield, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Phuong A. Le, Tracey J. Mercier, Thomas M. Finn, 

Sarah J. Hawkins, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Kristen R. Marra, Timothy R. Klett, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, and Cheryl A. Woodall

For More Information

Assessment results are also available at the USGS Energy Resources Program website at https://energy.usgs.gov.

ISSN 2327-6916 (print) ISSN 2327-6932 (online) https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20173060

References Cited

Acosta, Jorge; Velandia, Francisco; Osorio, Jario; Lonergan, Lidia; and 

Mora, Héctor, 2007, Strike-slip deformation within the Colombian 

Andes, in Ries, A.C., Butler, R.W.H., and Graham, R.H., eds., 

Deformation of the continental crust—The legacy of Mike Coward: 

The Geological Society of London, Special Publication No. 272, 

p. 303–319.

Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos (ANH), 2009a, Middle Magdalena 

Valley Basin, in Montes, L., ed., Organic geochemistry atlas of 

Columbia: Earth Sciences Research Journal, v. 13, Special Edition, 

p. 84–95.

Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos (ANH), 2009b, Upper Magdalena Valley Basin, in Montes, L., ed., Organic geochemistry atlas of 

Columbia: Earth Sciences Research Journal, v. 13, Special Edition, 

p. 116–120.

Cooper, M.A., Addison, F.T., Alvarez, R., Coral, M., Graham, R.H., 

Hayward, A.B., Howe, S., Martinez, J., Naar, J., Penas, R., Pulham, 

A.J., and Taborda, A., 1995, Basin development and tectonic history 

of the Llanos Basin, Eastern Cordillera, and Middle Magdalena

 Valley, Colombia: American Association of Petroleum Geologists 

Bulletin, v. 79, no. 10, p. 1421–1443.

Ramón, J.C., Dzou, L.I., Hughes, W.B., and Holba, A.G., 2001, 

Evolution of the Cretaceous organic facies in Colombia—

Implications for oil composition: Journal of South American 

Earth Sciences, v. 14, no. 1, p. 31–50.

Sarmiento, L.F., and Rangel, A., 2004, Petroleum systems of the 

Upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia: Marine and Petroleum 

Geology, v. 21, no. 3, p. 373–391.

Spickert, Andrew, 2014, Petroleum system analysis—Middle 

Magdalena Valley Basin, Colombia, South America: Seattle, 

University of Washington, M.S. thesis, 48 p.

Veiga, Ricardo; and Dzelalija, Francisco, 2014, A regional overview 

of the La Luna Formation and the Villeta Group as shale gas/shale 

oil in the Catatumbo, Magdalena Valley and Eastern Cordillera 

regions, Colombia: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 

Search and Discovery Article No. 10565, January 20, 2014, 21 p., 

accessed June 5, 2017, at http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/

documents/2014/10565veiga/ndx_veiga.pdf.

Table 2. Assessment results for three continuous assessment units in the Middle and Upper Magdalena Basins, Colombia.

[MMBO, million barrels of oil; BCFG, billion cubic feet of gas; NGL, natural gas liquids; MMBNGL, million barrels of natural gas liquids. Results shown are fully 

risked estimates. For gas accumulations, all liquids are included in the NGL category. F95 represents a 95-percent chance of at least the amount tabulated; other fractiles 

are defined similarly. Fractiles are additive under the assumption of perfect positive correlation. Shading indicates not applicable]

Total petroleum systems and

assessment units (AUs)

AU

probability

Accumulation

type

Total undiscovered resources

Oil (MMBO) Gas (BCFG) NGL (MMBNGL)

F95 F50 F5 Mean F95 F50 F5 Mean F95 F50 F5 Mean

Middle Magdalena La Luna Total Petroleum System

Middle Magdalena La Luna Shale Oil AU 1.0 Oil 51 203 521 233 48 196 540 232 0 2 6 2

Middle Magdalena La Luna Shale Gas AU 1.0 Gas 134 537 1,490 639 2 8 24 10

Upper Magdalena Villeta Total Petroleum System

Upper Magdalena Villeta Shale Oil AU 1.0 Oil 47 187 483 216 31 129 347 151 0 1 4 2

Total undiscovered continuous resources 98 390 1,004 449 213 862 2,377 1,022 2 11 34 14

Table 1. Key assessment input data for three continuous assessment units in the Middle and Upper Magdalena Basins, Colombia.

[AU, assessment unit; %, percent; EUR, estimated ultimate recovery per well; MMBO, million barrels of oil; BCFG, billion cubic feet of gas. The average EUR input is 

the minimum, median, maximum, and calculated mean. Shading indicates not applicable]

Assessment input data—

Continuous AUs

Middle Magdalena La Luna Shale Oil AU

Minimum Mode Maximum Calculated

mean

Potential production area of AU (acres) 800 823,500 1,647,000 823,767

Average drainage area of wells (acres) 40 120 200 120

Success ratio (%) 10 50 90 50

Average EUR (oil, MMBO; gas, BCFG) 0.03 0.06 0.15 0.065

AU probability 1.0

Assessment input data—

Continuous AUs

Upper Magdalena Villeta Shale Oil AU

Minimum Mode Maximum Calculated

mean

Potential production area of AU (acres) 800 768,000 1,536,000 768,267

Average drainage area of wells (acres) 40 120 200 120

Success ratio (%) 10 50 90 50

Average EUR (MMBO) 0.03 0.06 0.15 0.065

AU probability 1.0

Middle Magdalena La Luna Shale Gas AU

Minimum Mode Maximum Calculated

mean

600 459,500 919,000 459,700

80 120 160 120

10 50 90 50

0.1 0.3 1.0 0.337

1.0