OIL POSSIBILITIES OF COLOMBIA 1023

Oil Possibilities of Colombia

By CHESTER W. WASHBURNE AND K. D. WHITE, NEW YORK, N. Y.

(New York Meeting, February, 1922)

COLOMBIA has an almost ideal situation with respect to the world's

markets, being only a short distance from the Panama Canal and the
West Indies. The sailing distance from its Caribbean ports to New
York is less than that from Tampico.
Geographically, Colombia consists of three systems of broad mountain
ranges separated by two long narrow valleys. The Cauca River valley
separates the Western or Coastal range from the Central range. On
the west side of the Coastal range are the Atrato and San Juan Rivers.
The Central and Eastern ranges are separated by the Magdalena River
valley. In the department of Santander the Eastern range divides,
one branch continuing northward as the Cordillera of Perij a, the other
turning eastward across Venezuela as the Cordillera of Merida. Between
these ranges is the great basin occupied by Lake Maracaibo.
These valleys consist mainly of long narrow reentrants or tongues of
Tertiary sediments between the older rocks of the mountain ranges.
The late Miocene and younger sediments seem to have been deposited
in separated basins, but the Cretaceous and possibly some earlier Tertiary
strata were laid down more or less continuously over a great part of
Colombia and Venezuela. These strata were subsequently folded into
the present ranges. The deposition of the Cretaceous and of some of the
Tertiary was in a .great sea, the main land mass being in Brazil, with
land probably along some of the cores of the present mountain systems.
The sediments, except the Lower Cretaceous, vary markedly in character
and thickness. An illustration is seen in the massive series of non-marine
conglomerates and sandstones of the upper Magdalena River valley,
near Honda, which are almost wholly wanting in the coastal sections
where marine sediments prevail.
The oldest rocks bearing on the search for oil are the black carbonace-
ous and bituminous shales, limestones, and cherts of the upper part of the
Lower Cretaceous. These probably are the main source of oil in both
Colombia and Venezuela. They include thick bodies of true "oil shale."
Above the carbonaceous and bituminous beds, lies a series of many
thousand feet of clastic sediments. The most noticeable and easily
recognizable formation among these clastic sediments is the "coal-
bearing series," which may be either upper Cretaceous or Eocene. The
1024 OIL POSSIBIL11'IES OF COLOMBIA

78'

,.'
"
FIG, 1.
 CHESTER W. WASHBURNE AND K. D. WHITE 1025

horizons that have been proved to be petroleum producers in Colombia

occur in this series and in the next overlying formation.
The several stratigraphic sections available for Colombia are platted
in Fig. 2, with tentative correlation lines drawn between formations
which are thought to be nearly contemporaneous. Special thanks are
due A. Faison Dixon for his aid in the correlations.
For comparison, Colombia may be roughly subdivided into the
following areas or districts:
1. The Santa Marta area and the Goajira peninsula.
2. The Sinu River valley.
3. The Cartegena-BarranquilIa coastal region.
4. The lower Magdalena River valley.
5. The upper Magdalena River valley.
6. The Amazon River drainage, including the Meta River basin.
7. The Colombian-Venezuelan boundary region.
S. The Pacific coastal plain.
9. The Atrato River valley.

SINU RIVER VALLEY

The sediments of this valley are of Miocene and Pliocene age, in large
part marine. They have been sharply folded and in some localities
have been faulted. Sharp antielines with limbs dipping 45° or more
near the crest are the rule.
Elfred Beck 1 describes several structures which he located east and
north of the Sinu River, the most important being the Sincelejo anticline,
which he traced for more than 50 mi. (SO km.) a little east of north. The
eastern flank of the anticline dips from 5° to 30° while the western limb
dips at 45°. In Beck's cross-section the folding becomes sharper
westward and considerable faulting is shown.
West of the Sinu River, between Monteria and the sea, three anticlines
have been recognized and each traced about.1O mi. (16 km.). The two
more eastern folds are separated by a syncline about 10 mi. wide between
anticlinal axes. The anticlines are closely folded, the limbs towards the
synclines having an average dip of about 45° for a mile from their crests.
The other limbs are nearly vertical. The petroleum evidences on both
anticlines are similar; large mud volcanoes and seepages of dark green
oils come from their steeply dipping crests. The anticlines, the crests of
which are in Miocene rocks, expose 7000 or SOOO ft. (2134 to 243S m.) of
strata. The third anticline is situated on the sea coast, probably in
Pliocene rocks. It also shows oil seepages.
The petroleum evidence of this district consists of seepages of heavy
I Elfred Beck: Geology and Oil Resources of Colombia. Economic Geology
(Nov., 1919).
VOL. LXVIII.-65
1026 OIL POSSIBILITIES OF COLOMBIA

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 CHES'l'ER W. WASHBURNE AND K. D. WHITE 1027

tarry oils, dark green oils, gas springs, and mud volcanoes. The authors
believe that mud volcanoes have little significance. Practically all oil
and gas seepages are located either in the fractured core of closely folded
anticlines or along fault planes.
Four wells have been drilled in the Sinu River valley and another is
now being drilled by the South American Gulf Oil Co., at San Andres.
The first well was drilled by a Dutch company in 1910 to 1912, near San
Sebastian, east of the Sinu River. It reached a depth of about 400 ft.
(122 m.) and encountered a dark green oil of about 36 0 Be. gravity. It
was reported to have been a 50-bbI. well. In 1915 it was badly mudded
and would pump only a few barrels. The Gulf Oil Company's well is
said to be located on good structure.
In 1915 and 1916 The Standard Oil Co. of New York, drilled three
wells to depths of about 2000 ft. (610 m.) The wells were located,
respectively, 4 mi. (6.4 km.) east, 8 mi. northeast, and 12 mi. northwest
of Lorica. These wells are all reported to have struck small shows of oil
and gas, but nothing has been definitely proved by them. All except the
shallow well were drilled quite far down the flank of the structures on
which they were located.
The entire region contains thick deposits of Tertiary sandstone and
shale which are closely folded and much faulted. Any structure in this
district deserves testing where the equivalent of the" coal-bearing"
series of the Magdalena River valley, or strata close above it, may be
reached by the drill, where the rocks are not too badly shattered, and
where the drainage area is not too limited. With the thick shale section
of the later Tertiary and with the presence of numerous petroleum seepages,
well-developed folds in the Miocene and Pliocene rocks are also worthy
of test, but it should be recognized that no oil horizons have been proved
in these strata and that drilling to upper Tertiary horizons is much more
speculative than drilling to lower Tertiary and Upper Cretaceous horizons.

CARTEGENA-BARRANQUILLA COASTAL REGION

This area roughly embraces the region between the Caribbean sea
coast, the Magdalena River, and the Cartegena-Calmar railroad. In
this territory about as many wells have been drilled as in all the rest of
Colombia.
About 6 mi. (10 kIll.) southwest of Puerto Colombia, at the village of
Perdices, seven wells had been drilled up to the beginning of 1918, all
within 1000 ft. (305 m.) of each other. An eighth well is located some 3
mi. east of this locality. According to Alfred Beck, the drilling was
commenced by a Canadian company in 1907, and was continued in 1912
or 1913 by the Kelly Oil Co.
Of these eight wells, the deepest, No.6, Perdices, was drilled to
3030 ft. (923 m.). This well encountered showings of oil and gas at
1028 OIL POSSIBILITIES OF COLOMBIA

various horizons, and at 2443 to 2446 ft. (745m.) in a sandstone, 3,000,000

cu. ft. (85,000 cu. m.) of gas was reported. Well No.1, Perdices, had the
best showing; salt water and oil, with a gravity of 32° Be., were reported
at 135 ft. (41 m.), while in a broken sand and shale formation at 745-
754 ft. (230 m.), oil of 43.4° Be., which flowed naturally and on the pump
made 140 bbl. in 7 hr., was reported. In 1917 the well was badly mudded
but pumped about Y2 bbl. a day. The other wells, which were drilled to
depths of 1600 ft. (488 m.) or less, encountered shows of oil and gas.
The Three Seas Oil Co. is now drilling a deep test in the Per dices
region at no great distance from the other wells. Beck states that the
drilling has been on a steep, narrow, poorly defined fold.
At Turbaco, a station on the Cartagena~Calmar railroad, the Martinez
Oil Co. drilled five wells, beginning in 1908. The first four wells were
drilled with a Keystone machine to a depth less than 500 ft. (152 m.).
They were all located close together in the immediate vicinity of numerous
and active mud volcanoes, which had been given prominence by their
description by Von Humboldt. In 1912, another well was drilled about
a mile south of the mud volcanoes, by the Martinez Oil Co., with a stand-
ard rig. It went to a depth of about 2200 ft. (671 m.), its log showing
remarkable uniformity in rock strata. This is readily explained by an
excavation 500 ft. east of the location, where strata striking N. 40° dip
westward from 75° to vertical.
The surface evidences of petroleum in this district are large, active
mud volcanoes, gas springs, and seepages of dark green oil. Unfortu-
nately, none of the drilling seems to have been on large, well-formed
structures. The drilling on suitable structures in this region seems to be
amply justified.
LOWER MAGDALENA RlV~m VALLEY

This is one of the two areas that have been proved to contain com-
mercial oil deposits. The field is about 300 mi. (483 km.) from the mouth
of the Magdelena River, and 20 to 25 miles eastward, up the Colorado
River. The discovery well was drilled in April, 1918, by the Tropical
Oil Co., after abandoning the first two wells, at about 600 ft., owing to
great difficulty with caving. Of the three producing wells, No.1, drilled Ii
2300 ft. (700 m.) was good for 3500 bbl.; No.2, drilled 700 ft. (213 m.), •
700 bbl.; No.3, drilled 1500 ft. (457 m.), 1500 bbl. The gravity of the
oil was between 42° and 45° Be. The company was purchased in 1920
by the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, which has built a railroad from
Barranca Bermejo to the field and has shipped in large supplies of pipe,
casing, tools, etc., preparatory to extensive developments.
North of the Tropical Oil Company's property, on the Lebrija River,
I
the Colombian Syndicate has drilled several wells, all of which had (IiI
showings, though none produced appreciable amounts.
 CHES1'ER W. WASHBURNE AND K. D. WHI'fE 1029

At Zambrano, which is about 100 miles (160 km.) from the mouth
of the Magdalena River, two wells have been drilled, one by the Shell
interests, the other by the Transcontinental Oil Co. The Transconti-
nental well, at between 700 and 800 ft. (213-244 m.), struck a big flow
of salt water in a sand 150 ft. (45 m.) thick. The well is located on the
plunging end of an anticline.
The Standard Oil Co. of California is drilling two wells, about
8 mi. (12.8 km.) apart, near EI Carmen and San Jacinto, about 60 km.
southeast of Cartagena, on the large concession of the Latin-American
Petroleum Corpn. The San Jacinto well had a good show of oil and gas
at 756 ft. (230 m.). The wells are in good structure.
In this region there are large deposits of asphalt or brea, active
seepages of dark green oil, gas springs, and veins of devolatilized asphaltum
varying from gilsonite to grahamite. Here the large deposits of asphalt
and hydrocarbon veins are restricted to the east side of the valley.
In crossing the Lebrija River region eastward from the Magdalena
River, the first encountered rocks dip west; on the west side of the
Magdalena River the rocks dip eastward. The syncline is coincident with
the Magdalena Valley as far as EI Banco, from which place it narrows and
continues with more complicated structure up the valley of the
Rio Cesar.
Since the occurrence of oil in commercial quantity is now proved,
one should test any structure that is not too contorted, under which the
drill can reach the coal-bearing series or strata just above it.

UPPER MAGDALENA RIVER VALLEY

This refers to the region above La Dorada, the head of navigation of

the lower Magdalena. It includes the Honda district, where recently
there has been considerable leasing and some drilling.
The region has numerous small anticlines. Its major structure is a
series of great north-south block-faults, the throw of some of these being
many thousands of feet. There are two main lines of seepages. One is
along the east side of the Magdalena valley, or the west foot of the second
range of the Eastern Andes, locally called the Cordillera de Sargento;
the other follows the west side of the valley, or the east foot of the Central
Andes. Most of the seepages below Guataqui consist of heavy asphaltic
oil or brea, while most of those above Guataqui consist of dark green oil,
but exceptions occur.
An overlap of Tertiary strata conceals the structure in the older
sedimentary rocks in many places along the east base of the Central
Andes. There are exceptions to this, as at Chaparral, where there is
an anticline with a large deposit of brea. The seepages of the Eastern
Andes occur either on small folds or along fault planes. They are located
1030 OIL POSSIBILITIES OF COLOMBIA

either Hear Lhe Lop of the Lower CretaeeollH Llaek shale.s aud lime.stolle.s or
in beds a few hundred feet higher.
Three wells have been drilled. In 1918 the Carib Syndicate drillecl
a 700-ft. (213 m.) hole about 3 mi. (4.8 km.) southwest of the San Felipe
railroad station. A little tarry oil was found in the bottom of the hole,
which stopped in schist.
In 1921 the Transcontinental Oil Co. drilled a well about 15 mi.
(24 km.) southeast of Honda, to a depth reported at 3300 ft. (1005 m.)
stopping in black limestone. From 800 to 2000 ft. (244-610 m.), several
shows of oil and gas were encountered. Near Guataqui, the same com-
pany is reported to have drilled 1170 ft. (357 m.) and to have encountered
small showings of oil.
In the upper Magdalena River valley there are two long lines of
seepages, and many small anticlines which give promise of producing oil.
Whether the quantity can be sufficient to justify the cost oftransportation
to the coast is doubtful. The problem of this region is one of transpor-
tation and quantity of oil, rather than the actual presence of oil, which
can hardly be questioned.

ESTIMATED AREA OF POSSIBLE AND PROBABLE OIL LANDS

The three wells producing in the Tropical Oil Company's concession,

and the one on the Barco concession, indicate a certain amount of com-
mercially proved and highly probable oil land, but the present stage of
development at these two places is not sufficient to enable us to estimate
either the proved acreage or the probable production from proved land
in Colombia. All we can say is that, on geological evidence, we think
there is roughly 5 sq. mi. (13 sq. km.) of "probable" oil land in the two
fields mentioned. On account of the small number of wells drilled, the
rest of the attractive acreage must be thrown into the" possible" class.
In the Magdalena Valley above El Banco, there may be 20 to 30 sq.
mi. (52-78 sq. km.) of possible oil land in addition to the probable oil
land above mentioned.
Below El Banco it is necessary to consider the Magdalena River
valley in connection with that of the Rio Sinu, with which it has close
relationship in many ways. Although we have worked in several parts
of this region we do not feel competent to estimate the possible oil
areas within it. The anticlines generally are narrow and sharp, and on
most of them it is not possible to reach the base of the Tertiary. In
other words, most of them may never produce oil. The district, how-
ever, is highly attractive because of the possibility that oil may have
migrated long distances upward into the attainable Tertiary strata, and
because the Marine Tertiary of this region offers attractive possibilities
as an additional source of oil. Our best guess is that there may be 30
sq. mi. of possible oil lands in this district.

I
 CHESTER W. WASHBURNE AND. K. D. WHITE 1031

Concerning the Atrato River valley, neither of us knows anything.

The region is very unhealthy. We understand that geologists have
reported favorably on parts of this territory, but we cannot make any
estimate concerning it.
The west coast of Colombia, so far as we can ascertain, has no known
potential oil lands. There generally is only a narrow strip of unaltered
strata west of the metamorphic and igneous rocks of the mountain mass,
except north of the Rio San Juan, where the old rocks disappear; and also
near the south end of Colombia, where there is said to be an embayment
of Tertiary in the older rocks.
Our information is inadequate for much comment on the three other
districts mentioned in the subdivision, namely, the Santa Marta areas
and the Goajira peninsula, the Amazon River drainage (Meta River
basin), and the Colombian-Venezuelan boundary area.
In the Colombian-Venezuelan boundary region the Barco concession
in Colombia and the Colon Development Company's property in Vene-
zuela have been partly tested. The Colon Development Co., since 1914,
has drilled four productive wells on the north side of the Rio de Oro and
on the Rio 'rarra. One of the Rio de Oro wells had a good flow of 27°
oil at about 1000 ft. (305 m.) and another well had 32° oil of good refining
quality at about 2000 ft. A shallower well, reported at about 800 ft.
(244 m.), had oil of about 23° Be. The exact size of these wells is
unknown but they indicate the presence of an oil field in that region.
In 1920 the Colombian Petroleum Co. drilled on the south side of the
Rio de Oro on the Barco concession. The well is reported 800 ft. deep
and good for 500 bbl., with a gravity of about 27° Be. The company is
preparing to drill on the Rio Tarra.
Oil seepages are reported in places along the entire eastern front of the
Cordilleras, including the Meta River basin; the geology is known to
be attractive, but the transportation problems seem forbidding.