Thermal basin modelling of the Arauco forearc basin, south central Chile — Heat flow and active margin tectonics

The Arauco basin is part of the coastal forearc domain in South-Central Chile. During its evolution since the Late Cretaceous it was subject to multiple deposition cycles and the erosion of lower bathyal to beach and lagoon sediments. These different environments were established in alternating accretional and erosive subduction tectonic settings along the South Andean active margin. Whereas the general development is well understood, inconsistencies arise regarding the origin of the high thermal maturity of Eocene coals and the estimates of vertical movements of the whole area during the Cenozoic. Thermal modelling of this forearc basin provides new insights regarding its thermal evolution and evaluation of the magnitudes of subsidence and inversion. Results are based on the analysis of coal samples from surface outcrops, mines and drill cores of ten onshore wells from ENAP/Sipetrol. Newly derived vitrinite reflectance (VRr) measurements indicated a temperature in the range of 135–150 °C for the oldest sediment unit of the Arauco basin, which was reached in post Eocene times. Furthermore, 1D basin modelling techniques indicate scenarios that could explain the coalification values in the basin's sediments. The models were calibrated against VRr data from drill core samples supplied by ENAP/Sipetrol. A Miocene and an Oligocene subsidence/inversion scenario were considered, while neither could be securely discarded based on the modelling results. Furthermore, it can be shown that the current thermal maturity was not reached by an increased heat flow (HF) or a deep subsidence only. Consequently, a structural inversion accompanied by the erosion of ~ 3.0 ± 0.4 km depending on the locality in combination with a high HF of ~ 64 ± 4 mW/m2 is the best explanation of the available data. The HF, which is high for a forearc setting, can be attributed to the increased temperature of the relatively young subducted Nazca Plate and an additional influence of ascending hot fluids from the subduction zone. The maximum temperature gradient inferred is < 30 °C/km. Furthermore, the petroleum generation potential of the basin is considered to be rather low based on our results.