The Los Molles Formation is a geologic

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

of Early to Middle Jurassic age, located at northern and central part of

Neuquén Basin Neuquén Basin ( es, Cuenca Neuquina) is a sedimentary basin covering most of Neuquén Province in Argentina. The basin originated in the Jurassic and developed through alternating continental and marine conditions well into the Tertiary. The bas ...

at Mendoza Shelf in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. It is overlain by the Niyeu–Lajas Formation.McIlroy et al., 2005

Description

It is the second largest oil and gas formation in the Neuquén Basin after the

Vaca Muerta The Vaca Muerta Formation, commonly known as Vaca Muerta (Spanish for ''Dead Cow''), is a geologic formation of Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age, located in the Neuquén Basin in northern Patagonia, Argentina. It is well known as the host ro ...

. Los Molles Formation is estimated to have of technically recoverable shale gas and of technically recoverable oil.EIA, 2013 In July 2015, the ''Buenos Aires Herald'' indicated that Pan American Energy and YPF planned to drill 46 shale gas wells in Los Molles over the next four years in their Lindero Atravesado drilling block, at an estimated cost of US$590 million.Shale fields to get US$14 billion boost
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Fossil content

In several outcrops, the Los Molles formation has been the site of paleontological discoveries: the

ichthyosaurs Ichthyosaurs (Ancient Greek for "fish lizard" – and ) are large extinct marine reptiles. Ichthyosaurs belong to the order known as Ichthyosauria or Ichthyopterygia ('fish flippers' – a designation introduced by Sir Richard Owen in 1842, alt ...

'' Chacaicosaurus'' and ''

Mollesaurus ''Mollesaurus'' is an extinct genus of large ophthalmosaurine ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur known from northwestern Patagonia of Argentina. Etymology ''Mollesaurus'' was named by Marta S. Fernández in 1999 and the type species is ''Mollesauru ...

'', and, in 2017, an

ornithischian Ornithischia () is an extinct order of mainly herbivorous dinosaurs characterized by a pelvic structure superficially similar to that of birds. The name ''Ornithischia'', or "bird-hipped", reflects this similarity and is derived from the Greek st ...

, '' Isaberrysaura'', discovered with fossilized contents of the gut.Salgado et al., 2017

References

Bibliography

* * * {{cite LSA , last=Various , first=Authors , year=2013 , title=Technically Recoverable Shale Oil and Shale Gas Resources: An Assessment of 137 Shale Formations in 41 Countries Outside the United States , url=http://www.eia.gov/analysis/studies/worldshalegas/pdf/fullreport.pdf , publisher=U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) , pages=_ , accessdate=2013-06-11 Geologic formations of Argentina Jurassic System of South America Early Jurassic South America Middle Jurassic South America Jurassic Argentina Pliensbachian Stage Aalenian Stage Toarcian Stage Bathonian Stage Bajocian Stage Callovian Stage Shale formations Source rock formations Reservoir rock formations Formations Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of South America Paleontology in Argentina Oil fields in Argentina Unconventional oil Shale gas Geology of Mendoza Province Geology of Neuquén Province

Description

Fossil content

See also

References

Bibliography