WILLEMSTAD – Five unsuccessful exploratory wells drilled in the wider ABC islands offshore region do not necessarily rule out the possibility of oil and natural gas deposits in the Bonaire Basin, according to a geological study published on October 29, 2026.
Petroleum geologist Marcel P.T. Chin-A-Lien argues that previous exploration efforts may have targeted geological structures that were less favorable for petroleum accumulation than the deeper margins of the basin.
The report identifies five unsuccessful exploratory drilling efforts in the wider offshore region since the late 1980s, including Chuchubi-1, Mero-1, Divi Divi-1, the Aruba exploration wells drilled in 1989–1990 and Repsol's Bon Bini-1 well in 2018.
None established a commercial petroleum discovery.
However, the researcher questions whether those drilling results provide sufficient evidence to dismiss the petroleum potential of the entire Bonaire Basin.
According to the study, the earlier wells primarily investigated geological highs and platform areas rather than the margins of the deepest sedimentary formations, where the author's model suggests oil and gas generation may have occurred.
The report proposes that petroleum generated in the deeper basin could have migrated toward surrounding structures, including areas south of Curaçao and Bonaire.
This interpretation is partly based on comparisons with producing petroleum fields along Venezuela's Falcón coast.
The study notes that some Venezuelan accumulations occur along the margins of geological depressions rather than in their deepest central sections.
Chin-A-Lien argues that a similar arrangement could potentially exist in the Bonaire Basin.
Nevertheless, the report acknowledges that this remains a hypothesis.
No publicly available exploratory well has penetrated the proposed primary source-rock interval in the central Bonaire Basin.
The researcher also acknowledges that a properly located well encountering mature source rocks but no evidence of petroleum migration would undermine his interpretation.
The findings therefore do not overturn the unsuccessful drilling results.
Instead, they suggest that the existing wells may not have tested all the geological conditions considered favorable under the new model.
The study recommends further seismic and geochemical investigation to determine whether the proposed deeper petroleum system exists before considering additional drilling.