WILLEMSTAD – A newly published geological study has raised fresh questions about the potential for oil generation in the western part of the Bonaire Basin facing Curaçao, concluding that an area previously considered promising requires additional investigation.
The report, published October 29, 2026, by petroleum geologist Marcel P.T. Chin-A-Lien, revises an earlier interpretation of a geological zone identified as K5, located in the western Bonaire Basin on the Curaçao-facing side.
In the author's previous petroleum-system model, this area was classified as having conditions favorable for oil generation.
However, the new research changes that assessment to "maturity unproven."
The revision follows a reassessment of geological research conducted by El-Mowafy and colleagues in 2007, which examined seismic data and exploratory wells in the Aruba and western Curaçao basins.
That earlier research indicated that only the southwestern portion of the studied area had reached the underground temperature and burial conditions generally associated with oil and gas generation.
These findings raise doubts about whether the western Curaçao-facing zone has experienced sufficient geological heating to produce significant quantities of petroleum.
Oil and natural gas form when organic-rich rocks are subjected to suitable temperatures and pressures over millions of years.
If the rocks remain too cool, petroleum generation may be limited or may not occur.
According to Chin-A-Lien, the western zone could still contain mature source rocks if its deeper sections are buried more extensively than the formations examined in earlier studies.
However, that possibility has not been demonstrated.
The report also identifies a geological barrier associated with the Aruba–Paraguaná high, where source rocks may not have reached the temperatures necessary for substantial petroleum generation.
These findings have prompted the author to revise the relative importance of certain exploration corridors in the western basin.
The study emphasizes that the uncertainty does not necessarily eliminate petroleum potential in the wider region south of Curaçao.
Instead, it reinforces the need to distinguish between areas where geological models suggest favorable conditions and areas where sufficient evidence is still lacking.
The author recommends collecting modern seismic and temperature data before making further assumptions about the western basin's petroleum potential.
The report provides no confirmation of commercially recoverable oil or gas deposits in the area.