Neuquen Basin is a basin with a long history of hydrocarbon production. It is the most productive subandean basin of Argentina. It is a Mesozoic backarc basin which evolved into a foredeep basin when a fold and thrust belt was formed to the west beginning in the Upper Cretaceous. The sedimentary infill ranges from Permo-Triassic to Recent. The sedimentary package is continental and marine in origin and was deposited in a generally shallow, slowly subsiding basin. Relative changes of sea level were the main factors that help subdivide the stratigraphy of the basin. Detailed sequence stratigraphic analysis of carbonates and evaporites helped define the mechanisms by which subtle stratigraphic trap may have been created.

The Neuquen Dorsal, a positive east-west structure in the relatively undeformed portion of the basin, has been tentatively interpreted as an inversion. This hypothesis must be further analyzed using additional data.

Deformation in the fold and thrust belt took place from the Campanian to Pliocene, and shows three distinct zones. From east to west a broad arch is followed by an intricate series of tight anticlines formed by both east and west verging thrusts which use four different decollement surfaces. To the west of these, an east verging ramp anticline structure is identified, which involves a deeper decollement surface.

Recent discoveries will be put into this regional context.

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