Geoheritage and advanced training for the oil industry: The Lusitanian Basin case study (Portugal)

Abstract

The Lusitanian Basin (central Portugal) is a recurring subject of study within different disciplines of earth sciences, mainly because of the excellent stratigraphical and paleontological records, as well as the world-class quality of outcropping elements of petroleum systems and salt tectonics geometries. In fact, in the Lusitanian Basin, three global stratigraphic references were defined for the Jurassic System—the Toarcian Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP), the Bajocian GSSP, and the Bathonian Auxiliary Stratigraphic Section and Point—but the sedimentary record of the Lusitanian Basin includes a set of geosites that provide favorable conditions for educational activities, in the frame of the Portuguese educational system, which are increasingly being sought for the development of advanced training activities in the context of the hydrocarbon exploration models. This paper presents the main reasons that attract this particular public, which includes geospecialists and geoexperts, to the Lusitanian Basin outcrops, as well as the geosites that are currently visited for advanced training purposes by different oil companies. As such, the geological heritage of the Lusitanian Basin represents a paradigmatic example of the relevance of enlarging the traditional vision that confines technical applications of geoconservation to scientific research, education, and geotourism, the last of which is considered in the sense of an activity intended exclusively for geoamateurs and/or people who are either unaware of or interested in learning about geological issues.