Late Cretaceous–Cenozoic sequence stratigraphic and paleogeographic controls on petroleum system elements of the Nicaraguan platform, western Caribbean Sea Lucia Torrado, Luis Carlos Carvajal-Arenas, Javier Sanchez, Paul Mann, and Juan Carlos Silva-Tamayo ABSTRACT Late Cretaceous–to–present-day mixed carbonate–clastic depo- sition along the Nicaraguan platform, western Caribbean Sea, has evolved from a tectonically controlled, rifted upper Eocene shallow–to–deep-marine carbonate–siliciclastic shelf to an upper Miocene–to–present-day tectonically stable shallow-marine car- bonate platform and passive margin. By integrating subsurface data of 287 two-dimensional seismic lines and 27 wells, we interpret the Cenozoic stratigraphic sequence as 3 cycles of transgression and regression beginning with an upper Eocene rhodolitic–algal carbonate shelf that interfingered with marginal siliciclastic sediments derived from exposed areas of Central America bordering the margin to the west. During the middle Eocene, a carbonate platform was established with both rimmed reefs and isolated patch reefs. A late Eocene forced regression produced widespread erosion and subaerial exposure across much of the platform and was recorded by a regional unconformity. The Oligocene–upper Miocene sedimentary record includes a southeastward prograding delta of the proto-Coco river, which drained the emergent area of what is now northern Nicaragua. The late Miocene–to–present-day period marks a period of strong subsidence with the development of small pinnacle reefs. We describe favorable petroleum system elements of the Nicaraguan platform that include (1) Eocene fossiliferous limestone source rocks documented as thermally mature in AUTHORS Lucia Torrado ~ Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, Texas; vtorradogonzalez@uh.edu Lucia Torrado is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Houston developing her research in the Nicaraguan platform and Foz do Amazonas, Brazil. She received a B.S. in geology from the National University of Colombia and an M.S. from the University of Houston. Her research interest is integrated seismic interpretation, sequence stratigraphy, basin analysis, and reservoir characterization. She is the corresponding author of this paper. Luis Carlos Carvajal-Arenas ~ Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, Texas; Applied Geosciences through Innovative Exploration, Houston, Texas; lccarvajal@agiexploration. com Luis Carlos Carvajal-Arenas received a B.S. in geology from the National University of Colombia and a Ph.D. in geology from the University of Houston. He developed his research in the subsurface structure, stratigraphy, and petroleum potential of the Nicaragua Rise and Colombian Basin. He has worked as an exploration geologist for AGI Exploration, PGS, Chevron, Statoil, and Total E&P. Javier Sanchez ~ Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, Texas; Ecopetrol, Bogot´ a, Colombia; carlos.sanchez@ecopetrol.com.co Javier Sanchez is a structural geologist at Ecopetrol S.A. in Bogot´ a, Colombia. He received a B.S. in geology from the National University of Colombia, an M.S. from The University of Texas at Austin, and a Ph.D. from the University of Houston. His main research interests are the structural controls on sedimentary basins and their association with regional tectonic processes. Paul Mann ~ Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, Texas; pmann@uh.edu Paul Mann is currently the Robert E. Sheriff Endowed Professor of Geology at the Copyright ©2019. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved. Manuscript received February 1, 2017; provisional acceptance June 28, 2017; revised manuscript received June 8, 2018; revised manuscript provisional acceptance June 28, 2018; 2nd revised manuscript received August 3, 2018; final acceptance December 19, 2018. DOI:10.1306/12191817068 AAPG Bulletin, v. 103, no. 8 (August 2019), pp. 1925–1962 1925