Exhumation Patterns Along the Eastern Foothills of Colombia Using Low Temperature Thermochronology and 3D Thermo‐Kinematic Modelling: Implications for Hydrocarbon Play Analysis

The Nunchía syncline located within the Colombian Eastern Foothills coincides with a depocenter, which was structurally controlled by the contractional deformation of the Guaicaramo and Yopal reverse faults during the Oligocene–Miocene. The syncline preserves a thick sedimentary succession primarily sourced from the Guyana Craton, with contributions from recycled sediments of the Eastern Cordillera and Venezuelan Andes. To constrain the regional thermal and exhumation history, we integrated new detrital ZHe ages with existing apatite fission‐track (AFT) and AHe datasets using ZRDAAM and Pecube thermokinematic modelling. Modelling across three key sectors—the Monterralo anticline, southwestern Nunchía syncline, and northeastern Nunchía syncline—reveals a complex, multi‐stage exhumation history characterised by three distinct events in each zone. In the Monterralo anticline and southwestern sector, exhumation spans Oligocene to late Miocene, with average denudation rates varying between moderate and high intervals. Notably, the northeastern Nunchía syncline records a well‐defined early exhumation phase during the Eocene, followed by accelerated cooling pulses in the late Oligocene and late Miocene. Our models suggest that nearly half of the modern relief was established during the Palaeocene–Eocene, with the current topography largely attained by the late Oligocene, except for the northeastern sector where significant relief amplification occurred more recently. These localised exhumation and burial phases align with major orogenic activity in the adjacent Eastern Cordillera and Venezuelan Andes. The identification of robust pre‐Oligocene exhumation provides compelling evidence for Eocene deformation and erosional denudation within the foothills, which is much earlier than previously recognised. This early tectonic activity could have controlled stratigraphic pinch‐outs and structural inversions, underscoring the potential for large, underexplored hydrocarbon traps analogous to those proven in neighbouring southern structural provinces.