Tectonic setting of Papua

Simandjuntak and Barber (1996)

Papua (1)
Papua contains a number of basins, Birds Head of Papua has been a
focus of exploration. Two basins in the Birds Head, the Salawati and
the Bintuni basins, are proven hydrocarbon provinces.
Papua shows excellent hydrocarbon potential. Miocene carbonate
plays previously thought to be exhausted in the Salawati basin may
have a new lease of life. The large and undrilled Kais reefs exist to the
offshore area south of the Birds Head.
Carbonates of the New Guinea limestone group dominate the section
from from the late Paleocene to late Miocene. These Miocene
carbonates are areaaly extensive, occurring throughout the Birds
Head and making up the high peaks of Central Papua.
The recent Mesozoic gas discoveries in the Bintuni basin open up a
whole new Mesozoic play for the Bintuni basin and other areas in
Papua.
Awang H. Satyana (2005)
Papua (2)
There has been very little exploration in the Papua thrust fold
belt to date, but a similar geology to the Papua New Guinea
(PNG) central fold belt is expected, where oil and gas are
reservoired primarily in upper Jurassic to lower Cretaceous
clastics, and trapped in complex thrust associated anticlines.
Conoco reported oil and gas shows in Kau-2 drilled in the
Warim block of eastern Papua. Potential reservoirs also include
Kais-formation-equivalent limestones (Darai formation in PNG).
Potential sources include the Miocene shales and Jurassic
Kopai marine shales.
Awang H. Satyana (2005)
Papua (3)
The Waipoga-Waropen basins in northern Papua contain active oil and
gas seps. Abundant reservoir facies include a thick succession of
Miocene-Pliocene Markats formation and overlying Mamberamo
formation deltaics and turbidites. Biogenic gas discovery in Niengo
structure will be appraised in coming years.
The successes in Seram also hold hope for tectonically complicated
areas tha have been subjected to intense compression. These include
the papua fold belt that continues east into the papuan fold belt of
PNG, where a string of structurally complex oil and gas accumulations
was discovered in the 1990s and, the Lengguru fold belt where deep
burial may have resulted in the maturation of even relatively young
Tertiary sources.
Awang H. Satyana (2005)
Tectonic Setting of West Papua
Lundin Sareba (2000)
Main structural elements and petroleum basins of Papua and Seram
Livingstone et al. (1993), Sutriyono et al. (1997), Fainstein (1998)
Lundin Sareba (2000)
Salawati Basin (1)
The basin is a foreland basin in front of Australian continent fragment,
terminated to the north by Mio-Pliocene Sorong Fault.
The Sorong Fault has strongly controlled the geology of the Salawati
basin since Mio-Pliocene (Satyana, 1999), including :
the reversal of basin polarity from southwards depocenter since
the Paleozoic to late Miocene, into northwards depocenter since
Mio-Pliocene,
sedimentation of Pliocene Klasaman formation,
generation and migration of hydrocarbons,
deformation of the Salawati basin.
Early-Late Miocene Kais reefal carbonates have been a main objective
of the basin since 1930s. All present oil production come from this
reservoir. Good quality reservoirs of carbonates are performed mainly
by Walio, Kasim, and Matoa oil fields.
Awang H. Satyana (2005)
Salawati Basin (2)
Re-interpretation of Kais carbonate sedimentation (Satyana, 2003)
from previous interpretation (Gibson-Robinson and Sudirdja, 1986)
proved to open new opportunities from this mature objective.
Geochemically proven source rocks are Klasafet shales deposited in
lagoons between the Kais reefs, and interbedded Kais marls within
inter-reef environments (Satyana et al. 2000). Pliocene Klasaman and
pre-Tertiary source rocks are indicated to have generated oil and gas
in northern and southern area, respectively.
Post-Kais reservoirs (Pliocene Intra-Klasaman sands) and pre-Kais
reservoirs (late Oligocene Sirga clastics, Eocene Faumai carbonates,
and pre-Tertiary siliciclastics) are under-explored objectives of the
basin. Proven play of Mesozoic sands in the nearby Bintuni Basin has
boosted pre-Tertiary venture in the Salawati basin.
Remaining large and significant hydrocarbon province with Kais and
Intra-Klasaman sands potential occur in the under-explored area of the
Sele Strait and west offshore of the Salawati Island.
Awang H. Satyana (2005)
Satyana et al. (2000)
Stages in the development of the early Miocene Kais formation
carbonate buildups, Salawati Basin
Livingstone et al. (1993)
Formation of present Salawati Basin by polarity reversal
Satyana et al. (2000)
Netherwood (2000)
K
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K
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K
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deep-water basin
deep-water basin deep-water basin
oil window
depocenter
Reversal of Salawati Basin and generation of petroleum
Satyana et al. (2000)
Satyana et al. (2000)
RIM SYNCLINE
BASE LOWER KLASAMAN
T
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K
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INTRA-KLASAMAN
SE
NW
SORONG FAULT SORONG FAULT
ZONE ZONE
Satyana and Setiawan (2001)
0 2 4 km
Foredeep of the Sorong Fault, Salawati Basin, site for biogenic gas acummulation
Bintuni Basin
Oil was first discovered in Miocene carbonates of Kais equivalent age in
the Wasian and Mogoi oil fields in 1939. Up until 1980s these carbonate
buildups had been the only tested play in the basin.
The Wasian and Mogoi oils are sourced from the Permian Aifat formation
shales (Chavallier and Bordenave, 1986).
In 1991, Occidental drilled the Roabiba-1 well and discovered gas in
Jurassic sandstones. This opened up a new play that led to the ARCO/BP
discoveries of the giant gas fields until late 1990s of Wiriagar deep-
Ubadari-Vorwata (collectively now called as Tangguh complex, named
after Tangguh gas project) in Paleocene turbidites and Jurassic to
Cretaceous Kembelangan formation fluvio-deltaic sands.
British Gas also drilled through the existing Mogoi oil field and discovered
further gas reserves in Permian Aifam sands.
The Bintuni basin Jurassic gas reserves are also probably sourced from
the Permian Ainim formation. There may be input from the Triassic to
lower Jurassic Tipuma formation and/or contribution from Jurassic to
Cretaceous lower Kembelangan group (Netherwood, 2000)
Awang H. Satyana (2005)
Pertamina and Corelab (1998)
Discoveries of Tangguh giant gas
fields, Berau Bay, Bintuni Basin
Typical Log of Roabiba sands
Seismic section across Tangguh fields
Casarta et al. (2004)
Barrett (1997)
Lengguru fold belt
Papua
Hobson et al. (1997)
Jensey oil seep
Petroleum possibility of Lengguru Belt, Papua
Lundin Sareba (2002)
Exploring thrust fold belt of Papua
McConachie et al. (2000)
Structural elements of Central thrust belt of Papua
Hobson et al. (1997)
Hobson et al. (1997)
Fields at the Central Ranges of Papua
Schroder et al. (2000)
Eisenberg (1993)
Fields at the Central Ranges of Papua
Stratigraphic
succession of
Northern Arafura
platform
Pertamina and Robertson Research (1992)