Publications

The Aru region is located offshore West Papua, Eastern Indonesia. This region is a tectonically complicated area and close to an active tectonic plate boundary. It is a frontier exploration area with very limited well information. One of the main challenges in this frontier area is to estimate the heat flow in order to estimate petroleum generation and reservoir quality risk. In deeper water in the Aru region, a well-defined and extensive acoustic reflector is visible on seismic data that crosses other reflectors and mimics partially the surface of the seabed, a bottom-simulating reflector (BSR). The depth of this reflector corresponds well to the largest depth gas hydrate stability can be expected. Since gas hydrate stability is mainly a function of pressure and temperature, the location of the BSR may be used to estimate the heat flow. An in-house study was conducted to understand the heat flow in the region. The BSR was mapped in detail on the 2415 km2 3D seismic and calibrated well data and regional heat flow data. The BSR-seabed isochore was the primary input for the heat flow estimation. Variables such as water depth/temperature at seabed, sedimentation rates and the structural/stratigraphic development of the area are taken into consideration when evaluating the observed trends. The heat flow estimates from the BSR mapping seem to be reasonable compared to other measurements in the region. Lower heat flow is observed in the northwest region of the study area and higher heat flow in the southeastern area. This work indicates that heat flow estimates based on BSR mapping are feasible. These estimates can be used in 3D basin modeling to evaluate geological uncertainties and the effect of possible heat flow scenarios.