Publications

The continuous improvement and implementation of machine-learning technology have transformed the way structural interpretation conducted in 3D seismic data by augmenting deterministic fault interpretation with automated fault detection method. The case study for automated fault detection is located in the onshore part of Banggai-Sula Basin in the East Arm of Sulawesi, considered a frontier basin with a unique and proven petroleum system associated with an active convergent margin featuring the Batui Thrust, which marks the collision zone between East Sulawesi Ophiolites (ESO) and Sula Spur microplate fragments.

To resolve the structural framework and understand its impact on field development and future exploration efforts in the Banggai-Sula Basin, an Automated Fault Detection workflow using 3D seismic machine-learning software was implemented. The software’s machine-learning platform is specialized for 3D seismic datasets and equipped with robust synthetic fault models to adapt to a wide range of seismic data.

The workflow successfully imaged all fault systems with confidence and added significant value to the 3D seismic data. This advancement allows better implementation of theoretical concepts and reduces interpretation bias by revealing major structural feature trends early on with rapid computation time and realistic fault imaging. The resulting fault cube could provide more insights into potential field compartmentalization and structural control toward carbonate reservoir sedimentology, as indicated in several production wells in the nearby XNR Field.

The results show contrasting outcomes compared to the typical convergent margin structural style in the literature. The 3D seismic dataset in the study area exhibits a peculiar structural style in the subsurface featuring an array of NE – SW trending linear to curvilinear lineaments formed by numerous discontinuous but interconnected minor faults. A major strike-slip fault bound the XNR Field in the southwestern flank possibly forms the master fault in the study area that controls the XNR Field structural configuration and intra-field fault pattern. In a regional sense, such structural arrangement is possibly associated as a strike-slip regime with a paired bend system and general right-lateral sense of shear. The positive outlook from the aforementioned tectonic setting is favorable for natural fracture development in a brittle granitic basement that may form a highly effective HC migration pathway from the sub-thrusted kitchen area beneath the Batui Thrust.