Publications

The onshore Upper Kutei Basin is considered to be one of few remaining frontier areas in western Indonesia and although starting in the 1940’s during Dutch era, exploration still remains at the immature stage. Drilled exploration wells yielded some hydrocarbon shows and the Kerendan-1 gas discovery by UNOCAL in 1985 proves the presence of a petroleum system in the area and that significant yet-to-find potential might remain to be unlocked. A review of all available well, seismic, gravity/magnetic, surface geology and geochemistry data, and literature regional tectonic models have been integrated to reconstruct a suite of paleogeographic maps and composite geological cross-sections that cover the entire Upper Kutei Basin. Individual common risk segments maps of source, reservoir, seal rock facies in conjunction with intervening structural elements have been used to understand previous well failures and spatial delineation of play-elements to guide future exploration strategies. The approach allows definition of five main play-types within the Upper Kutei Basin area, that comprises (1) Early Syn-Rift Play Type (fluvial sandbodies in vertically stacked sequences against border-fault footwalls in early-formed half-grabens), (2) Late Syn-Rift Transgressive Deltaic Play Type (embayed shoreface sandbodies in structural traps and/or updip pinch-out), (3) Early Post-rift Carbonate Play Type (isolated reefal build-ups on structurally controlled carbonate platforms), (4) Syn-Inversion Regressive Deltaic Play Type (prograding fluvio-deltaic sandbodies deposited in syn-inversion synclines and trapped by late-formed thrust structures along thin-skinned structure belt and/or reactivated border-faults), (5) Basement High Play Type (fractured pre-Tertiary metasediments and igneous basement in paleohigh structures or buried topography juxtaposed against syn-rift sediments).