Publications

Classification of the Melawi Basin remains under debate to the present day, with interpretations including intracontinental sag and strike slip basins. The purpose of this study is to determine basin type, and to show likely hydrocarbon migration pathways through the study of well and seismic data, and linking with the tectonic evolution of the Sarawak Basin, located to the north of the Melawi Basin. Results of this study indicate that sedimentation is thicker in the north of Melawi Basin, as a direct result of thrust fault-controlled sediment deposition. In the north of the basin, subduction and collision-related rocks have been recorded, that are assigned to the Piyabung Volcanic, Boyan and Lubok Anto Mélanges. Further to the north of these units lies the Sarawak Basin which has been classified as a foreland basin (Madon, et. al., 2013). There is an active petroleum system in the Melawi Basin, as evidenced by three locations of oil seeps around the Kedukul-1 well, and the presence of gas show at Kayan-1 and Kedukul-1 wells. The conclusions of this study proposes the Melawi as retroarc foreland basin, with hydrocarbon migration pathways controlled by the basin architecture from the foredeep to around the forebulge in the southern part of the basin.