Publications

The oilfield discovered in 1897 at Bula, eastern Seram, Maluku Province was the seventh field discovered in Indo- nesia. During the past 72 years, over 13 million barrels of oil have been produced. There have been six operators.A synthesis is presented of data acquired during this time by the use of exploration methods ranging from basic field mapping to more sophisticated geochemical and geophysical techniques. A new interpretation is made of the geological framework of the area. Although eastern Seram is interpreted essentially as an imbricate accretionary prism formed by the subduction of the Australian Plate, shale diapirism and regional left-lateral wrenching are considered to have played important roles in the structural development of the area.The complicated tectonics have given rise to strata with a large variety of depositional environments and with many breaks in sedimentation. The Pre-Mesozoic metamorphic basement crops out mainly in southwestern Seram. The Mesozoic and Tertiary rocks consist mostly of deltaic, shelf and deep water sediments which are thought to have been deposited at the northwestern edge of the Australian Plate. The Quaternary units consist of deltaic and alluvial deposits in depressed areas of the accretionary prism.Although most of the Bula oil has been produced from the Pleistocene Fufa Formation, the Mesozoic units are also productive as shown by recent successful wells drilled into the Triassic Kanikeh Formation. From these recent discoveries and the reinterpretation of the regional struc- tural framework, it is concluded that there will be further Mesozoic oil discovered in Seram. Similar oil accumulations may occur in other parts of the Banda Arc region.