Publications

The Asia Pacific region is an attractive exploration region. It contains more than 150 sedimentary basins most of which have not even been partially explored. Within the basins, there are some 3 billion acres which are considered prospective, about 2 percent of the total surface of the earth (Table 1). Increasingly, acreage in more countries is again being made available to the private sector. India, Burma and Vietnam, have re-opened their offshore areas for development, Malaysia has scheduled limited acreage for release in 1980, and it is anticipated that the People’s Republic of Cluna will invite private companies to participate in development of its oil and gas resources by July 1981. Western Australia and New South Wales have taken a positive stance in ”marketing” the prospective acreage to increase international awareness of the potential . Although exploration levels in the region have fluctuated widely, the discovery ratios have always remained high and specific areas, such as the South China Sea, are excellent by international standards. While the size of the more recent discoveries have not been in the category of giant fields, large discoveries have been made and there is good reason to believe from an exploratory point of view, that excellent prospects remain through out the region in structural plays in the less drilled areas and in stratigraphic trapping situations in both developed and unexplored areas.