Publications

Prior to 2005 no seismic data coverage or offshore wells existed for the Gorontalo Basin, and consequently, the hydrocarbon potential was poorly understood. In 2006, following encouraging interpretation of the 2005 NewLook deep recording 2D reconnaissance non-exclusive seismic survey, some 5800 line kilometres of 2D nonexclusive seismic data was acquired. Subsequent interpretation of this data revealed a new geological picture that challenges pre-existing ideas about tectonic development and the hydrocarbon prospectivity of the region. The Pliocene to Recent spreading along the southern Palau ridge combined with the Upper Miocene to Pliocene spreading within the Banda Sea has resulted in the westerly migration of the significant portion of eastern Indonesia and surrounds that included SE Halmahera, Philippines, Banggai-Sula-Obi, Offshore Eastern Sulawesi and Offshore Buton terrains.The Gorontalo Basin is underlain by Eocene rift grabens similar in geometry to the fluvio-lacustrine source rock-rich megasequences that underlie many oil-prone petroleum systems in Indonesia. An active petroleum system is suggested by east-west oriented depocentres with thicknesses locally exceeding 10 kilometres, the mostly southward focussed hydrocarbon migration routes, and the presence of numerous onshore oil seeps along the southern edge of the Gorontalo Basin. Numerous Amplitude with Offset (AVO) anomalies observed on newly acquired seismic sections also suggest the presence of hydrocarbons at a variety of stratigraphic levels.The new seismic data indicate the following pre- Paleogene to Recent plays, some of which may contain stacked reservoir -seal pairs sourced by several Tertiary source rocks: Older rift fault blocks associated with the Australian plate rifting, and subsequent collision with Borneo in the Cretaceous Eocene rift fault-blocks Oligocene to Middle Miocene platform carbonates Late Miocene to Pliocene biohermal build-ups Late Miocene to Recent lowstand deltas and turbidites Late Miocene to Recent compressional folds associated with the progressive collision of Sundaland with the northern margin of the Australian plate.Keywords: Gorontalo Basin, North Makassar Basin, evolution of Sundaland, sequence stratigraphy, plays, hydrocarbon prospectivity