Publications

Oil and gas exploration in Indonesia has come to a slump in the past few years, with big discoveries yet to be found. This paper reports the results of a regional study in the frontier Timor Basin that provides insight that may help to overcome this slump in exploration and discovery. The regional geological study indicates the unique structural complexity of the foreland fold belt and polyphase history of the basin. The basin has undergone a series of tectonic deformations including rifting, post-rift/passive margin subsidence, and collision. This makes exploration in the basin significantly challenging. Play-based exploration (PBE) performs an important role in identifying prospective areas within a basin. It heavily relies on the constructing of gross depositional environment (GDE) maps for selected time intervals. The regional study was assessed prior to seismic interpretation, and included 2D seismic, well log data and published papers. GDE maps were created for three intervals, which are considered to represent the most important geological events within a basin. The study from Charlton (2001) shows the relative simple anticline structures which potentially trapped the hydrocarbons. The common risk segment (CRS) maps are, therefore, constructed from source rock presence, reservoir effectiveness and seal presence. Based on PBE method analysis, three plays developed in the area: the Triassic pre-rift play, the Jurassic syn-rift play, and the Cretaceous to Cenozoic post-rift play. The Triassic play is mainly lobe fans while the Jurassic and Cretaceous-Cenozoic plays are the main target in the SE part of study area. The main traps are anticlines, with possible stratigraphic traps resulting from (e.g.) unconformities.