Publications

A key dataset to evaluate the seal capacity and fault transmissibility has been obtained during recent 2024 drilling campaign in the South Senoro Field, which includes; Mercury Injection Capillary Pressure (MICP) of sidewall cores in the Kintom shale as the top seal and in the intra-formational Tight Streak zone within the Minahaki carbonate reservoir, supplemented by full-suite of advanced logs analysis and downhole formation pressure tests.

Top seal capacity of Kintom shale increases an order of magnitude with increasing zone of burial. However, despite significant amount of discovered hydrocarbon (HC) gas column, MICP shows only 60% of max. topseal capacity was trapped in the structure – which possibly caused by partial leaking through a major border fault that bounds the 3-way dip faulted anticline trap. Interestingly, the overburden strata consisting of Poh Beds detrital carbonates and parts of Kintom-E siliciclastic sand confirmed to be gas-bearing. This fact could be driven by the concept of tertiary migration pathway from existing traps and opens up new upside potential secondary targets in the overburden.

Slight variation of downhole pressure gradient also observed between the Upper Minahaki zone with Lower Minahaki reservoir zone. This indicates the presence of leaky vertical seal or baffle zone to fluid flow in the intra-formational Tight Streak seal zone. Core and image log dataset near fault and fracture zones shows rather narrow damage zone and minor effect to enhance transmissibility – except faults with large displacement and orientated in extreme parallel to SHmax direction. On the flip side, these observation also serve as cautionary note for implementing CCUS strategy in active collision margin areas which is prone to tectonic activity and promotes high strain condition that potentially risks of partial seal breach.