Publication Date:
2011-09-01
Description:
Forearc basins result from plate convergence. These basins are situated offshore between an outer-arc high and the mainland. Historically, these regions have not been considered important petroleum provinces partly because low heat flow may limit significant thermal hydrocarbon generation. The Simeulue forearc basin extends between Simeulue Island and northern Sumatra. It is a frontier shallow shelf area with few wells and no wells in the basin center; therefore, it is studied using geophysical data and geologic surface samples. Multichannel seismic data show bright spots above potential hydrocarbon reservoirs in carbonate buildups. Amplitude versus offset analyses indicate the presence of gas, and surface geochemical prospecting suggests thermal hydrocarbon generation. Heat flow in the Simeulue Basin ranges between 37 and 74 mW/m 2, as deduced from one-dimensional petroleum system modeling and bottom-simulating reflector depths. Two possible source rocks (Eocene and lower–middle Miocene) were assigned for three-dimensional petroleum system modeling in the Simeulue Basin. Because of a similar pre-Miocene geologic evolution of the present-day back arc and the fore arc, it can be assumed that the back-arc source rocks also occur in the fore arc. Modeling based on two heat-flow scenarios (40 and 60 mW/m 2) reveals that oil and gas generation is possible within and below the main depocenters of the central and southern Simeulue Basin. This study shows that deep burial (〉6 km [〉3.7 mi]) of source rocks can compensate for low heat flow. Therefore, forearc basins may be more prolific for hydrocarbons than previously considered, and each forearc basin should be studied carefully to evaluate its hydrocarbon potential. Rüdiger Lutz obtained a Ph.D. in geology from the RWTH (Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule) Aachen University, Germany. He joined the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) in 2003 and works as a research scientist in the petroleum geology group. His main research interests include marine geology, seismic interpretation, and petroleum systems modeling. Christoph Gaedicke holds a Ph.D. in geology from the IFM-Geomar (Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences) Research Center for Marine Geosciences at the University of Kiel, Germany. He joined BGR in 1999, where he is working on processes at active continental margins and in petroleum basins. He is the head of the sub-Department of Resource Geology, Polar Geology. Kai Berglar received a Ph.D. in geology from the Leibniz University, Hannover, Germany. He joined BGR in 2006 and works as a research scientist in the marine seismic unit. His main research interests are in seismic stratigraphy, sequence stratigraphy, and seismic processing. Stefan Schloemer holds a Ph.D. in mineralogy from the RWTH Aachen University, Germany. He worked two years for EniTecnologie/AGIP in Milan, Italy, before he joined BGR in 2001. Stefan works on CO 2 soil gas monitoring, carbon capture and storage (CCS), petroleum system analysis, gas shales, drill-bit metamorphism, and coal-fire research. He is running the geochemistry laboratory including gas chromatography (GC), gas chromatography isotope ratio mass spectrometery (GC-IRMS), and other instruments. Dieter Franke holds a Ph.D. in geosciences from the Free University of Berlin, Germany. He joined BGR in 1996 and is presently the team leader of the petroleum geology group. His main research interests are rift processes and the formation of passive margins.
Print ISSN:
0149-1423
Electronic ISSN:
1943-2674
Topics:
Geosciences
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