Neogene carbonate exploration play concepts for Northern New Guinea: New iteration from field work and seismic stratigraphy along the Northern New Guinea Fault Zone

Conference · Fri Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1994 · AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States)

OSTI ID:6747673

Pigott, J D; Geiger, C ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States)

Recent field reconnaissance, petrography, nanno and foraminifera age determinations, and seismic stratigraphy of the Sepik and Piore subbasins of northern New Guinea reveal the existence of an extensive, tectonically unstable, Miocene-Pliocene carbonate shelf system. These findings represent the first recorded evidence of northern Papuan limestones coeval in age to those of the hydrocarbon productive Salawati Basin of Irian Jaya. Moreover, these observations also demonstrate the significance of episodic activities of the northern New Guinea fault zone upon the changes in carbonate sedimentation and diagenesis. During the Neogene, algal biosparites to foraminiferal biomicrites defined the clean portion of a mixed clastic-carbonate shelf system of the northern New Guinea basin, which began at the central New Guinea cordillera and deepened northward. This shelf was interrupted by coral-coralline algal boundstone fringing- to patch-reef buildups with associated skeletal grainstones. Clean carbonates were spatially and temporally restricted to basement blocks, which episodically underwent uplift while terrigenous dilutes carbonates were more common in adjacently subsiding basement block bathymetric lows. These tectonic expressions were caused by the spatially transient nature of constraining bends of the evolving north New Guinea faults. As shown by seismic stratigraphy, by the late Miocene to the early Pliocene the uplift of the Bewani-Torricelli Mountains sagittally divided the shelf of the northern New Guinea basin into the Ramu-Sepik and the Piore basins. Continued regional sinistral transpression between the Pacific and the New Guinea leading edge of the Indo-Australian plates led to the reverse tilting of the Piore basin, the shallowing of the former distal shelf with concomitant extensive biolithite development (e.g., on subsiding volcanic islands) eventual uplifting of the Oenake Range, and en echelon faulting of the Bewani-Torricelli Mountains.

• OSTI ID: 6747673
• Report Number(s): CONF-940803--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States) Journal Volume: 78:7
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020200* -- Petroleum-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
03 NATURAL GAS
030200 -- Natural Gas-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
ASIA
AUSTRALASIA
CARBONATE ROCKS
EXPLORATION
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
ISLANDS
MINERAL RESOURCES
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
NEW GUINEA
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
RESOURCES
ROCKS
SEDIMENTARY BASINS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS