The Far East hydrocarbon habitat - the charge perspective

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

OSTI ID:7017357

Doust, H ^[1]

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1. Shell International Petroleum Mij, The Hague (Netherlands)

From a hydrocarbon exploration point of view, the Far East is typically the realm of Tertiary basins with youthful prospects. Considering the archipelagic nature of the area and the extensive marine environments associated with shallow seas, it is perhaps surprising that nearly all of the oil and gas in these basins is of terrestrial origin (typical for the basins are low-sulfur, light waxy oils with strong land-plant imprint, and a superabundance of gas). The reason for this can be sought in the late Mesozoic-early Tertiary history, when the current cycle of tectonic development commenced. At that time, much of what is now east and southeast Asia consisted of a large land area, comprised of microcontinental blocks welded together by fold belts. In the Paleogene, this continental area became subject to back-arc extension and collapse as a consequence of complex plate readjustments. Subsidence took place in fault-bounded (graben) depressions of many orientations throughout the area, and widespread lacustrine environments were established, especially in the Oligocene. The middle to late Tertiary history of these basins was dictated by their proximity to the open ocean and by the extent of crustal subsidence, but follows a transgressive-regressive cycle that gives rise to the following groups of plays: (1) early Tertiary transgressive clastics, basically oil-prone, (2) Miocene carbonates of the maximum transgression, gas prone, and (3) late Tertiary regressive clastics, oil and gas prone.

• OSTI ID: 7017357
• 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
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
MINERAL RESOURCES
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
RESOURCES