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PROCEEDINGS, INDONESIAN PETROLEUM ASSOCIATION

Thirty-Sixth Annual Convention & Exhibition, May 2012

A NEW INTERPRETATION OF GORONTALO BAY, SULAWESI

Parinya Pholbud*
Robert Hall*
Eldert Advokaat*
Pete Burgess*
Alfend Rudyawan*

ABSTRACT from coals at the base or organic matter in sands; an

Recent seismic and multibeam data, combined with
information from land, provide the basis for a new
interpretation of western Gorontalo Bay. The
stratigraphy is divided into three parts. The
basement (Unit A) is proposed to be Sundaland
continental crust, below a major unconformity
interpreted to be either Mid Eocene or Early
Miocene in age. Above the unconformity is a
sequence up to 6 sec TWT divided into two parts.
The lower part (Units B and C) is interpreted as
quartz-rich marine sediments, with little volcanic
debris, derived from granites and continental
basement of western Sulawesi. There is a minor
unconformity at the base of the upper part (Units D
to F). We suggest Units D and E are carbonates.
Unit D has major clinoforms indicating water
depths less than 200m. At the top of Unit E are
linear bands of pinnacle reefs which step back
towards the north. They mark rapid subsidence
which began at about 5 Ma and are partly buried by
PlioceneRecent deposits (Unit F) in the basin
centre. This may include quartzose siliciclastic
material, carbonate sediment and volcanic ash.
Given the observed subsidence the absence of
significant faulting in the basin is noteworthy. We
suggest the cause of extension is lithosphere-scale
low angle normal faulting driven by subduction
roll-back at the North Sulawesi trench. This is
consistent with the existence of young rapidly
exhumed core complexes and low angle
detachments on land. Hydrocarbons are leaking
from the south side of the bay. Important
considerations for a petroleum system are: a
basement of predominantly highly thinned
Australian continental crust accreted to the
Sundaland margin in the mid Cretaceous; a
quartzose lower sequence with possible sources
* SE Asia Research Group
upper sequence of shallow marine carbonates with
little volcanic material, and a bay that has subsided
significantly only since about 5 Ma.
INTRODUCTION
Gorontalo Bay (Figure 1) is one of several
enigmatic basins in East Indonesia. It is a semi-
enclosed sea, separating the mountainous North
Arm from Central Sulawesi Metamorphic Belt and
the East Arm Ophiolite (Figure 2). To the west it is
bounded by the narrow Sulawesi Neck. Early
researchers (Ahlburg, 1913; Rutten, 1927) reported
water depths up to 2000m in the western part of the
bay and rapid deepening within short distances of
the coast but until recently there was little
information on the bathymetry or geology of the
bay.
Ideas about the nature of Gorontalo Bay are widely
divergent (Figure 3). Silver et al. (1983a) suggested
that the eastern part of Gorontalo Bay (Figure 3A)
is a forearc basin, with a relatively thin sedimentary
cover above oceanic crust in the North Arm forearc.
They considered that there was a north-dipping
oceanic slab connected to the BanggaiSula Block,
based on extreme low-gravity values near the
Batui Thrust and hypocentres dipping northwards to
a depth of about 100 km (McCaffrey & Sutardjo,
1982). Kadarusman et al. (2004) suggested that the
western part of Gorontalo Bay is underlain by
oceanic crust of the East Sulawesi Ophiolite (Figure
3B) with a thin sedimentary cover, thrust over the
BanggaiSula Block. In contrast, Hamilton (1979)
estimated a five kilometre thick sediment infill in
the western part of the bay, which is supported by
recent seismic surveys (Jablonski et al., 2007) that
show up to 6 sec TWT of sediments below the sea
bed. Jablonski et al. (2007) considered Gorontalo
Bay to be a lateral equivalent of the Makassar Strait,
based on relative constant thickness of interpreted
Upper Miocene deposits, following relatively young
uplift of the Neck which separated the two basins.
They interpreted the basement to be cut by
numerous faults related to Eocene extension of
continental crust which included fragments rifted
from Australia and added to the Sundaland margin
in the Cretaceous.
In this paper we discuss the geology of Gorontalo
Bay based on recently acquired seismic (courtesy of
Fugro MCS and Searcher Seismic) and multibeam
data (courtesy of TGS). We present a seismic
interpretation and consider the implications for the
tectono-stratigraphic evolution of Gorontalo Bay in
the context of its regional setting.
Geological setting
Sulawesi is located at the triple junction where the
PacificPhilippine and the IndianAustralian plates
are subducted below the Eurasian plate (Figure 1).
As result of this convergence, Sulawesi is composed
of numerous fragments derived from these major
plates. They include metamorphic complexes,
magmatic provinces, volcanic arcs, ophiolites and
micro-continental fragments and are commonly
(e.g. Katili, 1978; Hamilton, 1979; Taylor & van
Leeuwen, 1980; Sukamto & Simandjuntak, 1983)
grouped into a number of major tectonic units
(Figure 2):
1. Western Sulawesi Plutono-volcanic Province,
the eastern continental margin of Sundaland
(Hamilton, 1979; Polv et al., 1997; van
Leeuwen et al., 2007) formed largely of
Australian fragments accreted in the Cretaceous
(Jablonski et al., 2007; Hall et al., 2009).
2. North Sulawesi Volcanic Province, an intra-
oceanic volcanic island arc of dominantly
tholeiitic composition underlain by oceanic
crust (Rangin et al., 1997; Elburg et al., 2003;
van Leeuwen & Muhardjo, 2005).
3. Central Sulawesi Metamorphic Belt, a terrane
made up predominantly of phyllites and schists
of both continental and oceanic origin (Rutten,
1927; Brouwer, 1947; Parkinson, 1991, 1998a,
b).
4. East Sulawesi Ophiolite, a dismembered
sequence including dunite, lherzolites and
harzburgites, ultramafic cumulates, layered and
isotropic gabbros, sheeted dykes and basaltic
pillow lavas (Kndig, 1956; Simandjuntak,
1986; Parkinson, 1998b; Kadarusman et al.,
2004).
5. Microcontinental fragments of Australian origin
(Pigram et al., 1985), including the Banggai
Sula (Garrard et al., 1988; Supandjono &
Haryono, 1993) and Tukang BesiButon
(Davidson, 1991; Smith & Silver, 1991) Blocks,
previously considered to be separate fragments
sliced from New Guinea and carried west along
the Sorong Fault (Hamilton, 1979). These are
now interpreted as part of the Sula Spur
(Klomp, 1954) that collided with the North
Arm in the Early Miocene (Hall, 1996, 2002)
and subsequently fragmented (Spakman & Hall,
2010; Hall, 2011).
Based on the references cited above, the
relationships between these different provinces and
the tectonic development of Sulawesi can be
summarised as follows. The metamorphic
complexes in West and Central Sulawesi were
emplaced or formed as consequence of mid-
Cretaceous accretion of Australian continental
fragments to Sundaland. During the Early Eocene
western Sulawesi rifted away from Borneo forming
the Makassar Strait at the same time as oceanic
spreading in the Celebes Sea. From the Middle
Eocene to Late Oligocene the North Arm Volcanic
Arc formed as consequence of north-directed
subduction of the Indian Ocean beneath the North
Arm. In the Early Miocene, the East Sulawesi
Ophiolite was emplaced by northwest-directed
obduction during collision of the Sula Spur with the
North Arm. The Central Sulawesi Metamorphic
Belt includes metamorphic rocks associated with
the ophiolite, the Sundaland margin and the
BanggaiSula Block. Regional extension, from
Sulawesi eastwards, commenced in the Middle
Miocene, associated with rollback of subduction
into the Banda embayment. There was widespread
magmatic activity in the Western Sulawesi Plutono-
volcanic Province, probably mainly extension-
related, from the Middle Miocene producing high-K
calc-alkaline acidic igneous rocks. Southwards
subduction of the Celebes Sea under the North Arm
is interpreted to have started around 5 Ma.
Subduction rollback of the North Sulawesi
subduction zone initiated a new phase of extension
in northern Sulawesi which has been active until the
present-day.
The geology of Gorontalo Bay and surrounding
areas of West Sulawesi, the Neck, North Arm and
East Arm reflects this complex history. The
stratigraphy of these areas is summarised in Figure
4 based on observations by Sukamto (1973),
Ratman (1976), Bachri et al. (1993), Rusmana et al.
(1993), Surono et al. (1993), Apandi & Bachri
(1997), Simandjuntak et al. (1997), van Leeuwen &
Muhardjo (2005), and Cottam et al. (2011).
Basement rocks of different types and ages are
exposed in West Sulawesi, the Neck and the
western end of the North Arm. These are mainly
granites and metamorphic rocks with protolith ages
which are Cretaceous or older. Cretaceous low
grade metasediments are known from western
Sulawesi and undated low grade metasediments are
found in the Togian Islands. The basement rocks are
overlain unconformably by Paleogene mainly
clastic sediments in western Sulawesi (Budung-
Budung Formation) to very low grade
metasediments (Tinombo Formation) in the Neck.
These are considered to pass into the Papayato
Volcanics of the North Arm which resemble
Paleogene pillow lavas and volcaniclastic
sandstones (Walea Formation) found in the Togian
Islands. To the southeast Paleogene rocks, which
are predominantly shallow marine limestones, are
found in the collision complex between the East
Arm Ophiolite and the BanggaiSula Block.
There is a widespread but poorly dated
unconformity recording collision of the Banggai
Sula Microcontinental Block, East Arm Ophiolite
and North Arm Volcanic Arc in the Early Miocene.
There are limited exposures of Neogene rocks in all
the areas surrounding Gorontalo Bay. In the North
Arm there are a variety of acid eruptive and
intrusive rocks, and some clastic sedimentary rocks.
In the Neck there are granite bodies of the Dondo
Suite. Radiogenic isotope analyses (Priadi et al.,
1993; Priadi et al., 1994; Bergman et al., 1996;
Polv et al., 1997; Elburg & Foden, 1999; Polv et
al., 2001; Elburg et al., 2003) and UPb dating (van
Leeuwen et al., 2007) of the igneous rocks in the
Palu and Neck regions indicate melting of lower
crustal material of Australian affinity. In the Togian
Islands there are Middle Miocene shallow marine
limestones, and similar rocks are known from the
East Arm east of the Togian Islands and in the
BanggaiSula Islands.
Pre-Miocene rocks throughout Sulawesi are
unconformably overlain by the Celebes Molasse
(Sarasin & Sarasin, 1901) a poorly lithified
sequence of interbedded conglomerates, sandstones,
and mudstones with subordinate intercalations of
breccia, tuffs and limestones. Originally this was
considered to be a single formation formed after a
Miocene collision (Kndig, 1956) but recent studies
have shown that it is diachronous across Sulawesi
(Hall & Wilson, 2000), locally very lithologically
variable, and it probably records several episodes of
uplift and erosion around Gorontalo Bay in the
latest Miocene to Plio-Pleistocene.
KAr, ArAr and Apatite fission track ages indicate
rapid uplift in the Pliocene (van Leeuwen &
Muhardjo, 2005; Bellier et al., 2006)
contemporaneous with sinistral movement on the
Palu-Koro Fault, and 20 clockwise rotation of the
North Arm around a pole close to Manado
interpreted from geological observations (Silver et
al., 1983b) and palaeomagnetic data (Surmont et al.,
1994). This has been linked to subduction at the
North Sulawesi Trench. New tectonic models of the
region indicate an important role for Neogene
extension, related initially to subduction rollback in
the Banda Arc (Spakman & Hall, 2010) and later to
subduction rollback of the North Sulawesi
subduction zone (Hall, 2011). Extension at different
times is manifested in several ways. The Malino
Complex northwest of Gorontalo Bay is suggested
to be an extensional metamorphic core complex
(Kavalieris et al., 1992; van Leeuwen et al., 2007)
of Miocene age. West of Gorontalo Bay, mountains
more than 1 km high form the narrow Neck which
exposes medium to high-grade continental
metamorphic rocks with young ages (Sukamto,
1973; Elburg et al., 2003; van Leeuwen et al.,
2007). Pinnacle reefs seen on seismic sections from
Gorontalo Bay are interpreted by Jablonski et al.
(2007) to be Late Miocene or younger and
correlations with the MiddleUpper Miocene
Peladan Formation on the Togian Islands. These
suggest that Gorontalo Bay was a shallow marine
area until the latest Miocene with rapid subsidence
from the Early Pliocene (Cottam et al., 2011).
Medium-K to shoshonitic volcanism on the Togian
Islands is suggested to be the result of crustal
thinning in the Plio-Pleistocene (Cottam et al.,
2011). South of Gorontalo Bay, young core
complexes have been identified at the Tokorondo
Mountains and the Pompangeo Mountains based on
morphological features observed on SRTM images
(Spencer, 2010, 2011). GPS measurements
(Walpersdorf et al., 1998; Vigny et al., 2002;
Socquet et al., 2006) indicate that this motion is
continuing at the present day and potentially
accommodates major top-to-the-north extensional
exhumation in Central Sulawesi (Spencer, 2010,
2011).
DATASET AND METHODOLOGY
This project was provided with a 2D seismic data
set by Fugro MCS and Searcher Seismic (Figure 5).
The Gorontalo 2D Non-Exclusive Seismic Survey
was acquired in 2006 with a total length of 8,009
km. The survey was acquired utilizing long offset
seismic cabling with recording to between 8 and 12
sec TWT. The key processing parameters for the
seismic data are SRME and Kirchhoff PSTM. The
spacing between each seismic line was
approximately 7 km. Seismic data were interpreted
using SMT Kingdom Suite on a Windows
workstation.
Multibeam data (Figure 6) were provided by TGS.
This coverage was acquired using a Kongsberg
Simrad EM120 Multibeam Echo Sounder using 191
beams at equidistant spacing. Positioning control
used a C-Nav Starfire DGPS. During processing,
positioning, tidal and calibration corrections were
applied, random noise and artefacts were removed,
and a terrain model using a 25 m bin size was
gridded and exported to ESRI format. Multibeam
data were further processed in ER Mapper to
remove voids and generate a digital elevation model
(DEM) and used to display seafloor topography in
3D.
Seismic Units
The seismic and multibeam data show that the
Gorontalo Bay changes character at about 12130E
(Figure 6). East of this longitude the basin is
separated into two parts by a shallow ridge that
includes the modern volcano of Una-Una and the
Togian Islands and there is a relatively narrow,
broadly EW orientated northern deep area north of
the Togian Islands. West of 12130E the basin is
much wider and deeper. This western part of
Gorontalo Bay is divided into two sub-basins by a
NE-trending wide ridge capped by drowned
carbonate reefs we name the Lalanga Ridge after a
small island with reefs at its SW end. The SE sub-
basin (Poso Basin) is slightly shallower (Figure 7)
than the NW sub-basin (Tomini Basin) with a
maximum depth of 1800m compared to 2000m, and
contains much less sediment (about 3 sec TWT
compared to 6 sec TWT). Although there is a
relatively close spacing of seismic lines it is not
possible to correlate from the larger Tomini Basin
to the smaller Poso Basin across the Lalanga Ridge.
In this project we therefore focused on the broader
and deeper Tomini Basin which contains the much
thicker sequence.
Six key seismic horizons were interpreted in Tomini
Basin to define seismic megasequences and
geological structures. The seismic units identified
were named from base to top as Units A, B, C, D, E
and F (Figure 8). Interpreted horizons were mapped
to construct two-way-time thickness maps and the
seismic stratigraphy of each unit was studied.
Digital seafloor topography from multibeam data
was correlated with interpreted seismic horizons to
define the paleoshelf-edge of carbonates within the
basin.
UNIT A
The top of Unit A is marked by an angular
unconformity which is the deepest seismic horizon
mappable through the whole of Tomini Basin. The
unit is characterized by complex zone of moderate
to strong reflectors (Figures 9 and 10). Locally there
are reflectors that are parallel or sub-parallel to the
unconformity surface whereas in other places there
are reflectors that are oblique to it with discordances
up to 10. At the NW end of some seismic lines
there are NW-dipping normal faults below the
unconformity surface (Figure 9), but apart from
these there is little evidence for rifting during
deposition of units above the unconformity.
UNIT B
The Tomini Basin essentially begins with
deposition of Unit B. This package onlaps the basal
unconformity of Horizon A. This unit consists of
moderate to strong, continuous, parallel reflectors,
which dip at a low angle towards to the west in the
western part of the basin and are sub-horizontal in
the east. Unit B is mainly thicker than 1 sec TWT
and reaches a maximum thickness of approximately
2.3 sec TWT in the basin centre (Figure 11) and
thins toward the basin flanks. A ridge crosses the
basin (Figures 9 and 10) which is orientated broadly
E-W (Figure 11) and divides Unit B into two
depocentres. There are no signs of faulting
associated with the ridge which appears to have
been a pre-existing feature that was gradually
onlapped and buried by sediment transported from
the west.
UNIT C
Unit C lies conformably above Unit B, and is
separated from it by a strong reflector. It varies in
thickness between 1 and 2 sec TWT. This unit is
characterized by moderate to strong continuous
reflectors with small offset normal faults. These
normal faults are only observed in seismic lines that
are oriented NE-SW and are less common in the
western part of the basin. They are almost entirely
confined to Unit C although a few cut down into
Unit B. A few faults have been inverted forming
small anticlinal structures within the unit. Units B
and C are restricted to a relatively narrow basin
(compared to the present western Gorontalo Bay) of
about 50 km width which is elongate and trends
approximately ENE-WSW. Unit B clearly thins to
the NE consistent with a western source. This is less
clear for Unit C which seems to thin slightly
towards the central part of the basin (Figure 10) but
then begins to thicken slightly towards the NE. The
unit also appears to thin towards the SE. These
observations suggest sediment input predominantly
from the north from both the W and E ends of the
basin.
There is little to indicate the environment of
deposition of Units B and C. The well bedded
character and lateral continuity of reflectors for
considerable distances suggest a marine setting.
There are no signs of slumping or disturbance
indicating rapid deepening or unstable slopes.
Almost all the faults in Tomini Basin are small
offset normal faults restricted to Unit C, and are
observed only in E-W and NE-SW lines. This
suggests they are a response to flexure associated
with deformation that resulted in the Horizon C
unconformity. Units B and C appear to fill in a pre-
existing basin topography which was gradually
buried rather than created by rifting.
UNIT D
Unit D is separated from underlying units by an
angular unconformity of Horizon C. Units B and C
are tilted gently to the north with a dip of a few
degrees subparallel to the northern slope of the
Lalanga Ridge. Reflectors are truncated by the
unconformity surface (Figure 9) north of the
Lalanga Ridge. On the north-eastern end of the
ridge is a large rimmed carbonate reef complex
(Figure 13). Unit D appears to be the lateral
equivalent of the lower part of the reefs as both rest
unconformably on the unconformity surface. It
reaches a thickness of about 1 sec TWT and
contains a series of clinoforms reflectors that
prograde towards the basin centre (Figure 14). We
interpret this unit as shallow water carbonates,
largely prograding to the south but with a thinner
equivalent package prograding northwards from the
Lalanga Ridge (Figure 9). This is based on the strata
geometries observed in the clinoforms and the
overlying carbonate strata (e.g. Oberlin & Ginsburg,
1987; Faradic, 2006; Dorset, 2010). The clinoforms
appear to be strongly progradational linear features
(rather than point sourced locate features as would
be expected with a siliciclastic delta system on this
scale) and are interpreted to pass upwards into an
apparently genetically related unit with large-scale
stacking patterns changing from strongly
progradational to aggradations to retro gradational,
and terminating as a series of drowned pinnacle
features. The basin shape changed and widened
during deposition of Unit D and the northern basin
margin changed from an ENE-WSW to a NNE-
SSW orientation.
UNIT E
Unit E is characterised by moderate amplitude
reflectors that are generally sub-horizontal with
locally shallow dips to the northwest. It shows
gradational and retro gradational stacking patterns
with many pinnacle reefs in its upper part (Figure 9
and Figure 10) which we interpret to represent a
shallow marine environment for the whole of the
unit. The thickness increases toward the northwest
with a maximum of 2.4 sec TWT and the unit thins
significantly in the basin centre and pinches out as it
onlaps the Lalanga Ridge to the south. During
deposition of Unit E the NNE-SSW northern
margin shelf edge rotated to a NE-SW orientation
add the shelf edge retreated to the north marked by
multiple lines of sub-parallel pinnacles and
implying episodic subsidence of the basin.
UNIT F
Unit F is the youngest sequence in Tomini Basin. It
has relatively low amplitude flat reflectors in the
basin centre where it is thinly bedded, up to 0.7 sec
TWT thick, and appears to be fed from the west. In
the northern part of the basin it is thinner with a
thickness up to 0.4 sec TWT and it buries or partly
buries many of the pinnacle reefs. In this part of the
basins sediment appears to have entered the basin
from several sources in the north. The depth of the
pinnacle reefs varies from 2000m at the basin centre
to approximately 1000m at the northern limit of the
multibeam coverage (Figure 14) indicating
subsidence of at least 2000m since the formation of
the oldest reefs at the top of Unit E close to the
basin centre. Although most of the sediment appears
to be derived from the west, the presence of
Pliocene volcanic tuffs in the Togian Islands (Cot
tam et al., 2011), and evidence of explosive acid
volcanic activity in the North Arm (Bachri et al.
1993; Apandi & Bachri, 1997), suggest the material
that was sourced from the north, and sediment in the
eastern part of Tomini Basin, may include a
significant volcanic component.
UNIT AGES AND BASIN HISTORY
Because there are no wells in Gorontalo Bay the
ages of horizons must be interpreted from other
data. This presents some difficulties because the
very thick sequence in the Tomini Basin cannot be
traced on to land, and in the surrounding areas of
the North Arm, Neck and East Arm, exposures are
predominantly basement rocks. The almost 6 sec
TWT of section (Figure 10) must terminate abruptly
to the west, presumably at a fault, because on land
there are high-grade schists and granites in the
Neck. There is a NW-SE fault on land, cutting
across the peninsula NW of Poso, where there are
slivers of Miocene limestones, probable Pliocene
volcanic tuffs, and Neogene conglomerates and
sandstones. This fault, which we name the
Tambarana Fault (Figure 15), is the termination of
the Tomini Basin and is probably a sinistral strike-
slip fault that links to the NW with the Palu-Koro
Fault.
We suggest Horizon E is Early Pliocene in age. In
the Togian Islands Cottam et al. (2011) interpreted
deposits of the Bongka Formation (Figure 4), which
is part of the Celebes Molasse, to be the distal parts
of a Pliocene alluvial fan building out from the East
Arm. The Bongka Formation in the Togian Islands
and East Arm contains abundant distinctive
ophiolitic debris which can only have come from
the East Arm ophiolite. Seismic data (Jablonski et
al., 2007) show thick (up to 2 sec TWT) north-south
trending lobes of sediment inferred to be submerged
parts of this fan (Cottam et al., 2011). These
observations imply that subsidence of the Poso
Basin (from near sea level to present-day depths of
500 to 1500 m) occurred after deposition of the fan.
The latest Miocene to Pliocene age of the Celebes
Molasse in the East Arm (e.g. Surono & Sukarna,
1993; Hall & Wilson, 2000) therefore indicates
rapid subsidence since 5 Ma. All the sediment in the
Poso Basin (up to 3 sec TWT) above the buried
pinnacle reefs and limestones on the SE side of the
Lalanga Ridge (Figure 7) would therefore be
Pliocene to Recent in age. This would also suggest a
very asymmetrical subsidence from approximately
sea level to about 3 km in the centre of Tomini
Basin (2 km water + 0.7 sec TWT sediment) but
about 6 km in Poso Basin (1.8 km water + 3 sec
TWT sediment).
The rapid subsidence of both the Tomini and Poso
Basins and probable contemporaneous uplift on
land are likely to have a common cause. Spencer
(2010, 2011) has identified extensional detachment
faults in central Sulawesi (Figure 15) which he
suggested are kinematically linked to the Palu-Koro
fault. These have exhumed middle to lower crustal
metamorphic rocks in the Tokorondo and
Pompangeo Mountains (Figure 15). These elevated
areas have provided sediment to the Poso Basin
(Figure 6 and Figure 7). The subsidence of western
Gorontalo Bay, the asymmetry of the Poso Basin,
and the extensional detachments in Central
Sulawesi to the south are well explained by a simple
shear detachment model (Wernicke, 1985; Lister et
al., 1986). We propose the extension is very young,
indicated by preservation of grooves on the
exhumed footwalls (Spencer, 2010), and GPS
vectors (Socquet et al. 2006) parallel to the grooves
that suggest it is continuing today, and was driven
by rollback of the North Sulawesi subduction zone.
The interpreted carbonates of Units D and E were
deposited above the angular unconformity of
Horizon C (Figures 8, 9, 10). There are two possible
ages for this unconformity: either about 23 Ma or
15 Ma; the different ages for the seismic units
interpreted from these alternatives are shown on
Figure 4.
The older age of about 23 Ma is based on the
interpretation of the unconformity as due to
collision of the BanggaiSula Microcontinental
Block with the North Arm Volcanic Arc causing
emplacement of the ophiolite. In this model Middle
Miocene shallow marine carbonates found in the
Togian Islands (Cottam et al., 2011; Figure 4) are
interpreted to have been deposited on the
unconformity surface after a period of erosion
following the collision that produced a wide
shallow marine shelf across the whole of Gorontalo
Bay.
The younger age of about 15 Ma is based on the
interpretation of the unconformity as the result of
regional extension. van Leeuwen et al. (2007)
suggested that the Malino Metamorphic Complex at
the western end of the North Arm, immediately
north of Tomini Basin, is a core complex exhumed
in the Miocene. K/Ar and 40Ar/39Ar cooling ages of
2311 Ma, indicate exhumation from 2730 km
before eruption of unconformably overlying
volcanic rocks at 7 Ma. Sulawesi and the Banda
region experienced widespread extension from
about 15 Ma (Spakman & Hall, 2010; Hall, 2011)
and it is therefore possible that the core complex
formation is related to this phase of extension. In
this interpretation, the angular unconformity of
Horizon C age of about 15 Ma, is still consistent
with the Middle Miocene age of carbonates in the
Togian Islands.
Units C and B were deposited between the angular
unconformity of Horizon C and the unconformity of
Horizon A (Figures 8, 9, 10). If the older age of 23
Ma is chosen for Horizon C, Horizon A is most
likely to be Middle Eocene (c. 45 Ma), an
unconformity age recognised in all the areas close
to Gorontalo Bay (Figure 4), which would be
correlative with the age of rifting in the Makassar
Straits as suggested by Jablonksi et al. (2007). This
is not such an obvious correlation as it appears at
first sight. First, if the North Arm is restored to its
pre-Pliocene position by rotation of 20 along the
Palu-Koro Fault the North Makassar Basin and
Gorontalo Bay no longer join up in such a
straightforward way. They must have been
separated by an emergent area to account for the
eastern basin margin to the Makassar Straits
observed in western Sulawesi (Calvert, 2000;
Calvert & Hall, 2007). Second, in contrast to the
North Makassar Basin there is no evidence of rifting
above Horizon A as discussed above.
If the younger age of 15 Ma is chosen for the upper
unconformity the deeper unconformity is more
likely to be an Early Miocene unconformity (c. 23
Ma), related to collision of the BanggaiSula
Microcontinental Block further east. This would
account for some of the features of the seismic data,
such as the absence of evidence for rifting and
deposition of Unit B on an irregular topography.
However, it would mean that subsidence began
soon after collision, with no obvious cause. This
would require a very thick sequence of clastic
sediments to be deposited in a very short time
interval (up to 4 sec TWT in c. 8 Ma), and would
imply the source was to the SW in Central Sulawesi
if the North Arm is restored to its pre-Pliocene
position. If Central Sulawesi was an elevated area in
the Early Miocene it is difficult explain why there
was no significant pulse of clastic sediment carried
to the west into western Sulawesi at this time
(Calvert, 2000; Calvert & Hall, 2007).
We consider that an equally good case can be made
for both age interpretations shown in Figure 4 and
at present we can see no reason to prefer either. A
number of studies are currently underway to
provide new data that can test these interpretations.
IMPLICATIONS FOR HYDROCARBONS
Hydrocarbons are leaking from the south side of the
bay. In the East Arm (Figure 15) oil seeps are
reported near Dolang (Rusmana et al., 1993) and
gas seeps shown by Kndig (1956) near Tanjung
Api, north of Ampana, remain active today. Clearly,
given the uncertainties about the age of the
sequence and lack of detailed knowledge of the
structure of the basins Gorontalo Bay remains a
frontier prospect. However, there are a number of
features that offer a more positive view of Tomini
Basin from a hydrocarbon perspective than
previously.
There is much more sediment than predicted by the
interpretations (compare Figure 3 with Figure 9) of
Silver et al. (1983a) and Kadarsuman et al. (2004)
and there are structures below Horizon A
inconsistent with suggestions that western
Gorontalo Bay is underlain by oceanic crust or the
East Arm Ophiolite. The most likely basement for
Tomini Basin is continental crust similar to that
exposed in the Neck, the Malino Complex, and the
Tokorondo Mountains, i.e. metamorphic rocks and
granites with protoliths that are probably pre-
Mesozoic with an Australian origin (van Leeuwen
et al., 2007). These formed part of the eastern
Sundaland margin from the Early Cretaceous. The
eastern part of Gorontalo Bay could be underlain by
oceanic crust as suggested by Silver et al. (1983a),
although based on observations from the North Arm
and Togian Islands (Cottam et al., 2011) it is more
likely to be underlain by Paleogene arc volcanics
which are potentially underthrust by continental
crust of the BanggaiSula block (Ferdian et al.,
2010; Watkinson et al., 2011).
Whatever the age of the lower sequence (Units B
and C) these are sediments mainly derived from the
west or southwest and their sources are likely to be
mainly metamorphic and granitic rocks similar to
those that form the Neck and the Tokorondo
Mountains of Central Sulawesi. Unit B thins
eastwards, and may terminate completely further
east (Kerr, 2010), suggesting the possibility that in
its early stages Tomini Basin could have been
partially or fully enclosed. Sources at the base of the
sequence could include lacustrine shales or coals.
Sediments of Units B and C are expected to be
quartzose with good reservoir properties and rich in
organic matter.
We have no evidence to indicate the depth of water
in which Units B and C were deposited. They were
deformed before deposition of Unit D, although
dips are gentle and there are few obvious structural
traps. Our suggestion that Unit D clinoforms are
carbonates implies that the whole of western
Gorontalo Bay was very shallow from Horizon C to
Horizon D and the thick sequences of carbonates
between 1 and 2 sec TWT total thickness which are
potential reservoirs. The bay remained shallow until
about 5 Ma.
Rapid subsidence began at about 5 Ma and rates of
subsidence eventually exceeded rates of carbonate
production, killing all the reefs except for rare
pinnacles on the Lalanga Ridge and close to the
present coastlines, and exceeding rates of clastic
supply to the Tomini and Poso Basins, so that they
are now between 1800m and 2000m deep in their
deepest parts. Extension exhumed the deep crust in
onshore metamorphic core complexes at the same
time as subsidence in Gorontalo Bay which is
probably underlain by highly thinned continental
crust. In the Togian Islands Pliocene (Cottam et al.,
2011) magmatism and Pleistocene-Recent (Katili &
Sudradjat, 1984) volcanic activity of Una-Una may
be an expression of thinning which induced small
amounts of melting of the underlying mantle. We
propose that extension of the region was driven by
rollback of the North Sulawesi subduction zone,
accommodated by movements on the Palu-Koro and
Tambarana Faults. More work is required to
understand the detailed structural development of
Gorontalo Bay and the heatflow implications of
crustal/lithosphere extension models and this is now
underway. Only in Unit F do we anticipate that
there may be a significant volcanic component,
which is likely to increase in importance towards
the north and east, resulting from magmatism in the
North Arm, Togian Islands or Una-Una.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank Fugro MCS and Searcher Seismic for the
seismic data and TGS for multibeam data, and Chris
Elders and Simon Suggate for advice and help.
Parinya Pholbuds MSc programme was funded by
PTTEP.
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Figure 1 Location of the study area (red box).
Figure 2 Principal tectonic subdivisions of Sulawesi.
Figure 3 Previous interpretations of Gorontalo Bay from (A) Silver et al. (1983a); (B) Kadarusman et al.
(2004), and (C) Jablonski et al. (2007). Location of cross sections A, B and C shown in inset
map.
Figure 4 Stratigraphy of areas of Sulawesi surrounding Gorontalo Bay modified from Bachri et al. (1993);
Rusmana et al. (1993); Surono et al. (1993); Apandi & Bachri (1997); van Leeuwen &
Muhardjo (2005) and Cottam et al. (2011). The two interpretations (1 and 2) of the age of
seismic units of this study are discussed in the text.
Figure 5 Seismic grid used in this study. The main focus of this study was the area west of 12130E. LR
marks the island and reefs of Lalanga.
Figure 6 Multibeam coverage of Gorontalo Bay. LR is at the SW end of the Lalanga Ridge which
separates the southeastern sub-basin (Poso Basin) from the northwestern sub-basin (Tomini
Basin). Tomini Basin was the focus of this study.

Figure 7 Uninterpreted seismic lines crossing the Lalanga Ridge and showing the southeastern and
northwestern sub-basins. G06-208 (above) is west of G06-210 (below).
Figure 8 Seismic units and horizons identified in this study.
Figure 9 Uninterpreted and interpreted seismic line crossing the Tomini Basin from NW to SE showing
the seismic units identified in this study.

Figure 10 Uninterpreted and interpreted seismic line crossing the Tomini Basin from SW to NE showing
the seismic units identified in this study.
Figure 11 Time structure maps for the principal seismic horizons mapped in this study.

Figure 12 Time thickness maps for the seismic units mapped in this study.
Figure 13 Oblique 3D image of seafloor of western Gorontalo Bay from multibeam coverage, looking
northeastwards.
Figure 14 Detail of seismic line in Tomini Basin centre showing prograding clinoforms of Unit D.
 Figure 15 Principal structural features of western Gorontalo Bay and surrounding areas based on this
study and mapping on land using SRTM imagery and from our fieldwork.

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