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Disc Contents 2006 - Seismic Atlas of Indonesian Oil and Gas Fields: Vol. II: Java, Kalimantan, Natuna, Irian Jaya, 1995

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KALIMANTAN

Kalimantan Maps KAL-2

Geologic Summary : Kutei Basin KAL-5
Tarakan Basin KAL-10
Barito Basin KAL-16
Kalimantan Stratigraphy KAL-19

KALIMANTAN FIELDS DATA

Attaka KAL-20
Badak KAL-28
Bekapai KAL-36
Bunyu Nibung KAL-44
Bunyu Tapa KAL-52
Handil KAL-60
Kerindingan KAL-68
Melahin KAL-76
Nilam KAL-84
Sembakung KAL-92
Sepinggan KAL-98
Tambora KAL-106
Tanjung KAL-114
Tunu KAL-122
Warukin KAL-130
Yakin Complex KAL-138
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GEOLOGIC SUMMARY OF EASTERN
KALIMANTAN
S. K. Wiman (Unocal)
INTRODUCTION
The history of geophysical exploration in
Kalimantan describes the increasing difficulty in
finding untested structures and the evolution of
seismic acquisition and processing technology. Of
all the basins in Kalimantan, exploration by
geophysical means has been most successful in the
Kutei Basin, which is second only to the Central
Sumatra Basin in hydrocarbons produced. In
keeping with this importance, the Kutei Basin will
be discussed first, followed by the Tarakan Basin
to the north and the Barito Basin to the south.
I. KUTE! BASIN
OVERVIEW
The Kutei Basin, with an area estimated at about
165,000 square kilometers, is the largest and
deepest Tertiary basin in Indonesia. Its basement
is composed of continental crust (interpreted as
part of the Sundaland Craton) and accreted
microplates. The northwest/southeast trending
Adang Flexure (also known as the Paternoster
Boundary Fault) forms the southern boundary with
the adjoining Barito Basin. To the north, the west-
northwest trending Mangkalihat Arch separates
the Kutei Basin from the Tarakan Basin. The
Kutei Basin is bounded on the east by the North
Makassar Basin and on the west by the Kuching
High.
Paleocene deposits have not been penetrated in the
Kutei Basin by drilling, but outcrops of the Kiham
Haloq Formation are considered to be Paleocene
in age (Wain and Berod, 1989). Rifling in the
Makassar Strait occurred during the Middle to
Late Eocene (Garrar& 1988). Carbonate platforms
then developed over isolated highs and across the
large, peneplaned pre-Tertiary shelves (Pater-
noster Platform to the south and Mangkalihat to
the north). Beginning in the Eocene, sedimentary
facies accumulated within subbasins and along
basin lnargins. In the Late Eocene and Oligocene,
the Kutei Basin became a large depocenter for
marine shales and carbonates. During and after
later uplift and erosion of the Kuching High in
cemral Kalimantan, strongly regressive deltaic
sedimentation filled the basin from west to east.
Deltaic progradation became the dominant depo-
sitional regime in the basin, extending as far
eastward as the present coastline by the end of the
Early Miocene. Transgressions alternated with
deltaic regressions to form a complex sedimentary
sequence. The primary drainage system transport-
ing these sediments into the Kutei Basin was the
proto-Mahakam River, ar!d the main Mahakam
River depocenter remained in a relatively constant
position throughout the Neogene. The eastward
progradation of fluvial deltaic systems, starting in
latest Oligocene, developed the sandstone reser-
voirs of the prolific oil and gas fields of East Ka-
limaman.
KAL-5
The structural fabric of the Kutei Basin was highly
modified by faulting beginning in the Late
Miocene, although major episodes of faulting
occurred earlier. A series of tightly folded, NNE-
SSW trending anticlines and synclines with surface
expression dominate the present-day structural
fabric. Various structural mechanisms, inluding
gravity sliding, have been cited as causes of this
deformation (Ott, 1987, Rose and Hartono, 1978).
It consists of mostly east-vergent folding and
thrusting in a broad arcuate pattern mainly across
the lower Kutei Basin. The onshore culimination
of this deformation is the Samarinda Anticlinorium
along the present-day coast. There are also
expressions of this west-east dying deformation in
the offshore Kutei Basin, where the amplitude of
folds decreases markedly. The most significant
offshore expression of this deformation is the
prolific Attaka-Tunu-Bekapai anticline.
The location of these folds may have been at least
partially controlled by the position of ancient shelf
margins, perhaps with re-activation of the earlier
normal (down-to-basin) faulting along these
features. These normal faults of the outer shelf
platform are possibly related to gravitational
instability. The modern shelf break is clearly
imaged on seismic data, and carbonate reefs at the
shelf edge commonly mark the apex of normal
faults. Localized growth faulting is also
documented. Significant disruptions in the Kutei
Basin depositional history are recorded by major
unconformities. Regional correlation schemes are
possible because of widespread flooding events
KAL-6
resulting in transgressive shales that often exceed
thicknesses of 30 meters.
EXPLORATION H ISTORY
Exploration in the Kutei Basin started with drilling
near seeps in the structurally complex Samarinda
Anticlinoriurn. Oil was first discovered at a depth
of 46 in. in Louise-l, near Sanga-Sanga, in 1897.
Subsequently, this area was the subject of intensive
surface mapping The Balikpapan (or Klandasan)
Field, with oil pay at about 180 in in depth, was
discovered in 1898. Sambodja Field, located
about half\ray between the Louise and Balikpapan
fields, was tbund in 1923, and Sangatta Field was
discovered in 1939 on the basis of a gravitational
survey conducted by BPM.
Exploration resumed with the granting of the first
Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) in the late
1960s. PSC companies initiated extensive geo-
physical surveys which resulted in discovery of
several giant oil and gas fields, both offshore and
onshore. Attaka Field , the first discovery on a
Kalimantan PSC, was made by UNOCAL and
1NPEX in 1970 on a seismically defined structure
which straddled their common boundary.
UNOCAL subsequently discovered Kerindingan
and Metahin fields in 1972, Sepinggan Field in
1975, and Yakin in 1976. Recent drilling based on
3-D seismic data recently led to development of
Serang Field (1973 discovery), and it will result in'
development of Santan Field (discovered in 1971).
The Roy Huffington Co. discovered the giant
Badak Field (1973), Nilam (1974), northern Sem-
berah Field (1974), Wailawi Field (1975), Pa-
muguan (1975), mad Mutiara (1981). TOTAL first
became involved in the Kutei Basin with a far-
mout from JAPEX, and proceeded to find Bekapai
Field (1972), Tunu (1973), and, in 1974, the giant
Handil Field (largest in the basin) plus Tambora
Field (1974). Recent and still undeveloped dis-
coveries by TOTAL include Sisi, Nubi and Peciko
fields. Peciko was first drilled in 1982 and then
revived in 1991; it is described as a combination
struetural-stratigraphic-hydrodynamic trap (Duval
et al., 1992 a, 1992 b).
SEISMIC EXPLORATION
Without exception, regional seismic surveys led to
all of the major East Kalimantan discoveries by
PSC companies. The giant fields of the Kutei
Basin were developed using infill seismic sup-
plemented by reprocessed older data. Difficult ar-
eas for acquiring seismic data in East Kalimantan
range from highly folded and thrusted areas, cov-
ered by rainforest, via dense mangrove swamps of
the Mahakam River delta to shallow, transition
zones overlying reefs.
Recently, significant offshore discoveries resulted
from an enhanced appreciation of the role of
stratigraphic trapping in areas mapped long ago for
structural plays. Operators acquired 3-D seismic
data over fields found twenty years ago, and the
new data led to major reserve additions. New
discoveries are almost routinely followed by 3-D
surveys. In some areas of known structural
complexity, 3-D seismic acquisition is considered
an exploration tool.
SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHIC APPROACH
Historically, the fields of the Kutei Basin all had
localized stratigraphic nomenclature. Regional
studies and sequence stratigraphic methods have
allowed, operators to correlate between fields and
establish -regional markers. Detailed seismic
mapping, delineation of regional flooding events,
and relative age dating by biostratigraphy serve as
foundations for improved regional correlations.
Stratigraphic subdivision of deltaic successions is
particularly difficult because of the monotonous'
vertical succession of facies. Recognition of
stratigraphic boundaries is facilitated by linking
sedimentologic and biostratigraphic interpretations
of wells to seismic lines. Many local field markers
used in the earliest development of East
Kalimantan fields coincide with regional events
that can be linked as sequence markers. Abrupt
basinward shifts (regressions) are interpreted as
sequence boundaries, and landward facies shifts
reflect transgressive surfaces. Other boundaries
are use~l even when the boundary type remains
uncertain.
Transgressive surfaces, or flooding events, provide
the link between nomenclature systems used in
various areas. The most significant regional log
marker is a third order sequence event and
KAL.7
transgressive surthce known as tile "XO" (fk~rnlerly
"RT") mnarker to UNOCAL, ~'Beta'" to TOTAL,
and "B" to VICO. This regional transgression is
recognizable in outcrops onshore, and it lnarks the
top of prolific productive intervals in Attaka
("X2-XO" interval or "Main Deltaics") and Bekapi
("Fresh Water Sands") fields. Its distinctive
lithology, ubiquitous in the subsurface, is marked
by a baseline shift on SP logs overlying a thick
interval (400-600 in) of fluvial delta plain to tidal
delta facies. Coals within these intervals provide a
distinctive seismic signature,

DIFFICULTIES IN SEISMIC
INTERPRETATION

The quality of seismic data fl'onr olTshorc Ka-

limantan varies widely due to several lhctors, in-
cluding intense local deformation, primitive proc-
essing of older data, gas chimneys over productive
fields, and the presence of carbonates. Faulting
breaks up seismic signals and impedes
stratigraphic correlation. Sequence stratigraphic
methods, however, have allowed highly refined
correlation in structurally complex areas. The
presence of isolated carbonate buildups, both
throughout the vertical section and areally in the
basin, causes great disruption of seismic reflection
continuity. Recent advances in methods for time-
depth conversion now explain dry holes which
were wrongly sited on the apparent structural
crests of carbonate buildups.

KAL-8
REFERENCES CITED:

Duval, B.G., G. Choppin de Janvry and B. Loiret. 1992. Detailed geoscience reinterpretation of
Indonesia's Mahakam delta scores. Oil & Gas Journal, August 10, 1992, p. 67-72.

Dural, B.C., G. Choppin de Janvry and B. Loiret. 1992. The Mahakam delta province: an ever-
changing picture and a bright future. Proceedings, 24th Annual Offshore Technology
Conference, Houston. OTC 6855, p. 393-404.

Garrard, R.A., 1988. The geology of the Banggai-Sula microcontinent, eastern Indones!~L
Proceedings Indonesian Petroleum Association, 17th Annual Convention, p. 23-52.

Ott, H.L. 1987. The Kutei Basin - a unique structural history. Proceedings Indonesian
Petroleum Association, 16th Annual Convention, p. 307-316.

Rose, R. and P. Hartono. 1978. Geological evolution of the Tertiary Kutei-Melawi Basin,
Kalimantan, Indonesia. Proceedings Indonesian Petroleum Association, 7th Annual
Convention, p. 225-237.

Wain, T. and B. Berod. 1989. The tectonic framework and paleogeography of the Upper Kutei
Basin. Proceedings Indonesian Petroleum Association, 18th Annual Convention, p. 55-
78.

KAL-9
 II. T A R A K A N BASIN
A: IV. R. Wight (MAXUS SE Sumatra, Inc')
EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION
HISTORY
Hydrocarbon exploration began in NE Kalimantan
just before the end of the nineteenth century.
Several years of geological field surveys, at first
in search of coal and other economic minerals,
identified oil and gas seeps on Tarakan and Bunyu
islands. Drilling began on Tarakan island as early
as 1897, and in 1901 the largest field Pamusian,
was discovered. Its cumulative production of 193
MMBO since 1906 represents 60% of total pro-
duction from the basin.
Exploration continued on Tarakan, Bunyu, and
Mandul islands, and gas seeps were discovered at
Bunyu Field in 1901. The true size of Bunyu was
not realized until 1929, however, when deeper
wells were drilled and the field was put into thll
production. The second largest field in the Tarakan
Basin, it has cumulative production of 83 MMBO
(26% of the basin's total). Juata field, with 17
MMBO (5% of the total), was found near
Pamusian in 1918. These three fields, containing
over 90% of the cumulative production, were
found using surface geology without the aid of
seismic data. During the 70 years following the
mid 1920's, despite extensive onshore geological
mapping, gravity surveying and drilling, only 28
MMBO were discovered. The bulk of these (23.2
MMBO) were from the third largest field,
Sembakung, discovered by ARCO in 1976.
Pamusian and Bunyu fields are independent roll-
overs on the downthrown sides of north to north-
.KAL-10
east-oriented normal faults. Juata field is an
upthrown fault-dependent trap. The small Sesanip
Field is also upthrown, but it is unique in the area
in being trapped by a small reverse fault. Seln-
bakung is a rollover bounded by late, northwest
oriented faults, but its closure is independent of an
adjacent, major down-to-basin, northeast ori-
ented, normal fault. Selnbakung lies onshore,
north of Mandul island, where minor production
(established briefly in 1913 at Mintut) had indi-
cated hydrocarbon potential. It produces fiom
marine, deltaic. Upper Miocene sandstones, con-
|rasling with the "farakan Island fields which pro-
duce only fronl, fluvial Pliocene sandstones.
,\part l]'nm these major discoveries, many smaller
oil lields have been produced on both Tarakan and
Bunyu islands. Other accumulations include the
13angkudulis field, which produced for a short
time in 1973, and the Mintnt ,,veils on Mandul Is-
land. Only two gas accunmlations, Bunyu Tapa
and Selatan, have been commercial, although gas
and condensate were tested t?om many wells on
Tarakan and Bunyu islands as well as offshore.
Of the 14 productive accumulations, ten oil fields
and one gas field remain active. An additional
three sub-commercial gas or gas-condensate finds
have been made offshore plus eight subcommer-
ciai gas discoveries on Bunyu island. The cumu-
lative oil~roduction now totals 320 MMBO in a
7,000 km- basin. Only eighteen exploration wells
have been drilled offshore and approximately
twenty-three onshore. The large fields - except for
Sembakung and Bunyu Tapa - were all found
prior to the advent of seismic methods. "fhc basin
still appears to. be under-explored, and signifi-
cantly larger reserves may be lbund using modern
seismic.
STRUCTURE & TECTONICS
Depoeentres
The Tarakan Basin sensu stricto can be regarded
as a collection of contiguous Plio-Pleistocene sub-
basins centred on Tarakan and Bunyu islands.
The islands underwent recent uplift and inversion
while a deep Pleistocene depression (Kantil
Trough, 4500 m thick.) between the islands con-
tinued subsiding. The easternmost depocentre in
the Tarakan Basin lies east of the major Mayne
growth fault, and comprises both Pliocene and
Pleistocene depocentres with thicknesses up to
several thousand metres.
Depocentre locations and sedimentary environ-
ments appear to have been controlled by several
factors: (a) Subsidence accompanied by isostatic
loading in deltas supplied by large rivers such as
the Kayan River (Bulungan delta) in the south, the
mainly Pliocene Sesayap River in the central area,
and the Simengaris River (Miocene and Pliocene
deltas) in the north; (b) Progressive channel-
switching as flows were diverted by islands
emerging due to inversion tectonics, and (c)
Growth faulting along the entire eastern margin.
Anticlines
The largest anticlines in the basin are the elongate
Tarakan (axial length + 100 kin) and Bunyu (+ 40
km) arches, the shorter (_+ 30 kin) Ahus arch to the
north, the Mandul dome, the Sembakung high, the
series of north-south oriented growth-anticlines on
the downthrown side of the Mayne fault, and the
unnamed high east of the Vanda-I well. The Ta-
rakan and Bunyu arches host 92% ot' the known
commercial hydrocarbon accumulations, and most
of the offshore exploration effort has |housed on
their plunging noses or flanks.
The Tarakan Arch runs down the spine of the is-
land and plunges south-southeastwards. It is
obliquely transected by a series of left-stepping,
north-northwest to north oriented faults. The na-
ture of these complex, discontinuous faults sug-
gests an element of wrenching. The Bunyu Arch is
much shorter and plunges at an azimuth diverging
slightly from the axis of the Tarakan Arch. The
large Bunyu Field is oriented roughly north-south
and its downthrown closure is independent of a
large north-south fault that transects the feature.
Bunyu and Bunyu Tapa gas fields have been in-
terpreted as growth-fault rollovers by Purnomo
and Kadir (1992).
Theories for the generation of these major arches
include eastward gravitational sliding, with early
compression from the east that later reversed to
come from the west (van Bemmelen,.1949, p.
354). A gravity-glide theory is also proposed for
KAL-11
the folding in the Kutei basin (Ott, 1987). An-
other possibility is that deep thrusting from the
west formed the anticlines. This is suggested by
the remarkably similar style of symmetrical fold-
ing that appears clearly at depth on seismic sec-
tions from offshore NW Sabah, Malaysia. Hinz et
a1.(1989) interpreted these Malaysian folds to
have been generated by deep, NW-verging thrusts.
Fault Systems
The two dominant fault sets in the Tarakan Basin
are oriented northeast and north to north-
northwest. The north trending faults are best de-
veloped in the east, where the Mayne Fault system
extends over a length of 150 km. and represents
the extensional edge of the Holocene basin. These
are down-to-basin growth faults with throws ex-
ceeding 2000 m. The northeast trending, fault set is
ubiquitous in the northwestern comer of the basin
but rare south of Tarakan Island. It consists of
down-to-basin tensional faults with associated
upthrown and downthrown closures, such as the
large Sembakung Field.
The Mayne Fault system soles out to the east at
around 5.5 sec. TWT. tt appears to separate a
subsiding, tensional, nassive margin to the east
from a triangular tract with compressional folds.
The compression was contemporaneous (in
places) with the eastern tensional regime. The
juxtaposition of these two regimes can be ex-
plained by stress relaxation, away from a thrust-
front that decreases in intensity to the southeast,
KAL-12
where extension is occun'ing into accomodation
space created by subsidence into the Celcbes Sea.
South of the Tarakan Basin, the pronounced NW-
oriented shelf-break suggests a mqior wrench
system which may connect into thc Palu limit and
also link with the southward-subducting trench
north of Sulawesi.
STRATIGRAPHY
The stratigraphic sequence ill NE Kalimantan has
been divided into five cycles (Achmad & Sanmel,
1984), each terminated by volcanism, uplift and
exposure. Cycle boundaries appear to be gener-
ally correlative with Haq et al. (1987) coastal on-
lap curves, including events at 16.5 (Mid-
Miocene), 6.6 (Late Miocene) and 2.8 Ma (Mid-
Pliocene). More detailed work, however, has
shown greater influence of tectonics on sedimen-
tation, with the effects of eustacy playing a sub-
sidiary role.
The first two cycles (Eocene to mid-Miocene) are
not relevant to this Atlas, as Tarakan Basin pro-
duction begins in most areas with the mid-
Miocene. Younger stratigraphic sequences exhibit
a gradual shoaling from marine proximal to distal
environments (offshore to the east) in the late
Miocene and early Pliocene to continental braided
and fluvial point bar deposits (to the west) during
late Pliocene to Pleistocene. However, transgres-
sions interrupted both sequences giving rise to in-
tercalations of shallow marine deposits.
Miocene
Mapping of outcrops and well penetrations on-
shore in the neighbouring Tidung sub-basin have
proven Miocene deposits up to 5,000 m. thick.
Offshore, the total Miocene thickness is unknown,
as only a i?w hundred metres of Miocene section
have been drilled. Facies encountered include
proximal deltaics, now deeply buried at Sem-
bakung field, prograding eastward into deep wa-
ter facies on Nunukan island and deep marine
delta front facies encountered in offshore wells.
Surprisingly, shallow marine and even continental
facies occur far to the east, suggesting that the
eastern basin margin was emergent during part of
the Miocene. These clastic sequences were all
succeeded by shallow marine limestones depos-
ited variously in delta lnargin or platfoma envi-
ronnaents.
The productive sequence on Bunyu island com-
prises mainly "['abul. Santul and Tarakan lbrma-
tion sandstones of Miocene and Pliocene age, but
a few reservoirs (Bunyu Fro.) arc Pleistocene.
The Mio-Pliocene formations consist of delta-
front facies of a late Miocene to Pliocene delta
interpreted at Bunyu to have prograded locally
from the southwest (Akuanbatin et al.. 1984).
Pliocene
Pliocene deposits of deep to shallow marine
shales, siltstones, and thin. interbedded sandstones
unconformably overlie Miocene platform carbon-
ates. In the west, on Bunyu and Tarakan islands,
up to 3000 m. of Pliocene sandstones and shales
exhibit coarsening-upwards, deltaic marine char-
acteristics of the 'Santul'-type facies. These are
overlain by massive continental sandstones, coals,
and progressively thinner shales of the Tarakan
Formation. This unit crops out on Tarakma lsland,
where the thickest sandstones (over 1200 m. cu-
mulative) are preserved. These massive sand-
stones are the prolific producers in the Palnusian,
Juata and parts of Bunyu and Bunyu Tapa fields.
Carbonates are also present in the Pliocene, but
these were deposited far basinward from the turbid
deltas and they are now both deeply buried and in
deep water. Pliocene production is a notable dif-
ference t}om the Kutei basin, which produces pre-
dominantly from Middle to late Miocene sand-
stones. The Miocene thus remains underexplored
in the Tarakan basin.
Pleistocene
The Pleistocenc Bunyu and Sadjau lbrmations
comprise a sequence o[" sandstones, shales, and
coals of shallow marine and continental origin.
Emergence of the inverted arches affected the dis-
tribution of sandstones which bypassed crests but
accumulated in the troughs. Sediment dispersal
was directed predominantly into the deep Kantil
trough, between the earlier Pliocene depocenters.
The Bunyu Formation is missing by non deposi-
tion and erosion on Tarakan island and much of
the mainland, where Miocene and older sequences
KAL-13
crop out. Carbonates also fomaed in the Pleisto-
cene, mainly in the clearer waters to the east of the
Mayne fault.

SEISMIC STRATIGRAPHY

Productive sequences in the stratigraphic section

provide little joy for seismic and sequence
stratigraphers: sequence boundaries cannot be
identified on wireline logs or from lithology in
these massive sandstone sequences, and seismic
data do not show continuous reflectors represent-
ing easily traceable sequence boundaries with
well-defined, 'text book' features such as ontaps,
offflaps and condensed sections. The seismic ex-
arnples in this Atlas illustrate past (and, in some
cases, present) difficulties of shooting and proc-
essing seismic records. They also indirectly re-
mind us that these fields were originally found
without the aid of seismic data. Future improve-
ments in seismic data quality and coverage should,
however, help identify further reserves in the Ta-
rakan and the larger NE Kalimantan basin area.

KAL-14
REFERENCES CITED:

Achmad, Z. and L. Samuel. 1984. Stratigraphy and depositional cycles in the N.E. Kalimantan Basin.
Proceedings Indonesian Petroleum Association, 13th Annual'Convention, p. 109-120.

Akuanbatin, H., T. Rosandi and L. Samuel. 1984. Depositional environment of the hydrocarbon bear-
ing Tabul, Santul and Tarakan Formations at Bunyu Island, N.E. Kalimantan. Proceedings
Indonesian Petroleum Association, 13th Annual Convention, p. 425-442.

Haq, B.U., J. Hardenbol, and P.R. Vail. 1987. Chronology of fluctuating sea levels since the Triassic.
Science, v. 235, p. 1156-1166.

Hinz, K., E.H.K. Kempter, A. M. Mohammed, J. Meyer, D. Mohammed, H. Vosberg, J. Weber and
J. Benavidez. 1989. Thrust tectonics along the north-western continental margin of Sabah/
Borneo. Geol. Rundschau, 78 (3), p. 705 - 730.

Ott, H.L. 1987. The Kutei Basin - a unique structural history. Proceedings Indonesian Petroleum
Association, 16th Annual Convention, p. 30%316.

Pumomo, E., and R. Kadir. 1992. A new concept for hydrocarbon exploration in Bunyu Island,
Northeast Kalimantan. Proceedings Indonesian Association of Geologists (IAGI), XXI Arm.
Mtg. p.147-159

Van Bemmelen, R.W. 1949. The Geology of Indonesia. 2nd Edition. Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague
(1970 reprint), 3 volumes, p.354.

Wight, A. W. R., UH. Hare and J. re. Reynolds. 1993. Tarakan Basin, NE. Kalimantan, Indonesia :
A century of explorat'lon and future potential. Geol. Soc. Malaysia, Bulletin 33, Nov. 1993.
p. 263 - 288

KAL-15
III. BARITO BASIN
Modified from X Courteney and X K Wiman (1991) Oil and Gels Fields Atlas,
vol. 5 - Kalimantan, LP.A., p. 17 - 20
The Barito basin is located along the southeastern
edge of continental crust in the Sunda Shield. It is
separated from the Asem-Asem and Pasir sub-
basins to the east by the uplifted Meratus
Mountains. To the north, it is separated from the
Kutei basin by the Adang flexure/Barito Cross
High. Within its internal framework, the Barito
basin contains the northeast-oriented Barito
Foredeep, which is flanked to the west by the
Bafito Platform and to the east by the Meratus
Mountains.
During Middle Cretaceous time, subduction
beneath southeast Sundaland occurred along the
Meratus suture zone. This convergence was
followed by the collision of a micro-continental
plate in late Cretaceous time. Early Tertiary
tensile reactivation produced a series of
northwest-oriented rifts. While the bounding
normal faults of these rifts extended, longitudinally
for more than 50 Km. on both sides of the present
Meratus mountains, the vertical expression was
probably no more than 500 to 1000 m.
TECTONICS AND SEDIMENTATION
A sequence of alluvial and lacustrine sediments in
the Lower Tanjung Formation was deposited in
the rifts during the latest Paleocene. In the earliest
Middle Eocene a marine transgression began in the
east, yielding more fluvio-deltaic sediments that
eventually became marine as the transgression
progressed northwest along the rift axes. A major
regional unconformity at the end of the Middle
KAL-16
Eocene separates shallow marine shales of the
Lower Tanjung Fin. from those of the Upper
Tanjung F m The Upper Tanjung marine shales
were deposited across most of the basin as the
transgression progressively submerged the higher
remnants of the rift margins at the end of the
Eocene and early Oligocene. Relatively stable
marine conditions then prevailed until a major
regression in the Middle Oligocene exposed most
of the basin for a prolonged period.
Following this erosional phase, the shallow marine
Berai carbonates were deposited during a major
transgression in the late Oli~ocene. Carbonate
deposition continued into the early Miocene but
was increasingly interrupted by an influx of fine
grained clastics from the Schwaner Mountains to
the northwest. Carbonate development ceased in
the early Miocene with the onset of significant
prodeltaic input from the west. Easterly-
prograding, regressive sequences then dominated
Miocene deposition. This deltaic sedimentation
was punctuated by a number of abrupt regressive
events, which are,used to divide the section into
five regional units of the Upper and Lower
Warukin formations. The Lower Warukin grades
from prodelta facies at the base through delta front
to lower delta plain. It is separated from the
Upper Warukin by a sharp break in formation
water salinities marking an abrupt change to upper
delta plain facies.
A compressional stress regime began in the late
Miocene with the re-emergence of the Meratus
Mountains to the east. Sediments shed from this
uplift created rapid loading, and subsidence
occurred across the present depocenter. The stress
reversal caused re-activation of many of the older
tensional features in the Tanjung Raya area.
Deltaic sediments of the Dahor Formation were
then derived from the north and west and
accumulated in the rapidly subsiding depocenter.
These strata interfinger with thick clastic wedges
being shed off the mountains to the east in a
structural and depositional regime that continues
today.
EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION
HISTORY
Although the first reconnaissance of the Barito
Basin began in 1854, it was not until 1939 that
BPM discovered commercial hydrocarbons at
Tanjung field. BPM and NKPM also recovered oil
from shallow boreholes around the Warukin
structure during the 1930's. A series of 40 wells
were drilled in the western part of the b~isin based
on gravity anomalies, but only one encountered
shows of gas. Thereafter, BPM returned to the
Tanjung area and drilled numerous shallow
stratigraphic holes. These lead to the discovery of
major oil reserves at Tanjung-1, in Lower Tanjung
Formation (Eocene) sandstones.
WW II forestalled development of Tanjung, but
work resumed afterwards when a pipeline to
Balikpapan was constructed.. The field had 89
wells by 1965. Production later declined, and two
separate waterfioods were started by 1983. With
cumulative production standing around 100
MMBO in 1989, Southern Cross .(now a
e
subsidiary of Bow Valley) initiated another
waterflood EOR project.
In 1963, Barito basin exploration and develop-
ment was assumed by P.T. Pertamin (now
Pertamina). The Warukin structure, drilled earlier
and productive from Lower Warukin sandstones,
was finally declared commercial in 1965, but the
nearby Kambitin accumulation (including the
Bagok structure) is still undeveloped. Pertamina
discovered the Tapian Timur field in 1967,
followed by the single-welD~anta discovery made
in the Berai limestone, which has been an
intermittent but largely unsuccessful objective in
the basin. Other exploration plays concentrated
on the western, overthrusted edge of the Meratus
Mountains. Although thick zones with shows
were encountered, the wells, relying on a sub-
thrust seal against the igneous Basement, were
unsuccessful.
Current activity in the basin centres arround the
Tanjung field. There, Pertamina Bow Valley
J.O.B. is currently in the final stages of
implementing a waterflood, which will boost
injection from 20,000 to 120,000 BWPD over the
next two years.
KAL-17
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