Abstract: Hydrocarbon Play Fairways in Western Offshore Basins of India

JOKHAN, RAM, P. MOHAPATRA, G.P. GANESAN*

Kutch-Saurashtra offshore, Bombay offshore and Kerala-Konkan offshore basins are the three sedimentary basins located on the western continental shelf of India, continuing further into deep waters beyond the shelf-slope break. These polycyclic basins initiating as intracratonic rifts at different times eventually acquired pericratonic character evolving through typical syn- and postrift stages. Middle Miocene and younger compressive stage characterized by oblique slip movements are clearly discernible in these basins as a modifying tectonic style.

These three basins together account for about 3 billion tonnes of hydrocarbons in place, most of which have been discovered in Bombay offshore basin. The petroleum systems in this basin are related to the source kitchens in the synrift sequence supplying hydrocarbons to the synrift clastics and postrift clastics as well as carbonate reservoirs. The principal trapping elements are provided by drape structures over rift shoulders, fault controlled traps generated by Middle Miocene and Younger inversion tectonics and porosity pinchouts. Lack of commercial discoveries notwithstanding, the Kutch-Saurashtra and Kerala-Konkan basins are perceived to hold sufficient potential in view of their favorable set-up for formation of a petroleum system. Besides the known petroliferous trends in these basins, the frontier deep water areas of western offshore offer several encouraging exploration targets which are currently under active pursuit.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90942©1997 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Vienna, Austria