--> Abstract: Simulation of the Tertiary Sedimentary Section of the Southern East Sea (Sea of Japan) and Its Application to Oil Exploration, by D. K. Cheong, G. L. Whittle, C. G. St. C. Kendall, R. L. Cannon, P. Moore, and S. H. Kim; #90987 (1993).

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CHEONG, D.K., Korea Ocean Research And Development Institute (Kordi), Seoul, South Korea; G.L. WHITTLE, and C.G.St.C. KENDALL, University Of South Carolina, Department Geological Sciences, Columbia, SC; R.L. CANNON, University of South Carolina, Department of Computer Sciences, Columbia, SC; P. MOORE, University Of South Carolina, Department of Geological Sciences, Columbia, SC; and S. H. KIM, Korea Petroleum Development Corporation, Seoul, Korea

ABSTRACT: Simulation of the Tertiary Sedimentary Section of the Southern East Sea (Sea of Japan) and Its Application to Oil Exploration

A two-dimensional computer-based graphical simulation (SEDPAK) was used to analyze the evolution of the southern part of the Ulleung Basin (Section 83-9) in the East Sea (Sea of Japan). Iterative editing of the input data file included varying: initial basin configuration, local tectonic behavior, eustatic sea level change, and amount and direction of clastic sediment deposition. The simulation reproduced the evolving geometry shown on the seismic section and the burial history of sediments through time.

The over 3,000 m thick sedimentary sequence is composed of sandstone and shale which have accumulated since the Early Miocene (17.5 Ma). The lower Miocene sequence was mostly formed in submarine fan, continental slope, and delta settings. The upper Pliocene and Pleistocene sequence was deposited asslumping or turbidite sediments in a shallow marine to deep marine setting.

If the burial path of the 17.5 to 16.5 Ma sequence is tracked, it was at a depth of 3,000 m at 12.5 Ma; was at 3,900 - 3,200 m at 6.33 Ma; was at 4,200 to 3,500 m at 3.83 Ma; and today is at 4700 to 4000 m. Through compiling the simulation data coupled with geothermal gradient information, the onset of hydrocarbon generation in this area is calculated to have been at 12.5 Ma, and the approximate migration path and the trapping mechanism of the hydrocarbon was established.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90987©1993 AAPG Annual Convention, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 25-28, 1993.