Abstract: Structural Evolution of the Sarawak, East Malaysia, Deep-Water Area: Hydrocarbon Trap Assessment

Barry S. Smith, Michael H. Carter

Considerable potential for large accumulations of hydrocarbons exists in the area off the shelf of Sarawak where water depths range from 200 to 1800 m. No drilling has taken place in the vicinity to date. Successful development of this potential depends on the integration of a conceptual geological model based on regional geology, proximal well information, and the interpretation of a 10 s seismic data set acquired by Petronas in 1989.

The regional geological structure is related to the Oligocene opening of the South China Sea and subsequent reactivation of the rift systems.

The interpretation of the seismic data set identified a series of north-trending rifted basins. Some have dimensions of over 100 km on strike and 50 km in the dip direction. These basins include a variety of very large rift-related structures that have been affected by several deformational episodes. They include anticlines related to fault propagation folding, tilted fault blocks and uplifted fault blocks associated with major boundary fault zones, and some localized occurrences of crustal shortening.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90982©1994 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, August 21-24, 1994