--> ABSTRACT: New Exploration Targets in Malaysia: Deep Sandstone Reservoirs in Malay Basin and Turbidites in Sabah Basin, by Khalid B. Ngah; #91019 (1996)

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New Exploration Targets in Malaysia: Deep Sandstone Reservoirs in Malay Basin and Turbidites in Sabah Basin

Khalid B. Ngah

Much of the production in Malaysia is from middle to upper Miocene sandstones and carbonates in three main basins: Malay, Sarawak (its three subbasins--Central Luconia, Balingian and Baram), and Sabah. Fifteen fields produce an average of 630,000 bopd and 3.0 bcfgpd. More than 4.0 billion barrels of oil and 20 tcf of gas have been produced, and reserves are 4.2 billion barrels of oil and 90 tcf. Oil production will decline within the next 10 years unless new discoveries are made and/or improved oil recovery methods introduced, but gas production of 5 tcf, expected after the turn of the century, can be sustained for several decades.

Successful exploratory wells continue to be drilled in the Malaysian Tertiary basins, and others are anticipated with application of new ideas and technology. In the Malay basin, Miocene sandstone reservoirs in Groups L and M have been considered as very "high risk" targets; the quality of the reservoirs has generally been thought to be poor, especially toward the basinal center, where they occur at greater depth. The cause of porosity loss is primarily burial-related. Because of this factor and overpressuring, drilling of many exploration wells has been suspended at or near the top of Group L. In a recent prospect drilled near the basinal axis on the basis of advanced seismic technology, Groups L and M sandstones show fair porosity (8-15%) and contain gas. In the Sabah basin, turbidi e play has received little attention, partly because of generally poor seismic resolution in a very complex structural setting. Only one field is known to produce oil from middle Miocene turbidites. However, using recently acquired 3-D seismic data over this field, new oil pools have been discovered, and they are currently being developed. These finds have created new interest, as has Shell's recent major gas discovery from a turbidite play in this basin.

AAPG Search and Discover Article #91019©1996 AAPG Convention and Exhibition 19-22 May 1996, San Diego, California