CHARACTERIZATION OF MIOCENE-PLIOCENE CARBONATE PLATFORMS, SOUTHERN SOUTHWEST PALAWAN BASIN, PHILIPPINES

Ma. Corazon Sta. Ana,

Texas A&M University Department of Geology & Geophysics,

College Station, TX,

[email protected]

Isolated carbonate platforms and buildups of the Likas Formation represent Miocene to Pliocene carbonate sedimentation in the southern end of the structurally complex Southwest Palawan Basin. Carbonate platforms grew on folded and faulted pre-middle Miocene siliciclastic strata in a depozone eastward of the Palawan accretionary wedge. The growth history of the isolated carbonate platforms in the area provides a record of syntectonic deformation and sea level fluctuations. Regional 2-D seismic reflection data, borehole data from wells and published literature will be used to study the isolated carbonate platforms in the basin. The goals of the project are to identify seismic facies, analyze the growth patterns of the carbonate platforms, and reconstruct the depositional history of the carbonate strata. Results from this study will aid in understanding the architecture of the carbonate platforms and determining the role of tectonic subsidence and/or sea level fluctuations to the growth and demise of the carbonate strata.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90060©2006 AAPG Foundation Grants-in-Aid