Print this pageGeological Modeling of the Offshore Orange Basin, West Coast of South Africa
The Orange Basin covers an area of roughly 130 000 square kilometers relevant to the 200 m isobath (Gerrard & Smith, 1982) and has roughly one well drilled for every 4000 square kilometers. The basin has proven hydrocarbon reserves and potential for further discoveries.
The study area is located within South African exploration license blocks 3A/4A and 3B/4B and covers a region of roughly 97 km by 150 km. The study aims at understanding the geological processes responsible for the formation of the Orange Basin with a focus on the evolution of source rocks maturity. The Petrel software was used for seismic interpretation and well correlation and PetroMod (IES, Version 10) for basin modeling and assessing source rock maturity.
Preliminary seismic interpretation of the post Hauterivian succession shows a relative thickening of the sedimentary sequence westward as the basin evolves from the early drift to complete drift phase. Initial results from petroleum system modeling indicate that the Barremian- early Aptian source rock is at present over mature and producing mostly gas in the shelf areas whereas potential for oil is most likely still present in the deep water area of the basin where Tertiary progradation has resulted in renewed petroleum generation. The younger Cenomanian-Turonian source rock shows a lower transformation ratio than the older source rocks and modeling indicates that the source rock is mainly producing oil. Additional modeling is needed to further constrain the model results.
AAPG Search and Discover Article #90100©2009 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition 15-18 November 2009, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil