Deep Water Resedimented Carbonate Plays in the Far East

Lapointe, Philippe; Borgomano, Jean

Deep water resedimented carbonates are described in carbonate sequences through time. From their good reservoir potential, significant hydrocarbon productions occur for example the Mississipian Karachaganak or Tengiz field in Kazakhstan, the Permian Basin fields in the USA (Berlin, Mescalero Escarpe or Happy field), the cretaceous Poza Rica and others in Mexico, Aquila in Adriatic Sea (Italy) and the Oligo-Miocene Ruby field in Indonesia.

Two major types of resedimented limestone are identified:

1. Plays attached to the platform, for example in the Ruby Field they consists of re-deposited carbonate located on the outer slope of a large carbonate platform that was subject to erosion and re-deposition in a toe of slope environment as a debris flow fan, recognizable on seismic. Limestone clasts sizes range from pebble to boulders within a muddy limestone matrix; then, the transported packstone and wackestone clasts contain diverse bioclasts that originated in shallow water.

2. Plays detached from the platform, they are recognizable in seismic, disconnected but showing channels and turbidites or mass-flows. They are concentrated by platform geometry: reentrant, canyon developments and, dependant of the platform grain productivity.

Critical factors remain the bottom and particularly updip seal. Lateral and downdip seals, very often, as per clastic turbidites are created by facies changes; secondary structuration favors the trapping.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90163©2013AAPG 2013 Annual Convention and Exhibition, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, May 19-22, 2013