Exploring Deepwater Play System, Makassar Strait Area, Indonesia; Play & Risk Assessments for Hunting Future Discoveries

Brahmantyo K. Gunawan, Sunjaya E. Saputra, and Avicenia Darwis
Exploration, BPMIGAS, Jakarta, Indonesia

Makassar Strait located between Kalimantan and Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. It contain several basin which is Kutei & Tarakan mature basin, Lariang, Spermonde, & South Makassar Basin drilled basin with no discoveries. Since 1994, the exploration target has changed into deepwater play system in Kutei Basin, and the first discovery was reached at 1996 and then after that the discovery become significantly raised up to 3 BBOE with total cost up to US$930MM. Until 2006 there are more than 130 explorations well were drilled in deepwater play system in Kutei Basin with total success ratio around 50% and remaining known resources up to 3 BBO & 25 TCF gas. The successful story of deepwater discoveries in Kutei Basin has provoked the new discovery in Tarakan Basin at 2004-2006. Now the same success story is waiting to be announced in the Lariang, South Makassar & Spermonde Basin, which recently has been actively explored.

Deepwater play system has become a leading edge for inventing and applied new technology. The SX drilling technique is one of the inventing technologies for deepwater drilling to minimize drilling cost and make the drilling becomes more efficient and effective. Although the first discovery is still using 2D seismic data but with higher 3D seismic data the success ratio are being higher than before. 1st 3D seismic data in Deepwater area was in 1995 and until 2005 are covering almost entirely deepwater block in Kutai Basin. Meanwhile in Tarakan Basin 3D seismic data has guiding for the success of 2 discoveries in 2004-2005.

The most important key factors which affecting success discoveries are migration route, reservoir quality & geometry, and trapping geometry. These four factors must be carefully understood to build up play assessment to minimize risk in exploring deepwater play system, and it will instantly upgrade the opportunity to find hydrocarbons.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90078©2008 AAPG Annual Convention, San Antonio, Texas