Evaluation of the Source Rock Potential of the Southern Orange Basin

Abstract

The main objective of conducting this study is to the address the unresolved question of the presence and extent of active source rocks, past or present, in the southern Orange Basin with the limited data available. If so, can predictive models be reasonably proposed to help predict and delineate the source rock, and possibly quantify its potential? A comprehensive understanding of the petroleum system elements, source rock specifically, is pivotal for the identification of petroleum plays. The source rock intervals are evaluated using a range of available datasets to help locate and understand the source rocks in the Orange Basin. Well information from commercial and academic efforts, which intersected source rocks in the study area, play a crucial role in providing information about the presence and quality of source rock. Analysed and interpreted vintage and fairly recent geochemical datasets focused on the comparison and correlation of sparsely located source rock is also used for correlation of the source rock interval. Even though such data is available, it does not focus on predicting the extent of the source rock interval(s) in the southern Orange Basin. The study also encompasses the integration of 2D seismic, petrophysical logs, sequence stratigraphy and basin modelling for the purpose of evaluating the source rock. The results of the study are expected to lead to a comprehensive understanding and provide a strong basis for the identification and prediction of the source rock interval(s). Moreover, it will allow for the integration of the existing geochemical data in order to assess the potential of the source rock interval(s) in the southern Orange Basin.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90332 © 2018 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Cape Town, South Africa, November 4-11, 2018