TECTONIC EVOLUTION AND SEDIMENTATION OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA
Note for file: summary of the AAPG GTW in Kotabalu, 26-27 May 2015
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AAPG organized a workshop on the Tectonic Evolution and Sedimentation of the South China Sea Region on 26 and 27 May, 2015, in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. This workshop was supported by CCOP, and sponsored by IHS, Shell and Petronas. The Universiti Malaysia in Sabah (UMS) provided a local support for this event. Full report of the event is available in the AAPG website which include some photos of the event (Click here for the link)
The organizer of this workshop were:
Herman Darman (Convenor) Shell E&P Malaysia
Ioannis Abatzis (Convenor) GEUS Denmark
Allagu Balaguru (Technical Chair) Sarawak Shell Berhad Malaysia
Advisory Board members:
M. Redhani B A Rahman PETRONAS Malaysia
Pham Thanh Liem Vietnam Oil and Gas Group Vietnam
Felix Tongkul University Malaysia Sabah Malaysia
Mark J. Harvey Sarawak Shell Berhad Malaysia
Technical Committee members:
Muluk A. Wahab PETRONAS Malaysia
Mario Aurelio University of the Philippines Philippines
Kevin Meyer Talisman Energy Vietnam
V R Vijayan Minerals and Geoscience Malaysia Malaysia
Tony Swiecicki Cerberus Consultants Malaysia
Tan Chun Hock Talisman Energy U.K.
Shahrul Amar Abdullah PETRONAS Malaysia
Giuseppe Cadel ENI S.p.A Italy
Phlemon George Total E&P Malaysia Malaysia
Roberto Barragan Hess Corporation Malaysia
Key note speakers in the workshop are:
The two end members of the theory related to the formation of the South China Sea is described in this picture by Fyhn et al, 2007. It is also closely related to the rotation of Borneo. Further description of the tectonic model is available in Wikipedia: Tectonics of the South China Sea - Wikipedia.
Summary of the workshop discussions are listed below. Please note that all these may change through time after further analysis and/or with more data availability.
Common agreement
1. Top Crocker Unconformity established
2. Proto SCS is probably exist but not observable on the surface / outcrop. Dimension and location are debatable.
3. The importance of understanding unconformities
4. Many unconformities
5. Slab pull is the favorite model compare to extrusion model but no accurate model. A hybrid model may be accepted by most.
6. Need to sort out stratigraphy
Common disagreement
1. Unconformity distribution in term of time and space
2. MMU is diachronous
3. Interpretation on data
4. Name of unconformities
5. Definition for synrift; by geometry, lithology,age?
6. Age of sea floor spreading and time for stop spreading
7. Tectonic model
8. Using Atlantic spreading model as analog
Proposal / suggestion
1. Correlation of unconformity if physical connection established (under CCOP, cros border stratigraphic correlation using seismic and well data
2. Share dataset between companies and academics to bridge gaps in knowledge between blocks
3. Increase data quality and consistency
4. More collaboration between government, industry, academia
5. More H2O (Hill to Offshore) / onshore-offshore integration
6. Expand biostratigraphy education
7. Workshop: biostratigraphy, focus on unconformity
8. Publish type section
9. Propose wells
10. Regional SW-NE sections
11. Cross Borneo gravity and seismic
12. Form a committee on stratigraphy of SCS
Not clear
1. What is the cause of the end of the spreading?
2. What CCOP can do to encourage governments to be more open on sharing data?
3. Why CNOOC, SINOPEC, CNPC are not actively participate with other NOC like Petronas and Petrovietnam?
Critical data to be released:
1. Offshore Sabah seismic from coast to trough. To understand sediment transport and basin fill history.
2. Sulu Sea seismic to understand basin fill history
3. Comprehensive geophysical data pack around West Baram Line to understand crustal orientation and to understand sediment deposits on both sides of the line.
4. Each country to release a data set which are open to anyone who like to analyze them. Well with biostrat, 2D Seismic
5. Seismic data across political border. This well help to map the unconformity.
6. Gravity and magnetic data need to be released.
7, more seismic / data from Java and Sumatra as the make
8. Chinese publications need to be circulated out
9. Chinese wells and/or publications with Chinese well data
Critical data needed:
1. Deep seismic (e.g. For Sulu Sea, across Borneo) to confirm / investigate deep structures
2. Seismic tomography
3, Regional seismic across SCS to understand the distribution of the unconformities
4. More outcrop studies to include gravity and paleomagnetic
5. Stratigraphic tests in SCS margins
Common agreement
1. Top Crocker Unconformity established
2. Proto SCS is probably exist but not observable on the surface / outcrop. Dimension and location are debatable.
3. The importance of understanding unconformities
4. Many unconformities
5. Slab pull is the favorite model compare to extrusion model but no accurate model. A hybrid model may be accepted by most.
6. Need to sort out stratigraphy
Common disagreement
1. Unconformity distribution in term of time and space
2. MMU is diachronous
3. Interpretation on data
4. Name of unconformities
5. Definition for synrift; by geometry, lithology,age?
6. Age of sea floor spreading and time for stop spreading
7. Tectonic model
8. Using Atlantic spreading model as analog
Proposal / suggestion
1. Correlation of unconformity if physical connection established (under CCOP, cros border stratigraphic correlation using seismic and well data
2. Share dataset between companies and academics to bridge gaps in knowledge between blocks
3. Increase data quality and consistency
4. More collaboration between government, industry, academia
5. More H2O (Hill to Offshore) / onshore-offshore integration
6. Expand biostratigraphy education
7. Workshop: biostratigraphy, focus on unconformity
8. Publish type section
9. Propose wells
10. Regional SW-NE sections
11. Cross Borneo gravity and seismic
12. Form a committee on stratigraphy of SCS
Not clear
1. What is the cause of the end of the spreading?
2. What CCOP can do to encourage governments to be more open on sharing data?
3. Why CNOOC, SINOPEC, CNPC are not actively participate with other NOC like Petronas and Petrovietnam?
Critical data to be released:
1. Offshore Sabah seismic from coast to trough. To understand sediment transport and basin fill history.
2. Sulu Sea seismic to understand basin fill history
3. Comprehensive geophysical data pack around West Baram Line to understand crustal orientation and to understand sediment deposits on both sides of the line.
4. Each country to release a data set which are open to anyone who like to analyze them. Well with biostrat, 2D Seismic
5. Seismic data across political border. This well help to map the unconformity.
6. Gravity and magnetic data need to be released.
7, more seismic / data from Java and Sumatra as the make
8. Chinese publications need to be circulated out
9. Chinese wells and/or publications with Chinese well data
Critical data needed:
1. Deep seismic (e.g. For Sulu Sea, across Borneo) to confirm / investigate deep structures
2. Seismic tomography
3, Regional seismic across SCS to understand the distribution of the unconformities
4. More outcrop studies to include gravity and paleomagnetic
5. Stratigraphic tests in SCS margins
