Gorontalo 2D Non-Exclusive Seismic Survey

Central Indonesia, Indonesia

Searcher Seismic in conjunction with project partner Fugro have acquired, processed and interpreted the 8,009 km Gorontalo 2D Seismic Survey. Prior to the acquisition of the survey there had been no significant petroleum exploration over the survey limits and the hydrocarbon potential as well as the geological significance of the basin was poorly understood. The project operator’s interpretation of the dataset has shown that the Gorontalo Basin holds a huge potential for extensive hydrocarbon reserves which is yet to be realised.

Initial industry perception understood the Gorontalo Basin as a thin sedimentary sequence underlain by oceanic crust, however review of the seismic data has revealed that Gorontalo Basin is underlain by probable Eocene age rift grabens, similar in geometry to the fluvio-lacustrine source rock-rich mega-sequences that underlie many oil-prone petroleum systems in Indonesia. With localized sediment thickness’s greater than 10km, southward migration routes and the presence of onshore oil seeps along the southern edge of the Gorontalo Basin, the Gorontalo 2D Non-Exclusive Seismic Survey has opened up an exploration pathway into a new unexplored and prospective basin.

The Gorontalo 2D Non-Exclusive Seismic Survey was acquired in 2006 and is located in Tomini Bay, which is situated on the northern Indonesian Island of Sulawesi. The survey was acquired utilising long offset seismic cabling with 8 to 12 second recordings available throughout the dataset, and includes a tie to the Alpha-1 well drilled in the North-West of Sula.

A recent review of all available data from the region, including the TGS Drop-core and Multibeam data has been fully integrated into a new prospectivity review, undertaken by ISIS in Perth. Prospect identification, risking and volumetrics have been undertaken as part of this review, which is available to clients licensing the underlying datasets. 

Project Parameters