Sandakan and Semporna Basin Exploration Potential Evaluation Via Scalable Dynamic Sub-Surface Evaluation Workflow

The project was intended to unveil hidden potential of the East Sabah Basin in the Borneo in terms of the hydrocarbon opportunity. Considering the huge success in the other parts of Borneo such as Sarawak, NW Sabah basin, Brunei, Kalimatan etc., the East Sabah basin could be a potential area to further investigate. In this project, Halliburton has taken up a new approach called "Dynamic Subsurface Evaluation", integrating some state of art digital technologies to expedite the whole evaluation process from seismic interpretation to prospect generation and risking. The notable technology used in this project is "Scalable Earth Modeling" which is a grid-less modeling approach reducing the challenges of the resolution of the model augmented by the Neftex® solution to leverage the regional understanding from the proprietary geology database of Neftex®. Additionally, some detailed workflows like full scale 3D Petroleum Systems Modeling have also been adopted to de-risk the play and prospect to uncover the potential of the exploration opportunity. Analysis of techno-stratigraphy and seismic data in the Sandakan Basin, offshore eastern Sabah, Malaysia, spanning several decades of exploration since the 1970s, with some minor hydrocarbon discoveries. Out of the twenty-five (25) wells drilled in the basin until 2015, only seven (7) have yielded hydrocarbon discoveries, all occurring between 1970 and 2000. Through the drilling of these wells there are mainly three main proven play types have been identified: The "Tungku play," occurring from Early to Middle Miocene, targets reservoirs within the Tanjong Formation equivalents in the Segama Group, deposited as part of the synrift sequence.The "Sebahat play," spanning from Middle to Late Miocene, features reservoirs within the Sebahat Formation, deposited as the part of post-rift sequence.The Ganduman Play, Late Miocene play which is characterized by prograding deltaic shoreface and shelf sequences, advancing southeastwards from an uplifting hinterland in central and northern Sabah. The Sandakan Basin has experienced several extensional and compressional deformation events, resulting in major erosional unconformities, notably during the Middle and Late Miocene. These unconformities, caused by compression and faulting, are responsible for trap formation but also pose risks to trap integrity and preservation.