Mesozoic-Cenozoic Stratigraphy and Tectonic Development of the Southern Great Tarakan Basin, Northeast Borneo, Indonesia

Abstract

We analyzed the tectonics and stratigraphy of the Southern Great Tarakan Basin to determine its tectonic evolution during the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Eras, the evolution of basin geometry, and the potential of hydrocarbon using integrated surface and subsurface data. Southern Great Tarakan Basin can be divided into three sub-basins, Berau, Muara, and South Tarakan. They comprise deposits of Jurassic to Quaternary age, which can be assigned five mega sequences based on their lithological characteristics and tectonic development. We divide the tectonic events into four main phases; (1) contractional Jurassic-Cretaceous, (2) extensional Paleogene, (3) subsidence Early Neogene, and (4) contractional Late Neogene. The development of the strike-slip activity influenced the geometric evolution of the two sub-basins. NW-SE transpressional structures formed during the contraction phase caused most of the existing structure in Paleogene reactivated and inverted, followed by basement uplift and erosion. Consequently, the evolution of the transpressional system caused The Great Tarakan Basin to be divided into five sub-basins during the Late Miocene-Pliocene. Moreover, five horizons with hydrocarbon potential exist in the southern part of The Greater Tarakan Basin; three plays in the Berau Sub-basin, and two main plays in the Muara Sub-basin. The Late Neogene structures in the Berau Sub-basin control the accumulation, migration, and trapping mechanism, whereas these structures do not exist in Muara; hence, this sub-basin is dominated by stratigraphic traps.

Extensional deformation of a shale‐dominated delta: Tarakan Basin, offshore Indonesia

“…2; e.g. Brondijk, 1962;Balaguru, 2008;Balaguru et al, 2003;Lunt and Madon, 2017;Morley et al, 2021;Krisnabudhi et al, 2022); (ii) associated gravity-driven deformation around offshore Borneo, such as West Luconia, Baram and Tarakan delta (e.g. Morley, 2003a;Morley et al, 2011); and, (iii) several regional, Neogene unconformities that span the South China sea and NW Borneo (e.g.…”

“…Hidayati et al, 2007;Putra et al, 2017;Maulin et al, 2021;Krisnabudhi et al, 2022). There are also deeper, rift-related normal faults affecting the basement- (Biantoro et al, 1996;Krisnabudhi et al, 2022). Middle-Late Miocene deformation was coeval with a progressively increasing rate of sediment accumulations (from 160 to 330 m/my) and a global sea-level fall after the Middle Miocene climatic optimum (MMCO) (SEA59; Fig.…”

“…Borneo Island and adjacent areas were subject to three main stages of Paleogene lithospheric deformation (Figure 2): (i) a counter‐clockwise rotation of Borneo of ca. 35° in Late Eocene (41.2–33.9 Ma) (Advokaat et al, 2018); (ii) onset of rifting in Makassar Strait in Middle‐Late Eocene (38–36 Ma) until Early Miocene (Satyana, 2015; Situmorang, 1982), which possibly simultaneous with the opening of the Celebes Sea (Lentini & Darman, 1996) and/or the generation of the Tarakan Basin (Krisnabudhi et al, 2022; Satyana et al, 1999).…”

“…The interaction of uplift and subsidence events since Neogene resulted in originating: (i) onset of rapid sedimentation of up to 10 km thick deltaic sequence (Hall & Nichols, 2002; Lunt, 2019; Lunt & Madon, 2017) that unconformably overlay Oligocene sedimentary unit in NW and N Borneo (SEAU 52 in Figure 2; e.g. Balaguru, 2008; Balaguru et al, 2003; Brondijk, 1962; Krisnabudhi et al, 2022; Lunt & Madon, 2017; Morley et al, 2021); (ii) associated gravity‐driven deformation around offshore Borneo, such as West Luconia, Baram and Tarakan delta (e.g. Morley, 2003a; Morley et al, 2011); and, (iii) several regional, Neogene unconformities that span the South China sea and NW Borneo (e.g.…”

“…Morley, 2003a; Morley et al, 2011); and, (iii) several regional, Neogene unconformities that span the South China sea and NW Borneo (e.g. Cullen, 2014; Cullen et al, 2010; Hutchison, 2005; Krisnabudhi et al, 2022; Levell, 1987; Lunt & Madon, 2017; Madon et al, 2013).…”