Disc Contents © IPA, 2006 - 4th Annual Convention Proceedings, 1975
Contents
PROCEEDINGS INDONESIA& PETROLEUM ASSOCIATiON
Fourth Annual Convention, June 1975
Search
T ~ A T l AND
~ ~ ~A ~~ ~D ~ I
IN THE KUTAl BASIN, KAL
ABSTRACT The Kutai sedimentary basin, situated
along the eastern continental margin of Kalimantan,
is one of the oldest and more prolific oil producing
areas in Indonesia. The drilling for hydrocarbon
began in the late nineteenth century and from 1969
to date, more than 90 exploratory wells have been
drilled.
The early stratigraphic subdivisions of the basin
were based primarily on biostratigraphic zones using
larger foraminifera. Presently, biostratigraphic zonat-
ion i s being refined by using smaller planktonic
and benthonic foraminifera, and calcareous nano-
plankton.
Sedimentation during the Early Tertiary was predami-
nantly controlled by northern and southern source
areas. Tectonic uplift of the Kuchmg High during
Late Oligocene time resulted in a major shift of the
sediment source area to the west. A high sediment
infiux formed extensive constructive delta systems
in Middle Miocene to Pliocene time, prograding
from west to east.
Hydrocarbon accumulations in the Kutai basin are
found in progressively younger sedimentary rocks
to the east and are within sandstone deposited in
a delta front and delta margin depositional environ-
ment.
I, I N T R Q D U C T ~ Q ~
GENERAL
The Kutai basin, situated along the eastern
continental margin of Kalimantan, Indonesia,
is one of the more prolific 6il producing
areas in Indonesia. The basin was formed in
Early Tertiary time and contains up to an
estimated 25,000 feet of sedimentary rocks
deposited in environments ranging from del-
taic and reefal to deep marine.
The drilling for hydrocarbons began in the
late nineteenth century followed shortly by
discoveries at Sanga-Sanga in 1897, Balikpapan/
Klandasan in 1898, Semberah-Pelarang in 1906
and Sarnboja in 1908. At the end of 1970,
more than 300 million barrels of crude oil
27
~ ~ ~ T A ~
had been produced from these fields, re-
presenting eight percent of Indonesia's iotai
production.
In 1966 Pertamina signed the first production
sharing c,ontracts with foreign oil companies.
These and later contracts increased the Oil
exploration activity and extended exploration
into the offshore areas. The first well drilled
under the provision Qf a Production Sharing
Contract in East Kalimantan was the Pertarnina-
Japex OM-CI well, spudded offshore m April
1969. Although this well did not discover
hydrocarbons, over 90 exploratory wells, or
approximately 15 wells per year, 'have since
been drilled on and offshore East K a ~ ~ ~ ~ t ~ n
with a discovery success ratio of 1 tp 3.
REGIONAL GEOLOGIC SETTING
The Kutai basin is bordered by the Kuching
High on the west, and separated from the
Tarakan sub-basin to. the north by the Mang-
kalihat Ridge. The Meratus Mountains separate
the southern Kutai basin into the Barito sub-
basin and the Pasir sub-basin. The Makasar
trough lies to the east of the Kzotai basin
(Fig. 1).
Early (?) Eocene to Recent sediments of the
Kutai badn cover an area of a p p ~ o x i ~ ~ a t ~ ~ y
280,000 square kilometers, a ~ p r o ~ ~ a ~ e ~ ~
ninety five percent being onshore.
Basin subsidence during the Early (?) Eocene
to Lower Oligocene resulted in accumulation
of a general transgressive sequence of sedi-
ments throughout the Kutai basin. Beginning
in Late Oligocene time sedimentation progaded
easterly in a general regression that culminated
with Recent sediments deposition along the
Kalimantan eastern coastline.
*) ~ E ~ T A M I N Unit
A IV - Balikpapan.
**) Union Oil Company of Indonesia - Balikpapan
28

Folds in the Kutai basin generally trend north- However, diagnostic larger foraminifera are
northeast with the exception .of folds on the absent in pliocene and younger sediments,
Mangkalihat Peninsula which trend east-west. and a more detailed zonation;based upon
An area of tight anticlinal folding subparallels smaller benthonic foraminifera has been prop-
the eastern Kalimantan coastline and forms osed b y Billman and Kartaadiputra (1974)
an anticlinorium approximately 50 kilometers to satisfactorily subdivide the Late Tertiary
wide. Fold density and intensity decreases (Late Miocene - Pliestocene).
westward into a central Kutai basin syncli-
The strat igraphic subdivision for sediments in
norium. To the east of the anticlinorium, the western Kutai basin is hown in Figure 2.
less intense, widely spaced folds interrupt the
offshore monoclinal east flank of the basin. III. STRATIGRAPHY AND
SEDIMENTATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The Kutai basin, the Barito and Pasir sub-
T h e writers thank the Managements of Per-
basins, all have a related depositional history
tamina, Union 0il, Kaltim Shell, Huffco, Total
from Eocene through the Middle Miocene.
and Ashland for granting permission to publish
During Late Miocene time, uplift of the Me-
the contents of this paper.
ratus Mountains divided the southern Kutai
TO staff members of Pertamina Unit IV and basin into the Barito and Pasir sub-basins.
Union Oil a sincere thanks is extended for
The similarity of sedimentation history between
their "thoughts and valuable discussion during
the Kutai and Barito sub-basins is illustrated
the preparation and writing of this paper.
by Fig. 2.
II. STRATIGRAPHIC SUBDIVISION A n overall westward marine transgression pre-
The Indonesian Letter Classification time
vailed in the northwest Kutai basin until Late
stratigraphic subdivision introduced by Van Oligocene time when orogenic activity and
tier Vlerk and Umgrove in 1927 has been used the initial emergence of the Kuching High
extensively in the Kutai basin. It is based upon reversed the .direction of Shoreline migration.
biostratigraphic zonation of large, shallow In the central Kutai basin, marine transgression
water benthonic foraminifera. was dominant 'through the Early Middle Mio-
cene. In Early Middle Miocene time the up-
Pertamina Unit IV and Roy M. Huffington lift of the Kuching High and Sunda Shield
Inc. adapted the Indonesian Letter Classificat- extended far enough to the south to interrupt
ion to local stratigraphic units and follow the ~ transgressive phase dominant during,the
zonation outlined in Table 1. Oligoce,ne in the central Kutai basin. Erom
Table 1 *

LOCAL STAGENAME AGE INDONESIAN

LETTER CLASSIFICATION
Alluvium Pleistocene O
Kampung Baru Pliocene Tgh
Late Miocene
Balikpapan Tf
Pulau Balang Middle Miocene
Bebulu Lmst.
Early Miocene
Te
Pamaluan
Tuyu Olig0cene Tcd
Telakai
Kuaro Eocene Tab

* After IPA East Katimantan.Field Guidebook, 1974


Middle Miocene to Recent the axis of the
Kutai basin migrated eastward by deposition
of sediments derived from the emergent west-
ern source area.
Sedimentation in the southwest Kutai basin
(Barito sub-basin) began with a marine Middle
Eocene transgression that continued through
Oligocene time.
A hiatus between Late Eocene mudstone and
Early Miocene shelf carbonates in the Tanjung
area records Late Oligocene tectonic activity.
Renewed tectonic activity in the Middle Mio-
cene (?) isolated the Barito sub-basin and a
regressive sequence of sediments gradually
filled the basin through Pliocene time.
EOCENE
Paleosedimentation and depositional environ-
ments for the Eocene through Pliocene Epochs
(Fig. 3 - 8) can be described in general from
data obtained by drilling and field surveys.
In general, the Middle Eocene stratigraphic
section consists of a transgressive series of
coarse to fine grained clastic sediments. Middle
Eocene basal conglomerates are observed in
outcrop along the east and west flanks of
the Meratus Mountains and in the Upper
Mahakam River area. Red beds associated with
these conglomerates suggest a terrestrial to
marginal marine environment of deposition
in the Middle Eocene that grades vertically
into a marine environment in some areas by
Late Middle Eocene time. Figure 3 illustrates
the Paleosedimentary environments of deposit-
ion and their postulated boundaries for the
Eocene Epoch. Two major positive areas exist-
ed 3n Eocene time, one southeast of the
Mangkalihat Peninsula, and one bordering tbe
south flank of the Kutai basin. These emergent
areas were the main sources of the coarse
clastics deposited during the Middle Eocene.
The oldest marine fossils found within the
transgressive series are of Middle Eocene age,
but sedimentation may have taken place during
the pre-Middle Eocene.
The paleostrarigraphy of specific areas illustrat-
es a marine transgression during the Middle
to Late Eocene. The Pertamina-Ashland well
Taka Talu No. 2 encountered coarse grained
conglomeratic sediments of Late Eocene age
29
resting directly on crystalline basement. The
coarse clastics grade upwards into sandy shale
with coal layers that suggest a paralic environ-
ment of deposition.
Middle (?) Eocene coarse conglomeratic sands,
resting directly on metasediments , were en-
countered in the Pertamina-Union Panain No. 1
well. Here also, the sequence grades vertically
inta interbedded coals and siltstones deposited
in a fluviatile to inner sublittoral environment
that was present through Late Eocene time.
In the Pertamina-Union well Birah No. 1 , coarse
grained, green and brown sandstones of Middle
Eocene age were drilled. Paleosedimentary
studies indicate a nonmarine, fluviatile environ-
ment of deposition. Overlying this sequence
are Late Middle Eocene fine to coarse grained
sandstones, interbedded with claystones, which
were deposited in a sublittoral marine environ-
ment.
In the northeast part of the basin, evidence
of the extent of Late Middle Eocene trans-
gression is demonstrated by comparing fine
grained sediments i n the Pertamina-Shell Sam-
bang No. 1 well of Late Middle Eocene age,
which were depasited in a marine neritic
environment, to the coarser marine elastic$,
of the same age, in the Birah No. 1 well.
This comparison suggests basin deepening to
the northwest of the Birah No. 1 well. The
nonmarine coarse clastics in Birah No. 1 in-
dicate an emergent area southeast of the Mang-
kalihat Peninsula that provided a source of
sediments deposited in the northern Kutai
basin.
In the Upper Mahakam area, the ICiham Halo
formation grades vertically from conglomerates
and sandstones, derived from local positive
areas during Late Middle Eocene, to inter-
bedded siltstones and claystones which were
deposited in an outer neritic to upper bathyal
environment during Late Eocene time.
In the southern Kutai basin, the deposition
of the coarse clastics, which occured during
the Middle to Late Eocene, was-followed by
deposition of argillaceous sediments alternating
with thick limestones deposits. In the central
and northern Kutai basin bathyal environment
clay and fine grained turbiditic sand and silt
were deposited on coarse clastics of Middle
Eocene age.
30

OLIGOCENE tensive shelf carbonates beginning t o develop

The Early Oligocene Paleosedimentation Map, in the southern Kutai basin (Berai Limestone),
Figure 4, illustrates a marine transgression plus the shallow marine carbonate deposits
within the basin. Thick limestones were de- (Taballar Limestone) on the north flank of
posited on an inner sublittoral stable shelf the Mangkalihat Peninsula,
in the southern Kutai basin, as evidenced In the central portion of the basin, thick
ip the Pertamina-Ashland Taka Talu No. 2 homogenous mudstones and interbedded sand-
well by barrier reef limestones deposits a p stones, along with thin limestones of the
proximately 2000 feet thick, overlying sandy Bongan Shale, were deposited in a generally
shale and coals of Eocene age. bathyal marine environment.
In the Tanjung area, paralic sediments and
very thin limestones of Late Eocene are over- MIOCENE - PLIOCENE
lain by Early Miocene shelf limestones suggest- During the Early Miocene (Fig. 6 ) , the domin-
ing that a period of emergence occured during ant western source area continued t o con-
the Early Oligocene. This hiatus can also be tribute coarse grained clastics t o the sub-
interpreted to mean that deposition occured, siding Kutai basin, and the axis of maximum
followed by uplift and erosion, prior to Late sediment thickness shifted easterly. The belt
Oligocene time. of paralic environment widened considerably
Pertamina-Union surface field work, in the to the east as sediment supply began t o exceed.
vicinity of Panain No. 1, also located stable the rate of basin subsidence. Progradation of
shelf carbonates of Early Oligocene age over- a regressive fluvial-deltaic sequence of sands
lying Eocene interbedded coals and siltstones. and coals gradually advanced to the east over
The carbonates exhibit a marked contrast in older, deep water deposits.
depositional environment to the Early Oligo- In the southwestern part of the basin, thick
cene bathyal clay and shelf deposits immediate- deposits of the Berai Limestone continued
ly northeast in the Pertamina-Union Jelmusi- to. form on a stable shelf area that extended
bak No. 1 well. As shown on Figure 4, the at least as far to the east as Pertamina-Ashland
stable shelf etlge trends north-northwest bet- Pamukan Bay wells No. 1 and 2.
ween the Panain No. 1 and Jelmusibak No. 1 Late Middle Miocene (Fig. 7) orogenic activity
wells. began to Separate the southern Kutai basin
In the northern Kutai basin, bathyal sediment into the Barito sub-basin on the southwest
accumulation continued through the Early Oli- and the Pasir sub-basin on the southeast,
gocene. The Eocene positive area southeast from the. main Kutai basin to the north.
of the Mangkalihat Peninsula appears t o have This earliest Meratus block uplift supplied
subsided and ceased to act as a source area. sediments to the paralic deltaic environment
The type of Late Oligocene sediments .in the that progaded east and northeast t o deposit
northern Kutai basin reflects emergenoe of rocks of the Pulau Balang stage. Near-shore
the Kuching High and the resultant regression. sands and coals encountered in, for example,
Figure 5 illustrates the enlargement of the Pertamina-Union Tengah No. 1 well support
northwestern uplift area that contributed this interpretation. Middle Miocene deltaic
C6arSe, volcanic clastics eastward into the area sands hold oil and gas accumulations which
of earlier marine influence. This Late Oligocene are produced in the Sangata, Badak, Sanga-.
tectonic phase and associated erosional un- Sanga, Handil, and Samboja fields,
conformity can be recognized in the north- The Late Miocene to Pliocene Paleosediment-
west Kutai basin by an angular discordance ation Map (Fig. 8). illustrates a continually
between Early Oligocene and Late Oligocene emerging Meratus High that shed sediments
sediments. into both the Barito and Pasir sub-basins.
Transgression continued in other areas of the The Kuching High t o the north of the Meratus
basin. Figure 5 illustrates Paleosedimentation High, shed sediments that caused continued
in the. Late Oligocene and outlines the ex- eastward progradation of regressive deposits,

which developed thick deltaic sands during
the Late Miocene and formed the major
resevoirs in the offshore Melahin, Attaka, Beka-
pai and Sepinggan Oil fields.
Late Miocene shallow marine limestones were
unconformably deposited on Lower and Middle
Miocene limestone along the north flank of
the Mangkalihat Peninsula following a Late
Middle Miocene localized uplift. Shallow marine
limestones were also deposited in other areas
as patch reefs and shelf edge reefs.
During the Pliocene Epoch the Meratus Range
was again uplifted and a further eastward
shift of the Kutai basin depocenter occured.
To the southeast, the Paternoster Platform
(Fig. 8) was separated from the Kutai basin
by a series of down-to-the-north, normal base-
ment faults indicated by seismic data. The
absence of Late Miocene to Pliocene sedi-
ments in the Pertamina-Ashland wells Pamukan
Bay No. 1 and 2 and Taka Talu No. 2 suggest
this area could have been positive since ap-
proximately the end of the Middle Miocene.
Tectonic activities in the Kutai basin were
climaxed by the Plio-Pleistocene final uplift BILLMAN, H.G. & L.W KARTAADIPUTRA,
of the Meratus Range and the Kuching High.
This created the present structural configurat-
ion of the Kutai basin as modified by the
Pleistocene post-glacial eustatic rise in sea level
which shifted the Kalimantan shoreline wester- MAGNIER Ph., T. OK1 & L.W. KARTAADIPU-
ly to its present position.
IV. OIL OCCURENCE
The majority of the present hydrocarbon
production in the Kutai basin is from deltaic
sandstones, Middle to Late Miocene and Early
Pliocene in age.
No production has been established from pre-
Middle Miocene rocks in the Kutai basin al-
though Eocene objectives were drilled, for
example, in the Pertamina-Union Panain No. 1
and Jelmusibak No. 1 wells located in the
western part of the Kutai basin, and in the
Peytamina-Shell Saka No. 1, Kariorang No. 1,
and Sambang No. I wells located on the
Mangkalihat Peninsula. However, in the Barito
sub-basin, production is from Eocene sand-
stones in the Tanjung Field. Paralic Middle
Miocene sands are also productive in the Waru-
kin Field of the Barito sub-basin.
31
Along the shoreline of East Kalimantan, two
distinct hydrocarbon bearing anticlinal trends
are recognized. The trends are subparallel and
extend for a distance of approximately 350
kilometers in a northeast-southwest direction.
The westernmost trend includes the Tengah,
Samboja, Handil, Sanga-Sanga, Badak and Sa-
ngatta fields. The Sepinggan, Bekapai, Tan-
jung Bayor, Attaka and Melahin fields com-
piise the easternmost trend (Fig. 7 and 8).
Along both anticlinal trends, oil and gas
accumulations are found in .sands deposited
in deltaic environments of deposition, however
resevoirs are less porous and more compacted
along the western trend.
Oil and gas resevoirs along the western trend
are Middle Miocene in age while oil and gas
bearing sands along the eastern trend are
Late Miocene to Early Pliocene in age.
Y. SELECTED PUBLISHED REFERENCES
BEMMELEN, R.W. Van, 1949, The Geology
of Indonesia. Martinus Nijnhoff, The Hague.
1974, Late Tertiary BiostratigraphicZOM-
tion, Kutai Basin, Offshore East Kalimantan,
Indonesia. Third Annual Convention, Indone-
sian Petroleum Association, 1974.
TRA, 1975, The Mahakam Delta,Kaliman-
tan - Indonesia. Ninth World Petroleum
Congress,Tokyo, 1975.
YULUNGGONO, A., 1974, Recent Knowledge
on Hydrocarbon Potentials in the Sedirnen-
tary Basins of Indonesia. Circum-Pacific Ener-
gy and Mineral Resources Conference, Hono-
lulu 1974.
SCWARTZ, C.M., G.H. LAUGHBAUM Jr., B.S.
SAMSU & J.D. ARMSTRONG, 1973,
Geology of the Attaka Oil Field, East
Knlimantan - Indonesia. Proc. Indonesian
Petrol. Assoc., Second Annual Convention,
Jakarta, 1973.
WEEDA, J., 1958, Oii Basin in East Borneo in
Habitat of OiL Am. Assoc. Petrol. Geol.
Symposium, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
32

Fm$
...........
Pre-Tertiary Basement

1000 F t . Eathymetric
Contour
-
MAJOR STRUCTURAL

40
ELEMENTS
OF KALIMANTAN
40 80

Km'
120

.
160 200

Figure 1
 WEST
KUTAI

IECTCUlCi
-
PLIOCENE
UPLIFT

YUJCENE
UPLIFT

)LIWCENf
UPLIFT

II
STRATIGRAPHIC COARELATlON
BARN0 KUTAI BASINS
-
West and East Kutsi Sections after Shell R e p o r t , 1873 llCl

W
w
34
 35

?
36
38

LOCATION MA?
5.,
 39
I I '

UCHING
~'° HIIQH I

//

,)%

::?:'. .~.'~.~..:.,~.~..:::-k::ii~i~i~ilil: • .~.~:.?.i" ~-"

~')'~,!
/~;'~~' • ,.:;" in-

"b;/

~ =======================
.W~ ~.~/

i i!
!~ ~ '~~
LOCATIONMAP KEY STRATIGRAPHY
& SEOIMEN'TATII]:N~
~i OPEN ~ Axisof moxi- KUTAI ~:ASIN
MARINE ~ mum isopoch. PALEOSEDIMENTATIONJ
REEFA,L Tronsport AND ENVIRONMEN$
...... direction. OF DEPOSi~IQN~ MAP'
~ " PARAUC Field orwell ;LATEMIO-FPdOCENEI;Tglqe)
~;~'; PROBABLYEMERGED
~ with oil/gos. ,1 ............. o,~o~,
.... Eoslern oil trend. ,.,,~,~
i i IO
-'~--:*"~
o ~
|~ig.8
40" I 0 Kle