INTEGRATED REGIONAL TECTONIC INTERPRETATION OF PARTS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA

Phase 2, covering most of central Indonesia, is complete and the package is available for immediate delivery. Please visit Bird Geophysical's web site for additonal displays of the data for both Phase 1 (South China Sea) and Phase 2 (Java Sea area).

The work is based on high-quality satellite-derived gravity data and magnetic data available from the Committee for Co-ordination of Joint Prospecting for Mineral Resources in Asian Offshore Areas (CCOP), and includes definition of oceanic fracture zones and their interaction with prospective continental margin areas; the continent-oceanic crustal boundary; regional detail in rifts and back-arc basins, including depocenters with major structures and accommodation zones; distribution of volcanics and depth to basement where possible; and a regional plate-tectonic framework for planning hydrocarbon exploration.

In addition to map interpretations, interpreted megaregional cross-sections based on gravity and magnetic models are included in the study.

Satellite-derived gravity data are only available in offshore areas, but the information content of these data is significant. Local transtensional pull-apart grabens, such as the Dungun Graben in the Malay Basin, are clearly expressed. The structure at Bongkot Field (Gulf of Thailand) is also evident, as are the likely basement platforms that form the substrate for carbonate buildups in the Luconia Province, offshore Sarawak, and in the vicinity of the Lihua Field in the Pearl River Mouth area. Our interpretation shows much structural detail throughout the area studied, which is approximately equivalent in area to the entire Gulf of Mexico or the entire North Sea. We have used computer models along selected regional cross-sections to validate the qualitative map interpretation and to suggest involvement of basement, Paleogene, and/or Neogene strata in the inferred structures.