Paper submitted to AAPG ICE 2026, by Verity Agar, David Little and Elisabeth Gillbard (TGS)
Summary
The Kutei Basin is located to the east of Borneo in Kalimantan, Indonesia. The basin covers an extensive onshore area and extends offshore into the deepwater Makassar Straits to the West Sulawesi coast. The basin is the largest in Indonesia and a highly prolific petroleum province. Recent discoveries such as Geng North-1, Gehem, and Gendalo-Gandang, now part of the Northern Hub development, underscore both its productivity and remaining potential, with recently announce Geligna-1 continuing to cement the success in the area. While large areas are deemed mature, the deepwater remains underexplored, but advances in seismic imaging alongside regional integration with geological interpretation opens up new opportunities.
This study develops a regional depositional framework using integrated geophysical data and an extensive well dataset. A central element is the transformation of 119 vintages of 2D seismic (1969–2019) into a single “2D-cubed” volume covering 73,000 km², alongside modern 3D datasets, providing a consistent platform for structural and stratigraphic interpretation. Calibration with 62 exploration and appraisal wells ensures robust geological control.