The 4th Southeast Asian Conference on Geophysics (SEACG 2022) IOP Publishing

IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1227 (2023) 012021 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1227/1/012021

Delineation of Gas Sand Reservoir Prospect in the “A” Field,

Deep Water Area of Kutai Basin

P D Wardaya1, A Novianto2, A K Pratiknyo3, H Hamdalah2, Y Rizkianto4, A M

Handini5, A K Karimah5, E S Nugraheni5
1
PT. Pertamina (Persero) Upstream Research and Technology Innovation, SopoDel
Office Tower 50th Floor, Jl. Mega Kuningan Barat III, Jakarta, Indonesia 12950
2
Geophysical Engineering, Faculty of Technology Mineral, Universitas Pembangunan
Nasional “Veteran” Yogyakarta, Indonesia
3
Petroleum Engineering, Faculty of Technology Mineral, Universitas Pembangunan
Nasional “Veteran” Yogyakarta, Indonesia
4
Geological Engineering, Faculty of Technology Mineral, Universitas Pembangunan
Nasional “Veteran” Yogyakarta, Indonesia
5
Undergraduate Program of Geophysical Engineering, Faculty of Technology Mineral,
Universitas Pembangunan Nasional “Veteran” Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Email: [email protected]

Abstract. Kutai basin hydrocarbon's potential is not only in the delta area but extends to the
deepwater area of East Kalimantan. The result of the integration method based on petrophysical,
inversion, and seismic multiattribute aim to delineate the gas reservoir potential zone in the
research area. The reservoir rocks consist of graywacke to sublitharenite of Upper Miocene
sandstone with an average shale volume content 19%, porosity 23%, and water saturation 55%.
The reservoir gas is reflected in the Vp/Vs ratio range of 1.58 to 1.8, the Poisson ratio value of
0.17 to 0.3 GPa, and the incompressibility value of 8 to 22 Gpa*g/cc. The distribution potential
reservoir zone is indicated by the low acoustic impedance anomaly value of 4000 to 7500
m/s*gr/cm3, high RMS attribute anomaly value of 2000 to 10000, and distribution of low shale
volume, high porosity, and low incompressibility will be estimated by using multi-attribute
linear regression and probabilistic neural network methods that concentrated on the upper slope
fan in the southern area.

1. Introduction
The potential hydrocarbon in the Kutai Basin was formed in Early Tertiary time and contains up to an
estimated 25,000 feet of sedimentary rocks deposited in environments ranging from deltaic and reefal
to deep marine [7]. More than 6 tcf gas and 200 million bbl oil and condensate have been found in this
area in Upper Miocene sandstone layers composed of Kampung Baru Formation and Balikpapan
Formation [6]. Further research is needed to determine the potential contained in the field in the offshore
area of East Kalimantan, one of which is the "A" field. Efforts that can be made are through geological,
geophysical, and reservoir (GGR) studies that are continuously being carried out and developed in the
area. The study conducted in this research is a geophysical study through the analysis of well data with
petrophysical methods and the analysis of seismic data with acoustic impedance inversion and seismic
multi-attribute methods. The combination of petrophysical analysis, acoustic impedance inversion, and

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The 4th Southeast Asian Conference on Geophysics (SEACG 2022) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1227 (2023) 012021 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1227/1/012021

seismic multi-attribute are expected to be effective as a basis for determining the distribution of
sandstone reservoirs in field “A”, Kutai Basin.

2. Data and Methods

This study uses seismic data and well data. The seismic data is 3D post-stack time migration with normal
SEG polarity and the well data are 6 deviation wells. The following is a seismic database map and the
completeness of its well data:

Figure 1. Seismic base map and well data completeness.

The available well data is calculated for petrophysical values including shale volume content, porosity,
and water saturation to identify potential sandstone layers containing hydrocarbons. In addition, in this
well data analysis, parameter calculations such as Vp/Vs ratio, Poisson’s ratio, and lambda rho are
expected to be sensitive to identify fluids contained in rocks.

Seismic data is used to predict the lateral distribution of hydrocarbon reservoirs based on rock physics
parameters by applying AI inversion, RMS attribute, and seismic multi-attribute. The RMS attribute is
one of the amplitude-derived attributes that are sensitive to extreme amplitude values [8]. The AI
inversion method is carried out using a model based which is done by building an initial acoustic
impedance model and then it will be compared with seismic data and iteratively updated to get a good
correlation value and minimum error which is expected to represent the original state in the field.

The multi-attribute method is a geostatistical method that uses more than one attribute to predict several
physical properties of the earth by looking for the relationship between logs and seismic data at the well
location. This analysis is divided into 3, single attribute analysis (bivariate-attribute), multi-attribute
linear regression analysis, and probabilistic neural network (PNN) analysis. The selected subset is
determined by a process of forward step-wise regression, which derives increasingly larger subsets of
attributes. In the linear mode, the transform consists of a series of weights derived by least-squares
minimization and in the non-linear mode, a neural network is trained, using the selected attributes as
inputs. Two types of neural networks have been evaluated: the multi-layer feedforward network
(MLFN), and the probabilistic neural network (PNN) [4]. Some of the methods used can be used to
predict the distribution of reservoirs in field "A".

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The 4th Southeast Asian Conference on Geophysics (SEACG 2022) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1227 (2023) 012021 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1227/1/012021

3. Results and Discussion

Based on the research of Ambarsari et al. 2021 explained that the main reservoir in this field is the Upper
Miocene sand reservoirs deposited in the upper slope fan and channel facies. The petrographic analysis
carried out shows that both facies areas are dominated by greywackes with parallel lamination structure
and/or intergranular porosity.

(A)

(B)
Figure 2. PPL (left) and XPL (right) of petrographic thin section photomicrographs showing (A)
parallel lamination and intergranular porosity for graywacke sample taken from 4148.7 m
interval S-5 and (B) sublitharenite (non-graywacke) sample taken from 3244.7 m of S-4 [1].

3.1. Well Data Analysis

The reservoir potential zone in the upper slope fan area can be identified by petrophysical parameters
which are characterized by low shale volume, high porosity, and low water saturation. It is identified in
3 wells and located in 2 layers of sandstone at the research interval, sand A and sand B intervals below:

Table 1. Petrophysical analysis results

Well Zone Average Average Average
Vshale Porosity Sw
S-1 Sand A 0.21 0.23 0.529
Sand B 0.123 0.245 0.56
S-3 Sand A 0.226 0.238 0.51
Sand B 0.225 0.228 0.604
S-5 Sand A 0.084 0.252 0.537
Sand B 0.287 0.18 0.535
Average 0.193 0.228 0.55

An analysis was carried out on the value of Vp/Vs Ratio and Poisson Ratio which generally will decrease
in rock layers containing gas fluid compared to the wet case fluid which will be classified as in table 2
and analysis using the cross plot method by Hampson Russell Software. The potential sand area shows
that the reservoir filling fluid in the interval sand A and sand B is gas [2].

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The 4th Southeast Asian Conference on Geophysics (SEACG 2022) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1227 (2023) 012021 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1227/1/012021

Table 2. Vp/Vs and Poisson Rasio Parameters

Vp/Vs : √2 σ: 0
Vp/Vs : 1.5 (Gas Case) σ: 0.1 (Gas Case)
Vp/Vs : 2 (Wet Case) σ: 1/3 (Wet Case)
Vp/Vs : ∞ σ: 0.5

Figure 3. Crossplot P Impedance vs Vp/Vs Ratio.

Figure 4. Crossplot Poisson Ratio vs Modulus Young.

Figure 5. Crossplot Lamdha Rho vs Mu Rho.

Table 3. Rock Physics Parameters on Potential Sand

Parameter Gas case Sand Wet case Sand Wet case Shale
P Impedance (m/s*gr/cc) 5700 - 7500 7500 - 8000 8000 - 12500
S Impedance (m/s*gr/cc) 3500 - 4000 4000 - 4300 4200 - 5500
Vp/Vs 1.58 - 1.8 1.72 - 1.9 1.72 - 2.3
Poisson Ratio 0.17 - 0.3 0.26 - 0.3 0.24 - 0.37
Young Modulus (Gpa) 14.6 - 18.2 18.2 - 20.6 19.2 - 27.8
Mu Rho (Gpa*g/cc) 12.6 - 16.4 16.4 - 18 18 - 30
Lamdha Rho Gpa*gr/cc) 8 - 22 18 - 26 22 - 9

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The 4th Southeast Asian Conference on Geophysics (SEACG 2022) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1227 (2023) 012021 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1227/1/012021

3.2. Seismic Data Analysis

Prediction of potential zones for hydrocarbon reservoirs by performing AI inversion, RMS Attribute,
and prediction of the distribution of shale volume, porosity, and lambda rho values using multi-attribute
and probabilistic neural network methods, then cut-off values based on well data analysis that has been
carried out and predictions are obtained. The distribution of reservoir zone is shown in the figure below:

Figure 6. Prediction of reservoir distribution based on AI maps, RMS amplitude, shale volume,
porosity, and lambda rho on sand A.

Figure 7. Prediction of reservoir distribution based on AI maps, RMS amplitude, shale volume,
porosity, and lambda rho on sand B.

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The 4th Southeast Asian Conference on Geophysics (SEACG 2022) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1227 (2023) 012021 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1227/1/012021

The results of the well data analysis and seismic data are well correlated in the target area, the upper
slope fan channel interval sand A and sand B area which is located in the southern study area. The target
area has an average value of 19% shale volume, 23% porosity, and 55% water saturation. The
hydrocarbon fluid that fills the research area is gas which can be seen from a low Vp/Vs Ratio of 1.58
to 1.8, low Poisson ratio is 0.17 to 0.3 GPa, and low incompressibility (Lamdha Rho) is 8 to 22 Gpa*g
/cc. The distribution of this area is characterized by a low acoustic impedance (4000 to 7500
m/s*g/𝑐𝑚3), and a high RMS attribute (2000 to 10000). Good results can also be seen on the map of the
distribution of reservoir properties using seismic multi-attribute method. These results can be seen from
the anomaly distribution of low shale volume which is less than 45%, good porosity (more than 10%),
and low lambda rho or incompressibility (less than 22 Gpa*g/cc).

4. Conclusion
Based on the results of the research that has been done, it can be concluded that the potential
hydrocarbon zone in the "A" field is in the sand A and sand B intervals. Upper Miocene sand reservoirs
deposited in the upper slope fan with an average value of 19% shale volume, 23% porosity, and 55%
water saturation. The distribution of the reservoir area is characterized by low acoustic impedance (4000
to 7500 m/s*g/𝑐𝑚3), high RMS attribute (2000 to 10000), the distribution of low shale volume (less
than 45%), good porosity (more than 10%), and low lambda rho (less than 22 Gpa*g/cc).

References
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[2] Avseth, Per 2001 Rock Physics and Seismic Properties of Sands and Shale As Function of Burial
Depth. SEG Int’l Exposition and Annual Meeting.
[3] Guritno, E, et all. 2003. Deepwater Kutei Basin: A New Petroleum Province. Proc. Indon. Petrol.
Assoc., 29th Ann. Conv., 2003. IPA03-G-175.
[4] Hampson Daniel P., James S. Schuelke, and John A. Quirein. 2001 Use of Multiattribute
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[6] Saller, A., et. all. 2006 Leaves in Turbidite Sands: The Main Source of Oil and Gas in The
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Indon. Petrol. Assoc., 4th Ann. Conv., 1975
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Institute of Technology, Bandung.

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