Contrasting Styles of Basin-Floor Fan and Slope Fan DepositionMount Messenger Formation, New Zealand

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg H. Browne ◽  
Roger M. Slatt ◽  
Peter R. King
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Basin Floor

scholarly journals Palaeogeography of a Mid Miocene Turbidite Complex, Moki Formation, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sarah Grain
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Seismic Facies ◽  
Meandering Channel ◽  
Progressive Development ◽  
Hydrocarbon Reservoir ◽  
The North ◽  
Basin Floor ◽  
Well Data ◽  
Seismic Reflection Profiles

<p>The Moki Formation, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand, is a Mid Miocene (Late Altonian to Early Lillburnian) sand-rich turbidite complex bounded above and below by the massive bathyal mudstone of the Manganui Formation. The Moki Formation is a proven hydrocarbon reservoir with its stacked, thick, tabular sandstone packages totalling more than 300 m in places. Previous regional studies of the formation have been based primarily on well data and resulted in varying palaeogeographic interpretations. This study, restricted to the southern offshore region of the basin, better constrains the spatial and temporal development of the Moki Formation by combining well data with seismic interpretation to identify key stratal geometries within the sediment package. Nearly 30,000 km of 2D seismic reflection profiles and two 3D surveys, along with data from 18 wells and three cores were reviewed and key sections analysed in detail. Seismic facies have been identified which provide significant insights into the structure, distribution and progressive development of the Moki Formation. These include: a clearly defined eastern limit of the fan complex, thinning and fining of the distal turbidite complex onto the basin floor in the north and west, evidence of fan lobe switching, spectacular meandering channel systems incised into the formation at seismic scales, and the coeval palaeoshelf-slope break in the south east of the basin. In addition, a Latest Lillburnian / Waiauan turbidite complex has been mapped with large feeder, fan and bypassing channels traced. This study presents an improved palaeogeographic interpretation of the Moki Formation and the younger, Latest Lillburnian / Waiauan-aged, turbidite complex. This interpretation shows that during the Late Altonian, sandstone deposition was localised to small fan bodies in the vicinity of Maui-4 to Moki-1 wells. A bathymetric deepening during the Clifdenian is identified, which appears to have occurred concurrently as the establishment of the Moki Formation fan system, centred around the southern and central wells. With continued sediment supply to the basin floor, the fan system prograded markedly northward and spilled onto the Western Stable Platform during the early Lillburnian. Sand influx to the bathyal basin floor abruptly ceased and large volumes of mud were deposited. By the Waiauan stage, sands were again deposited at bathyal depths on fan bodies and carried to greater depths through a complex bypassing channel system.</p>

scholarly journals Stratigraphic development and petroleum prospectivity of northern Zealandia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Zelia Dos Santos
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Papua New Guinea ◽  
Source Rock ◽  
New Caledonia ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Reservoir Rock ◽  
Seismic Unit ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Basin Floor

<p>Northern Zealandia lies between Australia, New Zealandia, and New Caledonia. It has an area of 3,000,000 km2 and is made up of bathymetric rises and troughs with typical water depths of 1000 to 4000 m. I use 39,309 line km of seismic-reflection profiles tied to recent International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) drilling and three boreholes near the coast of New Zealand to investigate stratigraphic architecture and assess the petroleum prospectivity of northern Zealandia.  Sparse sampling requires that stratigraphic and petroleum prospectivity inferences are drawn from better-known basins in New Zealand, Australia, New Caledonia, TimorLeste and Papua New Guinea. Five existing seismic-stratigraphic units are reviewed. Zealandia Seismic Unit U3 is sampled near New Zealand and may contain Jurassic Muhiriku Group coals. Elsewhere, Seismic Unit 3 may have oil-prone equivalents of the Jurassic Walloon Coal Measure in eastern Australia; or may contain Triassic-Jurassic marine source rocks, as found in offshore Bonaparte Basin, onshore Timor-Leste, and the Papuan Basin in Papua New Guinea. Seismic Unit U2b (Mid-Cretaceous) is syn-rift and may contain coal measures, as found in Taranaki-Aotea Basin and New Caledonia. Seismic Unit U2a (Late Cretaceous to Eocene) contains coaly source rocks in the southeastern part of the study area, and may also contain marine equivalent carbonaceous mudstone, as found at Site IODP U1509. Unit U2a is transgressive, with coaly source rocks and reservoir sandstones near its base, and clay, marl and chalk above that provides a regional seal. Seismic Unit U1b (Eocene-Oligocene) is mass-transport complexes and basin floor fans related to a brief phase of convergent deformation that created folds in the southern part of the study area and regionally uplifted ridges to create new sediment source areas. Basin floor fans may contain reservoir rock and Eocene folding created structural traps. Seismic Unit U1a is Oligocene and Neogene chalk, calcareous ooze, and marl that represents overburden. Mass accumulation rates (MAR) and climatic temperatures were high in the late Miocene and early Pliocene, resulting in peak thermal maturity and hydrocarbon expulsion at ~ 3 Ma.  Approximately one-fifth of the region has adequate source rock maturity for petroleum expulsion at the base of Seismic Unit U2: Fairway Basin (FWAY), southern New Caledonia Trough (NCTS) and Reinga Basin (REIN). Plays may exist in either Seismic Unit U3 or U2, with many plausible reservoir-seal combinations, and several possible trapping mechanisms: unconformities, normal faults, folds, or stratigraphic pinch-out. The rest of the region could be prospective, but requires a source rock to exist within Seismic Unit U3, which is mostly unsampled and remains poorly understood.</p>

Stratigraphic development and petroleum prospectivity of northern Zealandia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Zelia Dos Santos
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Papua New Guinea ◽  
Source Rock ◽  
New Caledonia ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Reservoir Rock ◽  
Seismic Unit ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Basin Floor

<p>Northern Zealandia lies between Australia, New Zealandia, and New Caledonia. It has an area of 3,000,000 km2 and is made up of bathymetric rises and troughs with typical water depths of 1000 to 4000 m. I use 39,309 line km of seismic-reflection profiles tied to recent International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) drilling and three boreholes near the coast of New Zealand to investigate stratigraphic architecture and assess the petroleum prospectivity of northern Zealandia.  Sparse sampling requires that stratigraphic and petroleum prospectivity inferences are drawn from better-known basins in New Zealand, Australia, New Caledonia, TimorLeste and Papua New Guinea. Five existing seismic-stratigraphic units are reviewed. Zealandia Seismic Unit U3 is sampled near New Zealand and may contain Jurassic Muhiriku Group coals. Elsewhere, Seismic Unit 3 may have oil-prone equivalents of the Jurassic Walloon Coal Measure in eastern Australia; or may contain Triassic-Jurassic marine source rocks, as found in offshore Bonaparte Basin, onshore Timor-Leste, and the Papuan Basin in Papua New Guinea. Seismic Unit U2b (Mid-Cretaceous) is syn-rift and may contain coal measures, as found in Taranaki-Aotea Basin and New Caledonia. Seismic Unit U2a (Late Cretaceous to Eocene) contains coaly source rocks in the southeastern part of the study area, and may also contain marine equivalent carbonaceous mudstone, as found at Site IODP U1509. Unit U2a is transgressive, with coaly source rocks and reservoir sandstones near its base, and clay, marl and chalk above that provides a regional seal. Seismic Unit U1b (Eocene-Oligocene) is mass-transport complexes and basin floor fans related to a brief phase of convergent deformation that created folds in the southern part of the study area and regionally uplifted ridges to create new sediment source areas. Basin floor fans may contain reservoir rock and Eocene folding created structural traps. Seismic Unit U1a is Oligocene and Neogene chalk, calcareous ooze, and marl that represents overburden. Mass accumulation rates (MAR) and climatic temperatures were high in the late Miocene and early Pliocene, resulting in peak thermal maturity and hydrocarbon expulsion at ~ 3 Ma.  Approximately one-fifth of the region has adequate source rock maturity for petroleum expulsion at the base of Seismic Unit U2: Fairway Basin (FWAY), southern New Caledonia Trough (NCTS) and Reinga Basin (REIN). Plays may exist in either Seismic Unit U3 or U2, with many plausible reservoir-seal combinations, and several possible trapping mechanisms: unconformities, normal faults, folds, or stratigraphic pinch-out. The rest of the region could be prospective, but requires a source rock to exist within Seismic Unit U3, which is mostly unsampled and remains poorly understood.</p>

Influence of mass transport deposit (MTD) surface topography on deep-water deposition: an example from a predominantly fine-grained continental margin, New Zealand

2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Bull ◽  
Greg H. Browne ◽  
Malcolm J. Arnot ◽  
Lorna J. Strachan
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Mass Transport ◽  
Surface Topography ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Basin Floor ◽  
Detachment Surface ◽  
Image Part

AbstractThree-dimensional (3D) seismic data reveal the complex interplay between the surface topography of a c. 4405 km3 mass transport deposit (MTD) and overlying sedimentary packages over approximately the last two million years. The data image part of the Pleistocene to recent shelf to slope to basin-floor Giant Foresets Formation in offshore western New Zealand. The MTD created substantive topographic relief and rugosity at the contemporaneous seabed, formed by the presence of a shallow basal detachment surface, and very large (up to 200 m high) intact slide blocks, respectively. Sediments were initially deflected away from high-relief MTD topography and confined in low areas. With time, the MTD was progressively healed by a series of broadly offset-stacked and increasingly unconfined packages comprised of many channel bodies and their distributary complexes. Positive topography formed by the channels and their distributary complexes further modified the seafloor and influenced the location of subsequent sediment deposition. Channel sinuosity increased over time, interpreted as the result of topographic healing and reduced seafloor gradients. The rate of sediment supply is likely to have been non-uniform, reflecting tectonic pulses across the region. Sediments were routed into deep water via slope-confined channels that originated shortly before emplacement of the MTD.

scholarly journals A 3D geological model of a structurally complex relationships of sedimentary Facies and Petrophysical Parameters for the late Miocene Mount Messenger Formation in the Kaimiro-Ngatoro field, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Surya Tejasvi Thota ◽  
Md Aminul Islam ◽  
Mohamed Ragab Shalaby
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Water Environment ◽  
Sedimentary Facies ◽  
Depositional Environments ◽  
Sequential Gaussian Simulation ◽  
Root Mean Square Amplitude ◽  
Petrophysical Parameters ◽  
Basin Floor ◽  
Complex Relationships

AbstractThe present study investigates the reservoir characteristics of the Mount Messenger Formation of Kaimiro-Ngatoro Field which was deposited in deep-water environment. A 3D seismic dataset, core data and well data from the Kaimiro-Ngatoro Field were utilized to identify lithofacies, sedimentary structures, stratigraphic units, depositional environments and to construct 3D geological models. Five different lithologies of sandstone, sandy siltstone, siltstone, claystone and mudstone are identified from core photographs, and also Bouma sequence divisions are also observed. Based on log character Mount Messenger Formation is divided into two stratigraphic units slope fans and basin floor fans; core analysis suggests that basin floor fans show better reservoir qualities compared to slope fan deposits. Seismic interpretation indicates 2 horizons and 11 faults, majority of faults have throw less than 10 m, and most of the faults have high angle dips of 70–80°. The Kaimiro and Ngatoro Fields are separated by a major Inglewood fault. Variance attribute helped to interpret faults, and other seismic attributes such as root-mean-square amplitude, envelope and generalized spectral decomposition also helped to detect hydrocarbons. The lithofacies model was constructed by using sequential simulation indicator algorithm, and the petrophysical models were constructed using sequential Gaussian simulation algorithm. The petrophysical parameters determined from the models comprised of  up to ≥ 25% porosity, permeability up to around 600mD, hydrocarbon saturation up to 60%, net to gross varies from 0 to 100%, majority of shale volumes are around 15–20%, the study interval mostly consists of macropores with some megapores and 4 hydraulic flow units. This study best characterizes the deep-water turbidite reservoir in New Zealand.

scholarly journals Spatial patterns of deformation and paleoslope estimation within the marginal and central portions of a basin-floor mass-transport deposit, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand

Geosphere ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 266-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn R. Sharman ◽  
Stephan A. Graham ◽  
Larisa U. Masalimova ◽  
Lauren E. Shumaker ◽  
Peter R. King
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Mass Transport ◽  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Basin Floor

scholarly journals Palaeogeography of a Mid Miocene Turbidite Complex, Moki Formation, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sarah Grain
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Seismic Facies ◽  
Meandering Channel ◽  
Progressive Development ◽  
Hydrocarbon Reservoir ◽  
The North ◽  
Basin Floor ◽  
Well Data ◽  
Seismic Reflection Profiles

<p>The Moki Formation, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand, is a Mid Miocene (Late Altonian to Early Lillburnian) sand-rich turbidite complex bounded above and below by the massive bathyal mudstone of the Manganui Formation. The Moki Formation is a proven hydrocarbon reservoir with its stacked, thick, tabular sandstone packages totalling more than 300 m in places. Previous regional studies of the formation have been based primarily on well data and resulted in varying palaeogeographic interpretations. This study, restricted to the southern offshore region of the basin, better constrains the spatial and temporal development of the Moki Formation by combining well data with seismic interpretation to identify key stratal geometries within the sediment package. Nearly 30,000 km of 2D seismic reflection profiles and two 3D surveys, along with data from 18 wells and three cores were reviewed and key sections analysed in detail. Seismic facies have been identified which provide significant insights into the structure, distribution and progressive development of the Moki Formation. These include: a clearly defined eastern limit of the fan complex, thinning and fining of the distal turbidite complex onto the basin floor in the north and west, evidence of fan lobe switching, spectacular meandering channel systems incised into the formation at seismic scales, and the coeval palaeoshelf-slope break in the south east of the basin. In addition, a Latest Lillburnian / Waiauan turbidite complex has been mapped with large feeder, fan and bypassing channels traced. This study presents an improved palaeogeographic interpretation of the Moki Formation and the younger, Latest Lillburnian / Waiauan-aged, turbidite complex. This interpretation shows that during the Late Altonian, sandstone deposition was localised to small fan bodies in the vicinity of Maui-4 to Moki-1 wells. A bathymetric deepening during the Clifdenian is identified, which appears to have occurred concurrently as the establishment of the Moki Formation fan system, centred around the southern and central wells. With continued sediment supply to the basin floor, the fan system prograded markedly northward and spilled onto the Western Stable Platform during the early Lillburnian. Sand influx to the bathyal basin floor abruptly ceased and large volumes of mud were deposited. By the Waiauan stage, sands were again deposited at bathyal depths on fan bodies and carried to greater depths through a complex bypassing channel system.</p>

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