STRUCTURAL FRAMEWORK AND HYDROCARBON PLAYS IN THE PENYU BASIN, OFFSHORE PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

Summary The Penyu Basin is moderately explored that may still have undiscovered hydrocarbon potential, and recent studies suggest that the basin remains prospective with excellent data coverage of both 2D and 3D seismic. The basin was formed in continental crust, although the exact origin is not properly understood and most authors generally considered it as a pull-apart or “rift-wrench” basin. This is supported by the presence of major strike-slip faults and associated normal faults as being the main basin-bounding faults. The initial half-graben basins evolved into isolated lacustrine systems that provide source-rock facies habitat that could potentially charge the traps in the syn-rift and post-rift sequences. Trap styles in the Penyu Basin include the compressional anticlines, basement drape structures and syn-rift stratigraphic/structural traps. The results of the syn-rift exploration are encouraging, albeit a detailed understanding of the reservoir distribution is essential for identifying future drilling targets in this interval. Undoubtedly, more detailed mapping of new structures with application of new techniques such as basin modeling, integrated structural and high-resolution potential field data interpretation will help in identifying new play types and enable a better understanding of the structural evolution and hydrocarbon prospectivity of the basin.