Marine and Petroleum Geology 106 (2019) 1–16

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Marine and Petroleum Geology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpetgeo

Research paper

Partitioned transtensional Cenozoic stratigraphic development of North T

Sumatra
Peter Lunt
Universiti Teknologi Petronas, 32610, Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: The Cenozoic sedimentary history of North Sumatra is reviewed and a new account of basin development is
North Sumatra proposed that accommodates contrasting stratigraphic histories across the region, especially times of sudden
Stratigraphy facies change. Micropalaeontology and geohistory techniques have been used to estimate the magnitude of
Tectonics stratigraphic change and, together with the timing of events, this indicates that North Sumatra developed in a
Petroleum systems
dynamic transtensional tectonic setting, as has been proposed in regional structural models, and not the back-arc
Micropalaeontology
setting usually assumed by oil industry workers. This style of basin development has direct control on the nature
and areal distribution of the petroleum systems elements. New definitions of common formation terms are
suggested, based on a well-constrained sequence stratigraphic model, which has been assigned a new nomen-
clature of NS10 to NS50 Megasequences. It is noted that the stratigraphic and geographic position and extent of
the source rock for the Arun, NSO A, NSO J and South Lho Sukon giant gas and condensate fields is still not
known.

1. Introduction Sumatra consider a single concept of rift then sag, and stratigraphers
predict their facies, formations and petroleum systems from this model
The North Sumatra Basin contains 2–5 km of Cenozoic sediments (cf. Courteney et al., 1989; Darman and Sidi, 2000). There are only
overlying highly varied pre-Tertiary basement terranes of deformed minor variations on this theme, with usage of local, but equivalent,
metasedimentary rocks, mostly phyllites in the west and carbonates in formation names in alternative stratigraphic summaries (e.g. Agam
the east. North Sumatra has a long history of exploration since the Formation vs Bruksah Formation vs Parapat Formation for the deepest
shallow Telaga Tunggal-1 oil discovery (1885 BPM). The largest dis- sandy units, and then Bampo or Pirak Formations for overlying dark
covery has been the Arun Field (Arun A-1, 1971, Mobil Oil) that has clays).
produced about 14 TCF of gas and 900 MM barrels of condensate from In the 1990's two groups of workers saw discrepancies that ques-
an Early Miocene reefal limestone (Buck and McCulloh, 1994). Key tioned the simple model. Collins et al. (1995, Mobil Oil, with Robertson
wells and field outcrops are shown on Fig. 1. Research & Asamera) proposed a scenario in which the rift phase was
This account builds upon several unpublished field work reports, diachronous from the basin centre (roughly in the northwest) onto the
many of which are more than forty years old, but which, along with Malacca Shelf in the southeast. Inpex Petroleum (Fuse et al., 1996;
well data of the same era, contain observations still in need of in- Tsukada et al., 1996) saw a remarkable exception to the simple rift-sag
tegration into a modern geological model. This review looks at the basin model, in particular a dominating tectonic event which they
history of how diverse facies have been dated and correlated, and how summed up as “a catastrophic tectonic subsidence of the [NW] region in the
formation concepts have been applied through time. It identifies a stasis latest Oligocene”, a feature not present on the Collins et al. model, who
in analytical geological investigation that affect both basic petroleum were focussed on data to the southeast of the Inpex study area. These
systems analysis, and also how the geology fits regional tectonic de- anomalous observations were never followed up, and largely forgotten.
velopment. Buck and McCulloh (1994, Mobil) had just published a definitive article
on the main petroleum system sourcing the super-giant Arun field, the
1.1. The nature of the problem Bampo - Peutu (!) petroleum system, and since this time all strati-
graphic and burial history summaries for the area have followed a
Nearly all summaries of the Cenozoic sedimentary geology of North simple rifting format.

E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected].

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2019.04.031
Received 26 December 2018; Received in revised form 26 March 2019; Accepted 21 April 2019
Available online 26 April 2019
0264-8172/ © 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
P. Lunt Marine and Petroleum Geology 106 (2019) 1–16

Fig. 1. Location map.

Apart from the Inpex and Collins et al. stratigraphic anomalies, 1.2. A history of studies
another outstanding problem is that the Bampo Formation has not been
observed to be a source rock anywhere near the Arun super-giant field. An account of previous work is required to understand the longevity
Kirby et al. (1993) noted in outcrops a total organic carbon [TOC] range and confused states of previous stratigraphic concepts and formation
of 0.29–1.41%, and hydrogen index values low to very low, precluding names. Some unpublished observations are given in detail as aspects
their sampled sites from being significant hydrocarbon source rocks. concerning age and facies need reporting, along with an indication of
They concluded “none of the [Bampo/Pirak Fm.] potential source rocks observation quality and precision.
could have sourced the volume of liquid hydrocarbons encountered in the
study area to date”. Caughey and Wahyudi (1993) recorded a TOC 1.2.1. Early field-work
average of 0.63% (29 samples) from the Pirak/Bampo beds, and The first regional reviews of note were in the Yearbook of the
Nicholson and Soekapradja (1990) had ranked the Bampo/Pirak For- geological survey of 1917 (Jaarboek, 1917), additions by ’t Hoen (1922;
mation as one of the least organically rich formations examined across summary table reproduced in Fig. 2) and Tobler (1923) (all in the files
North Sumatra. The Pirak A-1 well (drilled in 1973, Fig. 1), about of the Geological Survey in Bandung). This early and generally well
15 km south of the Arun Field, drilled 2400 m of Bampo/Pirak For- documented set of observations was slightly flawed as it was the report
mation in a strongly uplifted area, so most of that well section would of Tobler that assumed an Eocene age for the limestone in the Beuroesa
have once been thermally mature (late mature according to spore [Beurusa, also Bruksah in modern orthography] River and set a
colour at the base of the well). There were no residual liquid hydro- benchmark as the oldest sediments found in the region. This assumption
carbon or gas shows anywhere in that black claystone-dominated sec- had been discounted by Van Bemmelen and Zwierzycki (1936), who
tion, nor seeps or shows noted anywhere in the widespread Pirak For- had checked and found there was no mention of any Eocene markers by
mation outcrops around the Pirak Anticline. Therefore this does not Tobler, it was an assumption in “a hypothetical composite profile of the
appear to be an important source rock in a thermally mature state. The north coast of Aceh.” The Jaarboek of 1917 (p. 219) noted that in tri-
black colour is not from organic material but from finely disseminated butaries of the Beurusa River nummulitic sandstones were up to 20 m
iron sulphides (author's observations of cuttings in Cunda wells, also thick, along with Operculina bearing limestone, but there were no
Kersting, 1975, and Caughey and Sofyan, 1994). The Bampo/Pirak mention of any Eocene fossils. Note, this report does not argue that
Formation was only postulated as a source for the Arun hydrocarbons as there is no Eocene sedimentation in the northern Sumatra area, just that
it was an overpressured claystone immediately below the reservoir there is no available data indicating it, and a strong weight of Early
limestone, and it was considered unlikely that hydrocarbons could have Oligocene age markers (Nummulites fichteli-intermedius, cf. Kersting,
migrated through an overpressured clay, only out of it (Graves and 1975) in the oldest currently known marginal marine sediments.
Weegar, 1973). This old work was the basis of the summary in van Bemmelen

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Fig. 2. The stratigraphy of ‘t Hoen (1922) for Aceh, slightly modified to modern age scale and with some modern well sections added in relevant locations.

(1949) and the starting point of Mobil Oil's field work in the 1970's. 1.2.2. Mobil Oil's field-work and drilling
However the concept of the “North Sumatra Basin” having been in- In 1973 Smits of Mobil Oil wrote a report on the NE Aceh area
itiated in Eocene times, in association with many other circum-Sunda where the older sandy section was given the name of Agam Formation
basins, has been maintained, without supporting data, into modern (type location 5° 10′ 16″N, 96° 2′ 26″E; circled white 2 on Fig. 1). Smits
reviews (eg. Meckel et al., 2012). work repeated the observations of earlier workers, with coarse quart-
This early stratigraphic model comprised a coarse quartz sand and zose clastics fining upwards, locally with coals and above these thin
breccia over basement, passing up into a finer mica sandstone (still limestone beds. Smits was able to identify the species of Nummulites as
quartzose) and including the Nummulites-rich but post-Eocene Beurusa the Early to mid Oligocene restricted N. fichteli-intermedius (in his new
River limestone (circled white 5 on Fig. 1). Dating these clastic strata type section of the Agam Formation, about 60 km west of the Beurusa
has always been difficult due to the lack of marine beds apart from rare River). Follow up work by Kersting (1975) expanded the description of
larger foraminiferal limestones. In northwest North Sumatra a lime- Smits and included the only record of Eocene fossils, a single occur-
stone-bearing section was noted by ’t Hoen at Alur [stream] Batu Suasa rence of poorly preserved Biplanispira (Late Eocene Tb), reworked into
and Krueng [river] Pase with some lower beds rich in Nummulites fichteli beds with N. fichteli. Kersting commented that no in-place Eocene fauna
(Tc or Td)and younger ones with Lepidocyclina, Cycloclypeus and Het- had been located in northern Sumatra.
erostegina (Letter Stage Td or ?early Te; mid Oligocene) which was later These 1970's reports were the first to describe the micro-
drilled by wells such as Jeuku A-1 (1978–79), and which, in both palaeontological content of the Black Claystones, which they called
places, was overlain by thick, black claystone. Pirak Formation after the extensive outcrops in the Pirak Anticline
These Black Claystones (Zwarte Kleisteen - see Fig. 2) are thick and (around 4° 51′ 56″N, 97° 20′ 50″E; circled white 7 on Fig. 1). Planktonic
monotonous and, for early workers lacking planktonic microfossil biostratigraphy was then available, and they noted a Late Oligocene
biostratigraphy, age markers were rare. However van Bemmelen (1949) fauna (most samples with Paragloborotalia opima and Globigerina tri-
reported bioclasts in the black clays in the northeast of Aceh, including partita, with one possible Early Miocene, Globigerinoides bearing sample
Nummulites [under the old name Camerina] and in other places Spir- in the Tijee River; exact location not known (but west of the Pirak
oclypeus s.l., so hence the lowest part of the black clays was as old as anticline, see Fig. 9 of Kamili et al., 1976), with overall foraminiferal
Letter Stage Td in age, and other parts as young as Te2-3. assemblages indicative of outer shelf to upper bathyal conditions
’T Hoen observed that “The Black Claystone shows everywhere the (Kersting, 1975, p.55). Kersting noted the strong and abrupt facies
same character”, an observation maintained by later workers. In the contrast between the thick and consistently marginal to non-marine
southeast of Aceh (towards Aru Bay, Fig. 1) Black Claystones were Agam Formation and equally thick and consistently fully bathyal Pirak
described as being almost totally devoid of fossils, apart from fragments Formation (Fig. 5), even though both he and Smit considered the field
of molluscs, echinoid spines, Operculina and ?Lepidocyclina reported in contact to be conformable.
the Alur Permain and Alur Tiram sections near the type Bampo River. Overlying the Pirak Formation was the unit the early workers had
The type Bampo section has plant fossils in multiple coal beds (grading called the Peunulin (Peunoelin) Beds, with an interval of carbonate or
to “combustible shales”) up to 1.5 m thick. In 1936 Morgan of the In- carbonate debris in the lower part. This lower carbonate-rich unit was
donesian Geological Survey visited the Bampo River section, measured distinguished as a separate unit by Smits (1973) and called the Peutu
the 1200 m section of black clays with pyrites and calcareous nodules Formation. The type location was between the Beudari and Buloh
and claystones “rich in organic material”, but he found no fossils other rivers, on the northern flank of the Pirak Anticline (type at 4° 51′ 56″N,
than rare, thin shelled molluscs. 97° 20′ 50″E; circled white 8 on Fig. 1).
The Peutu Formation was originally defined as a calcareous shale

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P. Lunt Marine and Petroleum Geology 106 (2019) 1–16

Fig. 3. Cross-section (WNW-ESE) onshore eastern Aceh, based on the field report of Smits (1973). At the time of this work, of the well locations marked on the
reference map, only the Arun A-1 had been drilled. The Inong and Seunalan Highs are shown on Fig. 1.

with thin, deep water (planktonic foraminifera rich) limestone inter- be a planktonic rich marl (planktonic foraminifera making up to 50% of
calations at the base. The calcareous shales grade laterally into massive the rock in certain intervals), including Globigerinoides but no Orbulina
limestones (locally reefal and including the Arun Field limestone) and and thereby Early Miocene in age. It is an age equivalent to the upper
to calcareous sandstones, but with no clear boundaries between the part of the lithologically similar Peutu Formation in the northwest. The
facies. The more open marine facies contain abundant Globigerinoides Telaga Formation conformable overlies the Sembilan Fm., the boundary
but no Orbulina, indicating an Early Miocene age. Larger foraminifera being the base of the lowest limestone or marl bed. Kersting (1975)
include Lepidocyclina, Cycloclypeus, Spiroclypeus and Miogypsina the last described the type Telaga beds as containing Globigerinoides sicanus
two indicating an age in Letter Stage Upper Te, in the lower part of the suggesting the Telaga can be as young as latest Early Miocene in age
Early Miocene. Smits (1973) assumed the wide variety of facies within (Zone M5, Wade et al., 2011).
the Peutu to be due to a new topography produced by tectonism near
the Oligo-Miocene boundary (Fig. 3). His mapping clearly identified
1.2.4. Improved micropalaeontology in the northwest
uplift of the Inong and Seunalan Highs (Fig. 1) at the end of Pirak de-
The new influx of well data at this time elaborated on the en-
position, with an unconformity onto which Peutu facies transgressed.
vironment of deposition and age of the Pirak Formation in the north-
In spite of its varied facies the Peutu Formation was a distinct unit,
west, with Pirak Formation in Lho Seumawe A-l (Fig. 6) containing Late
easy to pick in wells and field-work. It was calcareous and therefore had
Oligocene age markers and benthic faunas dominated by Karreriella,
a well defined wireline log character, and always yielded Early Miocene
Gaudryina, Cyclammina and Bathysiphon (Kersting, 1975). Other wells
fossils. The deeper marine (off-structure) facies naturally having a more
with good Pirak penetrations included Peusangan A-1 (1981) with di-
complete older section (and often containing transported Upper Te
verse Late Oligocene planktonic fossils (including NP24 nannofossils)
marker species). The reefal facies on the palaeo-highs, such as Arun,
and fully bathyal benthic forms (some already mentioned plus Melonis
were invariably dated as Letter Stage Lower Tf (Fig. 5). Below the Peutu
pompilioides, Chilostomella oolina, Sphaeroidina bulloides, Planulina
Formations all dark claystones were assigned to the Pirak Formation,
wuellerstorfi).
and the sandstones below those clays to the Agam Formation. As noted
The recognition of open oceanic planktonic and bathyal smaller
above, both these black clays and the sands contrasted with the Peutu
benthic foraminifera in the 1970's and early 80's was important to
Formation by being poorly fossiliferous.
evaluate the contrast between the microfauna of the Pirak Formation,
and the “black claystones” in the type Bampo Formation and sur-
1.2.3. Mobil Oil's drilling in the east and south rounding Aru Bay area wells, a magnitude of contrast that cannot be
At the same time as Mobil were carrying out fieldwork they were overstated.
drilling exploration wells over a wide area, from the Sigli wells (1975) Kersting (1975) noted that there does not appear to be any con-
in the NW to the Basilam A-1 (1971) about 300 km to the SE. tinuation of the Late Oligocene Pirak Formation facies much further
In 1970-71 Mobil had drilled the Sembilan A-1 in the southeast (Aru east than the Pirak Anticline, in spite of knowledge, in 1975, of at least
Bay area) and defined new formations there (in Kersting, 1975). In this 16 wells having been drilled to basement east of this. Note that Ker-
area the Sembilan Formation was the name given to the first formation sting's references to an Early Miocene age for the Pirak Formation
over basement and this was initially considered a lateral equivalent of below the Arun Limestone were due to contamination by sample
the Black Claystone or Pirak Formation in the Aceh area. This concept caving, corrected to Late Oligocene by later biostratigraphic work based
was partly amended when the age of the Sembilan Fm. was found to be on cores in subsequent Arun field wells, as well as strontium isotopic
younger than the Pirak Formation (Fig. 4). The type section for the first dating in Jordan and Adbullah (1992). Kersting included Asamera's
sediments over basement in the southeast of North Sumatra was in the 1972 Alur Pineueng-1 as the furthest east drilling of the Pirak facies - a
Sembilan A-1 well, where it was considered a lateral equivalent to the very unlikely correlation as this well contained no deep marine benthic
lower part of the Miocene Peutu Formation in the northwest. The nor Oligocene planktonic microfauna. His “outer neritic or deeper”
Sembilan Formation is a dark grey to black claystone, with stringers of shading on palaeogeography maps (Kersting, 1975, Map 2) also extends
limestone near the base, in which Lepidocyclina verbeeki was found. This as a tongue to the type Bampo River type section at the furthest
species was used by Mobil to indicate an Upper Te age (Te5, basal southeastern end, even though he knew no Faunal Zone VI - Oligocene
Miocene). However, the original concept for this species (cf. Leupold assemblages had been found in this or adjacent black claystone out-
and van der Vlerk, 1931) ranged it from Te5 to Tf1. The Telaga For- crops.
mation was also defined in this area (Telaga A-1) where it was noted to It was at about the same time as Kersting's stratigraphic review that

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P. Lunt Marine and Petroleum Geology 106 (2019) 1–16

Fig. 4. The stratigraphic summary in Kersting (1975). While not published, this diagram was the foundation for a series of subsequent figures, such as Kinsgton
(1978) and many others.

the oil industry was adopting the term Rayeu Hinge to describe an an Early Oligocene age.
overall change in sediment thickness and co-incident change in base- Two points on palaeontology should be considered. First, the full
ment lithology. This Hinge matches the eastern limit of the deep marine range of Halkyardia is usually given as mid Eocene to mid Oligocene
Pirak Formation in Kersting's Pirak palaeogeography map, with the (eg. Adams, 1970) but it is very rare in Eocene sediments (cf. Adams,
exception of his inclusion of the Alur Pineueng-1 and Bampo sites. 1965, Fig. 3). It is best considered an indicator of Early Oligocene to
mid Oligocene (Te1) age. Secondly Halkyardia is invariably a very
minor component of carbonate faunas (cf. Adams, 1965, Plate 29). To
2. The Tampur limestone problem
find it without the cosmopolitan and diagenetically robust members of
the same carbonate assemblage is extremely unusual and raises the
As noted above, there is no direct evidence for Eocene sediments in
question of misidentification of a simple conical form. Later workers
N. Sumatra, apart from some Biplanispira bioclasts noted by Smits
such as Ryacudu and Sjahbuddin also refer back to the Caughey and
(1973) and Kersting (1975) in the Oligocene Agam Formation. A short
Wahyudi source for the age of the unit. de Smet and Barber (2005) cited
note is required on the stratigraphic identity of the Tampur Limestone
the Cameron et al. and Bennett et al. sources as well as van Bemmelen
Formation, which is often cited in eastern North Sumatra as an Eocene
(1949; who described thinly bedded carbonates in the east, such as in
to basal Oligocene strata (Cameron et al., 1980; Bennett et al., 1981, or
the Beurusa River, clearly not the massive eastern carbonates), and
wholly Eocene as in Ryacudu and Sjahbuddin, 1994; de Smet and
Rory (1990) who does not mention the Tampur Limestone and con-
Barber, 2005). This unit was first described as Tampur Limestone in the
sidered the Parapat/Bruksah Formation to be the oldest Cenozoic strata
Tampur massif and Tampur River by ‘t Hoen (1922) who found no
in the east.
fossils in a unit several thousand feet thick, but considered it pre-Cen-
Apart from ‘t Hoen's field relationship, there are two other lines of
ozoic as clasts of it were found reworked into the basal conglomerate of
evidence suggesting the Tampur is pre-Cenozoic. The type Tampur
the overlying “mica-sandstone" or Bruksah Formation. In 1976 Asamera
Limestone is an elongate outcrop about 35 km NW to SE and is located
sampled about two thousand feet of the Tampur River traverse and
above the Carboniferous to Early Permian Bohorok Formation (glacio-
found no fossils except in one sample a few fine bioclasts including rare
marine diamictite) and below the mid-Cenozoic Bruksah Formation
Halkyardia. On the basis of this single occurrence a range of Eocene to
clastics. There is a 12 km gap in outcrop then a second carbonate massif
Oligocene was assigned, eventually published in 1993 by Caughey and
also striking NW to SE and about 20 km long (Bukit Karang Putih to
Wahyudi of Asamera, who cited the 1974 Robertson Research field
Alurgajah). This limestone is also located between underlying Bohorok
sample observation of Halkardia, but also cited an Early Oligocene age
Formation and the Bruksah Formation above. This is the Kalue or Kaloi
from Bennett and others (1981, table 2), Early Cretaceous from
location (Figs. 1 and 2) where the Kaloi Limestone Formation (first used
Gondwana (1984), and Early Carboniferous ages of Pertamina/BEICIP,
by ‘t Hoen, formal definition in Bennett et al., 1981) contains trilobites,
(1985). As Caughey and Wahyudi noted “The Tampur thus has major
brachiopod and ammonoids (identified and discussed in Rutten, 1927;
problems with paleontologic age”. The Pertamina/Beicip report did not
Bennett et al., 1981) of Late Permian age.
mention the Tampur Limestone, but noted Early Carboniferous dolo-
A review of well data in northeast Sumatra, especially those cited in
mitic carbonates as basement, including several wells cited in Caughey
publications as having drilled Tampur Limestone Formation, has found
and Wahyudi as being Tampur Limestone. Bennett et al. (1981) is cited
that none of these wells recorded Eocene or Oligocene microfossils.
in the Stratigraphic Lexicon of Indonesia (Harahap et al., 2003) as the
Conversely the Alur Pineueng-1 cored a carbonate at total depth and
type definition, but the previous year Cameron et al. (1980) had used
found a rugose coral identified as Lower Carboniferous to Lower
Tampur Limestone Formation as “a new lithostratigraphic name pro-
Permian (Robertson Research, 1972), and potassium-argon dating of a
posed here” and assigned an "?Eocene - early Oligocene” age but
clastic horizon gave a metamorphic (minimum) age of 146 ( ± 7 mil-
without details. Bennett et al. gave a formal type location and de-
lion years measurement precision). The Lemuru-1 well that had been
scription, but noted the formation contained no fossils yet still assigned

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P. Lunt Marine and Petroleum Geology 106 (2019) 1–16

Fig. 6. Locations of offshore North Sumatra and West Thailand wells.

Tampur carbonate and basement are indistinguishable on seismic.

Note that the Alur Buni limestone of ‘t Hoen has never been re-
located and the species of Nummulites never stated, and so could be the
Oligocene Nummulites fichteli-intermedius forms found in the west in
thinly bedded limestone (eg. Kr. Beurusa, Fig. 2. The entire Alur Buni
stream in within an area now mapped as Bruksah Formation (Bennett
et al., 1981), around 97° 52′ 5.5″E and 4° 12′ 42″N.

3. The Rayeu Hinge

The term Rayeu Hinge was marked on figures in Kamili et al. (1976)
but not described. The term was being used at this time in informal oil
industry reports (sometimes as the “Lower Miocene Hinge” as published
in Kingston, 1978) for the same feature that marked a north-south
Fig. 5. Palaeobathymetry summary for the northern part of North Sumatra,
trending Hinge Line between the Malacca Platform in the east and the
from Kersting (1975). The later Early Miocene is shown with two palaeo-
much thicker sediments of the Lhok Sukon Deep and other areas to the
bathymetric zones reflecting the Arun reef in a photic inner to middle neritic
setting and the plankton-rich, deep marine Peutu found in outcrop and wells
west (Fig. 1). The term was also used by Sosromihardjo (1988) where it
nearby (eg. the Pirak Anticline, and the Cunda A-1, and Lho Seumawe A-1 was described as an “Early Miocene” lineament separating the Tampur
wells; Fig. 1). The time scale is GTS 2016 (Ogg et al., 2016), showing the Letter Platform in the east from the Pase Sub-basin in the west. Northwards
Stages and Zones cited in the text. the hinge (identified as a dextral wrench fault) continued as the Khlong
Marui Fault, and southwards the Lokop-Kutacane Fault.
By 1991 unpublished industry reports by Asamera and others had
annotated as Tampur Limestone on Caughey & Wahyudi's Fig. 2 was noted that the area east of the hinge reached economic basement of
cored and subject to biostratigraphy and sedimentological studies that Tampur Limestone Formation dolomites, thought to be highly re-
both found fusuline foraminifera, which indicate a Permo-Carboni- crystallised Permian (see earlier section), changing to sands, slates and
ferous age. Regional seismic studies (eg. Shell, 1993) noted that the carbonates in the Malacca Straits. In contrast the wells to the west of the

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P. Lunt Marine and Petroleum Geology 106 (2019) 1–16

hinge that reached basement found metasediments with tentative The Pergidatit AB-1 well (1974) reached basement and drilled a
Triassic ages. thick early graben fill section below a moderately deep marine Peutu
equivalent section containing later Early Miocene fossils. The dark clays
below this were shallow marine at the top, with a fauna of Ammonia,
4. Asamera's wells Quinqueloculina, Cellanthus and Florilus species (including the Miocene
index Globigerinoides in a core sample), but this fauna gradually faded
Asamera drilled several deep wells into the Tamiang Deep on the with depth. In the four hundred metres below this to a basal breccia,
east side of the Rayeu Hinge in the 1970's (Fig. 15). These were of data is confused as two consultants interpreted an early Early Miocene
limited importance in stratigraphic studies because of inconclusive age based on both foraminifera and nannofossils, but a third consultant,
biostratigraphy data. The oldest wells had no sidewall core analyses, analysing just six cuttings samples for nannofossils, logged some pos-
and in almost all wells there were poor faunas, in what appeared to be sible Oligocene taxa.
shallow or non-marine Black Claystones over basement. The later Perlak East-1 (1981) was located on the flank of the
The Binjei-1 (1970) drilled through a rapid Middle Miocene trans- Tamiang Deep and drilled c. 250 m of dark grey to black claystones
gression over basement, based on biostratigraphy, even though the below Peutu equivalent carbonates and over basement, and a sidewall
well-site log stated “Lower Miocene Black Claystone Formation”. core 25 m above basement contained the Miocene index Globigerinoides
Alur Pineueng-1 (1972), was drilled in an extended section without in a middle neritic facies.
casing, and the rich faunas in the upper hole (Baong Fm.) caved into The South Pineueng A-1 & A-2 were drilled in 1977 & 1984 (770 m
deeper cuttings samples. Seven cores were taken but these were mostly apart) in the inverted centre of the graben, with thick red-beds at the
barren of fossils. There is a section of just over 200 m interbedded black bottom of the drilled section passing up into a “Bruksah” Formation
clays and thin limestone stringers, but the biostratigraphy report found dominated by sands, overlain by the “Bampo” claystones that was dated
only Miocene nannofossil and foraminifera to TD. However, three cores as NN4 to NN3 in age. The A-2 well will be described with its geohistory
in this section indicated shallow marine deposition. The lowest core in a diagram later (Fig. 11).
limestone contained Lepidocyclina along with thick shelled bivalves The Bampo or Black Claystone units in all these wells in the
(Robertsons, 1975, for Asamera). This well can be correlated on seismic Tamiang Deep contrasts with the Pirak Beds to the northwest, which are
to Alur Pineueng-1 in which the “Black Claystone” has been dated as more fossiliferous and distinctly deep marine. The only similarity they
mid to late Early Miocene Zones NN3 to NN4 in age (Robertsons, 1975).

Fig. 7. Palaeoenvironmental interpretations of early Esso wells in the Mergui area of west Thailand (Locations on Fig. 6).

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P. Lunt Marine and Petroleum Geology 106 (2019) 1–16

In the Cenozoic they identified an intra Oligocene tectonic event, which

they dated at about 29 Ma, with oblique compression in some areas
producing tight folds, block faulting “and in the back-arc region this was
accompanied by crustal extension and subsidence”. Full details of their
observations were not published, but this description matches the un-
published summary of Smits (1973). They also noted that the type
Parapat Formation, in the far southeast of North Sumatra (Suyono,
1972) had been dated as N3 or N4 by Adinegoro and Hartoyo (1974,
also the observation of Kamili et al., 1976 given above), and their field
mapping also showed that the Parapat type section post-dated a basal
Miocene tectonic event. As a result they proposed the term “Bruksah
Formation” to replace the old concept of an Early Oligocene sand-rich
transgressive member over metasedimentary basement in the northwest
(i.e. Mobil Oil's unpublished Agam Formation). As noted since the time
of ‘t Hoen (1922, Fig. 2 here) the type location of the Bruksah
(=Beurusa River) location contains Nummulites fichteli-intermedius, and
this new type location was described by (Cameron et al., 1983, see also
Harahap et al., 2003). Some exploration companies continued to use
the new term Bruksah Formation while others continued to use Parapat
Formation for the first sands over basement in northern Sumatra.

6. West Thailand exploration

Fig. 8. Kingston (1978) showing Mobil Oil's view of North Sumatran strati-
In the mid 1970's Esso drilled exploration wells in west Thailand's
graphy. In the pre-Baong section three unconformities are noted; between the
Mergui region, which is a geological extension of the North Sumatran
Agam and Pirak Formations, at the base of the Arun Limestone based on the
Arun A1, and thirdly at the termination of these limestones. Unfortunately the depocentre. The first five wells W9-A to E correlate closely with wells
name “Bampo” was adopted to replace Pirak Formation and the “Parapat” to drilled later in offshore Aceh (e.g. BLD-1, ITU-1 both 1994). The Thai
replace Agam Formation, in contrast to Mobil's unpublished reports. wells W9-A-1, B-1, C-1 and E−1 (Fig. 6) all drilled to the Ranong
Formation; a thick, sand rich section (over basement in the B-1 and C-1
wells) without any marine microfossils, which was overlain by a
have is they are both very dark claystones located below the calcareous
claystone-dominated section containing microfossils that Esso labora-
and fossiliferous later Early Miocene Peutu Formation.
tories interpreted as indicative of deposition in water depths of several
thousand feet (Polachan and Racey, 1994). The environmental sum-
5. Reviews after the Arun discovery mary figures drawn by Esso laboratories (Pflum et al., 1976a&b, Fig. 7
here) are very similar to the summary of Kersting (1975, Fig. 5) from
Three papers attempted to integrate geology in North Sumatra onshore Aceh, indicating a major geological event with hundreds of
during the later 1970's and early 80's. Jordan and Abdullah (1992, metres of basement subsidence drowning out the Agam/Ranong fluvio-
Mobil Oil) looked at subsurface data from the Arun Field and sur- marine clastics. The magnitude of this environmental change breaks
rounding areas. Broader views of geology came from Kamili et al. Walther's Law and a large unconformity (a Non-Waltherian Contact) is
(1976) of Pertamina and Mobil Oil and Cameron et al. (1980) of the indicated. In the Mergui wells the Late Oligocene overlying this event is
Geological Survey. best dated in the W9C-1 and W9E-1 (Polachan and Racey, 1994) where
Kamili et al. (1976) reviewed all the Cenozoic North Sumatran Paragloborotalia opima indicates the early part of the Late Oligocene,
Formations. They combined the Bampo with the Pirak Formation, noted supported by thick Florschetzia trilobata Oligocene palynology zone. The
the absence of “guide fossils” in the type Bampo Formation and noted sparse occurrence of microfossils in the very deep marine facies ham-
the arenaceous foraminifera from the Pirak Fm. (naming typical bathyal pered age dating in the A-1 and B-1 wells, where a dinocyst Tubercu-
index forms such as Cyclammina), as well as the Late Oligocene lodinium vancampoae was originally used to suggest a Miocene age for
planktonic foraminifera. They noted that wells in the Aru Bay area to the sediments above the unconformity, but this form is now know to
the southeast were interpreted as shallow marine but euxinic, yet in the occur as old as mid Oligocene times (Williams and Bujak, 1985). In the
northwest Aceh area the same black claystones were considered outer A-1 well the environmental transition has some planktonic foraminifera
neritic to upper bathyal. Kamili et al. noted a mixture of basal Early and nannofossils below several hundred meters of claystone nearly
Miocene and later Early Miocene markers in the Bampo Formation barren of any fossils. These first open marine fossils include NP 25
claystones in the Aru Bay area but without giving a source for this as- nannofossils as well as foraminifera that span the Late Oligocene to
semblage description. basal Miocene boundary (Polachan and Racey, 1994).
Kamili et al. (1976) also proposed the name Parapat Formation to Such a large scale environmental change, separating coastal or non-
replace the informal (unpublished) name Agam Formation used by marine deposits many hundreds of metres thick from equally thick and
Mobil Oil. The term Parapat Formation had been published in 1972 (a consistently fully bathyal deposits, over many tens of thousands of
location near Parapat town to the south, near Lake Toba), and the type square kilometres, indicates this Non-Waltherian Contact is a correla-
location contained the Miocene marker Globigerinoides and basal Mio- table sequence boundary. It would break Walther's Law to have such a
cene to Oligocene Globigerina angulisuturalis (overlapping ranges from major shift of an entire body of related facies to be observed in one
24.3 to 21.6 Ma, Wade et al., 2011). These authors noted the conflicting location but not be seen to affect the facies succession at another site in
presence of Early Oligocene Nummulites fichteli in what they considered the same fault block.
Agam/Parapat in north Aceh, but they did not consider this contrats in
age significant. After this paper Mobil Oil's reports substituted Parapat 7. Stratigraphic knowledge by about 1980
Formation for Agam Formation.
In 1980 Cameron et al. published a review for the Palaeozoic to The review above, of early activities by Mobil Oil, Asamera and the
Recent geology of all of north Sumatra based mostly on field mapping. Geological Survey up to about 1980, reached conclusions that survive

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P. Lunt Marine and Petroleum Geology 106 (2019) 1–16

testing by later drilling results, and also match observations across the unconformity can be considered in-situ and free of caving. In addition
border in West Thailand (Polachan and Racey, 1994). Unfortunately the there were also core and sidewall cores analysed above and below the
detailed reviews by Smits (1973) and Kersting (1975) of Mobil were unconformable event at 2740 m. In this well the Pirak equivalent
never published, and the Indonesian Geological Survey data was only (“Bampo Fm.” of the operator) contained middle to lower bathyal
partly published as short mapping quadrangle reports and the Cameron faunas (including distinct markers such as Laticarinina pauperata,
et al. (1980) paper. Melonis pompilioides, Cyclammina cancellata and Glomospira charoides),
These authors all saw an unconformity and first-order sequence and the underlying Agam Formation (“Parapat Fm.” of the operator)
boundary of mid-Oligocene age, separating coastal to non-marine was considered coastal plain/supra-littoral. A core near the top of the
clastics below from fully bathyal claystones above, with an eastern limit Agam Formation contained no marine bioclastic fragments of any sort,
to both facies at the Rayeu Hinge. Later, near the base of the Miocene neither nannofossils nor glauconite (both of which had been frequent in
there was onset of rifting and transgression of the zone east of the the overlying marine beds), after analysis of multiple core samples.
Rayeu Hinge. The publication of Kingston (1978) however took a small Palynology analysis had found common foraminiferal test linings in the
step backwards. In his previous figures the “Black Claystones” east of section above the unconformity but only very rare test linings, with
the Rayeu Hinge were called Sembilan Beds (Fig. 4) and dated as basal very rare marine dinocysts in the 300 m thick section below, for which a
Miocene and no older, but in 1978 Kingston began to use the name fluvial to brackish estuary environment was interpreted. In this well the
Bampo Formation (Fig. 8) and, with no supporting data, he directly Pirak Formation was dated NP25, O6-7 (Wade et al., 2011) on rich and
correlated this apparently marginal or non-marine, Early Miocene fa- diverse foraminifera and nannoflora, the Agam Formation dated as
cies with the deep marine Oligocene Pirak Formation to the west, undifferentiated Oligocene on palynology.
contrary to the observations of Kersting (1975). However the strati- This major facies change is the single recognisable environmental
graphic summary of Kingston did emphasise three major un- contrast in the well (i.e. the only major Non-Waltherian Contact). From
conformities; one at the mid-Oligocene Agam to Pirak boundary in the mid-Oligocene times to Recent all samples contain fully bathyal faunas.
east, a second at base Miocene and below the Arun Field, equivalent to This simple sedimentary history constrains the geohistory plot in Fig. 9.
the event of Smits (1973, Fig. 3), and a third major unconformity at the The biostratigraphy data shows there was a period of relatively slow
termination of the Arun limestone; at the start of the Penulin or Baong sedimentation through the Early and Middle Miocene, but this ac-
Formation. celerated with the onset of distal Keutapang Formation deposition from
basal Late Miocene to Recent. This has been drawn as an initial base-
8. Banyu Laut Dalam-1 ment subsidence of the well location in order to assume the palaeo-sea-
floor after the unconformity was at a similar depth to today, followed
The 1994 Banyu Laut Dalam-1 [BLD-1] is a key well in under- by basement sag that was compensated by the accelerated Keutapang
standing the stratigraphy of the region, although the same events are deposition. Note that at Intan Utara-1 [ITU-1] the top of the Oligocene
seen in the Intan Utara-1 [ITU-1] drilled the same year, and other wells. Agam Formation non-marine beds are currently 3.6 km below sea-level,
BLD-1 reached basement and also set casing in the later Oligocene showing that even greater basement subsidence has occurred there.
claystone section, so drill cuttings below this casing and above the main This was the basis of the “catastrophic tectonic subsidence of the region in

Fig. 9. Geohistory of the Banyu Laut Dalam [BLD]-1 well.

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P. Lunt Marine and Petroleum Geology 106 (2019) 1–16

the latest Oligocene” described by Tsukada et al. (1996). Slightly shal- gentle subsidence gave space for a biohermal limestone to be deposited.
lower in the BLD-1 well there is an abrupt gamma log break, just above A third “catastrophic” event occurred terminating Arun Limestone de-
the highest Oligocene nannofossils, which is the onset of the more position followed by the bathyal Baong Formation onlapping the pa-
calcareous Peutu Formation. laeohigh (Jordan and Abdullah, 1992). The Baong Fm. and then the
more rapidly deposited Keutapang and subsequent formations are
9. Arun-1 known to be around 3 km thick, which gives an indication of the total
basement subsidence since extinction of the Arun reef.
The Arun-1 well has featured in many publications. The 1992 re- Other wells that indicate a major sequence boundary at the Oligo-
view of Jordan and Adbullah includes details of strontium and micro- Miocene boundary are the Jau-2, PLB-1 and Ranot-1 in which there is
fossil dating, as well as environment of deposition for both the Bampo no deep marine Late Oligocene present (non-deposition or erosion), but
Formation and Arun Limestone or the Peutu Formation. The review of undifferentiated Oligocene Agam/Ranong Formation clastics overlain
Kersting 1975, p.49 described the deep marine fauna in Arun A1 and A- by earliest Miocene very deep marine beds. Other wells (e.g. W9-D-1,
6 in the most detail (“deep water arenaceous foraminifera including EAO B-1) have Agam/Ranong non-marine clastics overlain by shallow
Cyclammina, Tritaxalina, Tritaxia, Vulvulina and Karreriella”). The marine Peutu or Tai Limestone of basal Miocene upper Te age
Jordan & Adbullah report notes a seven million year age gap between (Polachan and Racey, 1993, 1994). In the well W9 E−1 rapidly de-
the deep marine Pirak claystones (“Bampo Fm.” of those authors) and posited Late Oligocene sandy turbidites are abruptly overlain by con-
the Arun Limestone (based on strontium isotopic dating). The Pirak densed Early Miocene bathyal clays. In Kantang-1 there is a 200 foot
Formation was eroded down to beds of NP24 age and the high of Arun thick clean limestone over basement with a Late Oligocene fauna
was not transgressed by limestone until just after the c. 20–21 Ma ex- (Lower Te; Lepidocyclina Eulepidina and Heterostegina) and this is di-
tinction of Te larger foraminifera (which are seen in lower Peutu Fm. rectly overlain by basal Early Miocene bathyal clays (dated by T. car-
beds off the Arun high (such as the type Peutu Fm. c 15 kms SE of inatus NN2 and older; Polachan and Racey, 1994).
Arun). Another time gap of about four million years is described after In the Cunda area, less than 10 km from the Arun field, multiple
the Arun limestone became extinct and subsided, but before the sub- wells show the Late Oligocene through Miocene sediments are con-
sequent Baong Formation deep marine clays onlapped and covered the sistently very deep marine clay facies, but base Peutu Formation is a
submerged crest. The well history can be displayed on a geohistory condensed globigerine-rich chalk, with an abrupt basal contact dated as
curve, as in Fig. 10. virtually on the Oligo-Miocene boundary. (In the Cunda area the A-4
In this reconstruction a similar mid-Oligocene subsidence rate as well is similar to the Kantang-1 well in the north, with a thin Lower Te,
seen at BLD-1 is assumed, but it could have been less, (or more, as at Late Oligocene limestone over basement.) These observations are from
ITU-1). The most noticeable aspect is that close to the Oligo-Miocene palaeontology reports of the various operators, and personal examina-
boundary a second major tectonic event was the uplift, which com- tion of samples from several Cunda wells by the author.
pletely reversed the subsidence that had occurred at the base Pirak, and As noted above, in BLD-1 the Oligo-Miocene boundary is marked by
led to erosion of part of the deep marine sedimentary section before a gamma log break followed by condensed sedimentation. The other

Fig. 10. Geohistory of the Arun-1 well. Compare to Figure 38.8 in Buck and McCulloh (1994) which shows a simple rift burial history for the Lho Sukon Deep around
Arun, omitting the deep marine nature of the Pirak Fm. (their Bampo Fm.) and its required uplift to the photic zone to seed the Arun Reef.

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P. Lunt Marine and Petroleum Geology 106 (2019) 1–16

wells described show how there is variety in the type of facies change at likely to be part of a rapidly deposited transgressive systems tract,
the Oligo-Miocene boundary, which contrasts with the mid-Oligocene correlating with the condensed Peutu in marine settings, than the
event that was dominated by rapid subsidence. longer lasting but distinctly sand-poor, deep marine, Pirak Formation
The termination of the reef at Arun is indicated on strontium iso- that now crops out as close as 15 km away to the west (Panggoh River).
topes in Jordan and Abdullah (1992) to have been at about 15 Ma. This The operator however assigned the thick clastics to the Bruksah
matches a report in Longman (1993) that states that work by Mobil Formation, and the first datable beds were grey to dark grey shales
palaeontologists had shown that Early Miocene carbonate deposition considered to be the Bampo Formation. These were better studied in the
continued into Zone N8, virtually on the Early to Middle Miocene S. Pineueng-1 where Early Miocene zone NN3 to NN4 (mid to later
boundary, before deposition was terminated and was followed by a Early Miocene) faunas were obtained in a poor marine fauna with no
major unconformity. This also matches work by the author (un- significant foraminifera. There are a few carbonate to marly claystone
published for Mobil, 1995) on the Cunda wells where the Peutu interbeds, a poorly described Peutu or Sembilan Formation equivalent
Limestone is a globigerine-rich equivalent to the Arun limestone with containing both planktonic and larger foraminifera, then an indistinct
local concentrations of transported larger foraminifera. In Cunda A-4 in- log pick for the base Baong Formation (dark grey claystones above dark
situ samples just above below casing and above the Peutu, with brown, grey claystones), which approximately coincides with a change, up-
mudstone type preservation colour are middle Miocene in age with hole, to outer neritic or bathyal conditions. The base of this facies
common Orbulina. Upon drilling into the white coloured and slightly change is hard to pick precisely as it is dependent on ditch cuttings
overgrown planktonic-rich fauna of the Peutu Formation no more Or- samples subject to caving. The sediments above the transition are dated
bulina are noted in abundant faunas so the lithological boundary is as Middle Miocene by Paragloborotalia mayeri and Orbulina. The Baong
therefore close to the base Zone M6 proxy for base Middle Miocene. Formation is relatively condensed, also with marly limestone interbeds,
until the rate of sedimentation increases with the Late Miocene influx of
10. South Pineueng-1 and -2 Keutapang clastics.

This pair of wells, drilled 770 m apart (1977, 1984, shown on 11. Integration of data
Fig. 1), reached basement in the deeper −2 well, which is therefore
used for the geohistory plot in Fig. 11. They were drilled on an inverted There are three dominant unconformities, one of which was de-
structure near the axis of the Tamiang Deep, and both drilled into non- scribed by Tsukada et al. (1996) as having “catastrophic” magnitude.
marine clastics which are currently undated. These were in mid-Oligocene, close to the Oligo-Miocene boundary and
On the geohistory plot the basement subsidence profiles for the in the latest Early Miocene. The magnitude of change, and at Arun the
Arun A-1 and BLD-1 wells are displayed as dashed lines, for compar- composite of all three events, with alternating directions of subsidence,
ison. It is assumed that the rifting of the graben under South Pineueng- uplift and then subsidence again, suggests localised high magnitude
2, and deposition of thick continental red-beds and then fluvial sands, strains from transtensional wrench movement. Wrench tectonics had
was near the base of the Miocene for reasons explained in this report. It been identified as the dominant style in North Sumatra since
is assumed that the thick and coarse grained clastics trapped in a new Sosromihardjo (1988) and the severity of stratigraphic contrast at se-
and presumably rapidly subsiding accommodation space are more quence boundaries supports this. Simple extensional rift basins tend to

Fig. 11. Geohistory of the S Pineueng-2, compared to BLD-1 and Arun-1 well.

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P. Lunt Marine and Petroleum Geology 106 (2019) 1–16

show more gradual phases of facies change (with the exception of 11.2. The NS20, Late Oligocene Megasequence
break-up unconformities if rift develops into plate drift). However the
oblique nature of wrench stress can locally focus both uplift and sub- A summary sketch of the Late Oligocene is shown in Fig. 14. The
sidence. Lock-up and then release of strike-slip motion can also ex- Pirak Formation that characterises this sequence is often visited by
aggerate the speed of facies change in the sedimentary record. Indonesian Petroleum Association field trips to the Panggoh river area
From this stratigraphic model there are four main palaeogeo- (Caughey and Sofyan, 1994, Fig. 1 location circled white 9), where the
graphies before and after each of the three major sequence boundaries. field trip manual shows thin sections of what they call “Bampo Shale”
rich in planktonic foraminifera (outer neritic to bathyal benthic fauna
noted) and finely disseminated pyrite giving it its dark colour. It's his-
11.1. The NS10, Early Oligocene Megasequence
torical name of Black Claystone (Zwarte Kleisteen) gives a fair indication
of the dominant lithofacies, however within this deep marine sediment
The Agam Fm. is a sand rich generally fluvio-deltaic facies (e.g.
there are also some thick, sand bodies, as drilled by the W9 C-1, W9
Smits, 1973), with some minor marine intercalations in the south.
E−1, Kra Buri-1 and BJM-1 (yellow dots on Fig. 14).
Fig. 13 shows a summary of this widespread facies. Key locations (on
As with the Agam Formation little is known about internal facies
Fig. 1) include the Meureudu River described in van Bemelen (1949)
variability within the Pirak Formation. As also pointed out by Racey
where, within the “Basal Layers” of quartzose sands, there are “plant
(2011) the number of wells drilling the older section in the Mergui to
remains and combustible shales”. The Agam River is also coal bearing,
North Sumatra areas is very low. Only about 16 wells reach the Agam/
and in the Jinieb River, Beurusa River and multiple other locations on
Ranong Formations, and about 11 wells reach the Pirak/Yala Beds in
the geological maps there are nummulitic limestone in the mica-sand-
the offshore area: spread over some 50,000 square kilometres.
stone or Agam Formation.
Wells such as Jeuku A-1 drilled later Early Oligocene carbonates
interbedded with clays and tested gas from them. These apparently 11.3. The NS30, early Miocene Megasequence
shallow marine sediments were overlain by very deep marine Pirak
Formation clays, as seen in other wells and outcrops in the area. The The model presented here suggests tectonism near the Oligo-
carbonate was called the Jeuku Limestone by Mobil, who drilled it Miocene boundary, which initiated rifting of the north-south trending
again in the Jawa B-1 (1988–89) where it was more coralline but lacked grabens east of the Rayeu Hinge, and in that area the first syn-rift se-
porosity (current buried to a depth of 15,000 feet). These wells are only diments varyied from continental facies to euxinic paludal muds. This is
about 15 km northeast of mapped Early Oligocene nummulitic lime- shown very simplified on Fig. 15. Following a normal transgressive
stone beds and in an area with oil and gas seeps (maps in Jaarboek, succession, sands passed up into lower energy muds and then interbeds
1917 and described in ’t Hoen, 1922). of shallow marine limestones. In eastern areas a shallow marine to
As noted above this sand-rich, fluvio-deltaic formation, with only paralic quartz sandy succession is called the Belumai Formation
minor interbeds of shallow marine facies, is found over a very wide area (Payang Fm. in Mergui, cf. Polachan and Racey, 1994). Over some
from North Sumatra to Mergui, almost 400 km north to south and isolated highs reefal carbonates managed to form. In the deep marine
150 km east to west (Fig. 13). Very little is known about the internal areas west of the Rayeu Hinge the rate of sedimentation slowed, as
facies variation within this unit, except perhaps that marine limestones clastics were being trapped in rapidly subsiding eastern grabens. In this
appear to be more common in the south. Even though Smits was aware westerly area a mixture of calcareous clays grading to hemi-pelagic
of only part of its geographic distribution, he thought such a wide- marls were deposited, locally with interbeds of thin calcarenite sands,
spread unit might be a molasse in front of a mountain range. It is clear as seen in the type Peutu Formation location.
that supply of sediment exceeded creation of accommodation space. Reefs therefore fall into two categories; those in the east and the far

Fig. 12. Stratigraphic summary diagram for North

Sumatra showing two distinct parts of the basin, each
with a unique stratigraphic record, but controlled by
a common tectonic history. (1) Onset of rifting; ear-
liest Oligocene. (2) Major, break-up type tectonism,
(3) concurrent uplift and rifting, (4) End Peutu tec-
tonism and subsidence (5) Beginning of uplift of
Barisan Mountains, (6) Intra Late Miocene event
(limited data).

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P. Lunt Marine and Petroleum Geology 106 (2019) 1–16

Fig. 13. The NS10, Early Oligocene Megasequence palaeogeography, between

events 1 and 2 on Fig. 12.
Fig. 14. The NS20, Late Oligocene Megasequence palaeogeography, between
west (Sigli, EAO and GPM wells) that grew over basement or shallow events 2 and 3 on Fig. 12.
marine clastics, and those, such as Arun, that formed over uplifted
blocks of previously deep marine eroded clastics. Racey (2011) de- two petroleum systems (cf. Buck and McCulloh, 1994). The Baong and
scribes fault inversion and local uplift at end Yala Formation time lo- younger section is not considered in any detail here and the interested
cally followed by Early Miocene subsidence and a few reefs (W9D-1, reader is referred to Mulhadiono and Soedaldjo, 1978, Kirby et al.,
Yala-1). 1989, Kjellgren and Sugiharto, 1989, and Nur'aini et al., 2000).
As noted earlier, the Peutu Formation west of the Rayeu Hinge is a The event of importance for this review is the tectonism that trig-
suite of highly variable litho-facies. This variation in Early Miocene gered the Baong Formation, and a change from the high lateral facies
lithofacies increases when the Sembilan, Belumai and type Bampo fa- variability during the NS30 Megasequence (Peutu Fm. to Belumai Fm.
cies east of the Rayeau Hinge are included. This high variability con- to Arun Limestone, Sembilan and Bampo Fms.) during the Early
trasts with the geographic monotony of the Agam and Pirak Formations Miocene, to once again a simpler facies distribution, simply deepening
of the Oligocene, and suggests a strong tectonic control on topography from east to west (Fig. 16).
and sediment supply during the Early Miocene. The NS40 Megasequence was gradually replaced by the Keutapang
The term Parapat Formation can be applied to early transgressive and Seurula sedimentary systems (NS50 and younger sequences) were
sands in this unit, but as this formation is defined so far south of the derived from the uplifting Barisan Mountains in the south during the
study area (c. 200 km), in beds with marine microfossils, while the Late Miocene. This event contrasts from the three older sedimentary
sands in the study area are non-marine graben fill, this name may be a changes as while the older sequence boundaries are extremely rapid
poor choice as it ignores important facies characters. and produce highly contrasting facies contacts in sedimentary succes-
sions, the onset of the uplift and erosion of the Barisan Mountains was a
11.4. The NS40, middle Miocene Megasequence far more gradual event (Kirby et al., 1989).

While some Malacca shelf carbonates may have survived into the
early Middle Miocene and the onset of the deposition of the Baong 12. Conclusions
Formation, the beginning of widespread subsidence at this time marked
a completely new sedimentary regime. Kingston (1978) was one of the This work has continued an unpublished technical initiative by
first to point out that the sedimentary geology of North Sumatra can be Smits and Kersting of Mobil Oil (1973, 1975), added modern wells data
simply divided into “pre-Baong” and then a section overlying the base to it and tested it over a wider area. The North Sumatra region has
Baong unconformity. Over most of north Sumatra the lower Baong produced many trillions of cubic feet of gas and hundreds of millions of
Formation is overpressured and considered a regional seal separating barrels of liquids (cf. Courteney et al., 1989) but the study of the

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P. Lunt Marine and Petroleum Geology 106 (2019) 1–16

by Kersting (1975) and Pflum et al. (1976a, 1976b), it was only with
the work of Tsukada et al. (1996) that the “catastrophic” enormity of
the mid Oligocene event could be estimated (see Fig. 9 for a graphic
representation). However even these workers did not include this event
on their summary sequence stratigraphic chart (Fig. 2 of both Tsukada
et al., 1996 and Fuse et al., 1996) as they did not know to integrate this
event, seen in two of their wells, within the established regional model
(A. Fuse pers. comm.).
Fundamental to the new review is facies analyses, and a simple
implication from Walther's Law. This is that extended sedimentation
around one closely related set of facies (fluvio-deltaic, coastal to oc-
casional shallow marine), changing in less that a biozone, with no re-
cognisable deposition of any intermediate facies, to extended and thick
sedimentation in a highly contrasting, middle bathyal setting is, by
definition, a major unconformity (a Non-Waltherian Contact). Such a
contact must be a highly correlatable event, with very little diachro-
neity (relative to the thickness of the surrounding sediments). Walther's
Law would rule out inter-digitation of such strongly contrasting facies.
While the offshore drilling data used by Tsukada et al. (1996) saw
just one such major event, there are at least three (Fig. 12, labelled 2, 3
and 4). An additional event is the much more gradual uplift of the
Barisan Mountains of Sumatra and introduction of a new clastic supply
and associated compression of the old basin (Kirby et al., 1989).
While the very rapid subsidence in mid Oligocene times separated
two highly contrasting facies sets, the changes triggered near the Oligo-
Miocene boundary are more complex. Tectonism uplifted a series of

Fig. 15. The NS30, Early Miocene Megasequence palaeogeography, between

events 3 and 4 on Fig. 12.

tectono-stratigraphic development of the area has been neglected. It is

possible to describe North Sumatra as having two distinct basinal areas
separated by the Rayeu Hinge, and each should be studied and explored
differently. This would include basic exploration statistics such as
creaming curves and yet-to-find estimates, which are heavily skewed
towards the far more intensely drilled and generally younger south-
eastern segment.
As Buck and McCulloh (1994) pointed out, there are two main
petroleum systems in North Sumatra and their Figure 38.2 shows the
divide between them to be over the Rayeu Hinge, although this hinge
was not mentioned by them. The larger of these was unfortunately
named the Bampo-Peutu (!) System however, as shown here, the Bampo
Formation cannot be the source for this system, which is therefore still
an unknown stratigraphic unit. The two basins are over two different
basement types, ?Permian to carboniferous limestone in the east and
?Triassic metasediments in the west, suggesting this is an ancient
structural divide influencing Cenozoic sedimentation. Such terrane re-
constructions have been suggested by Hutchison (2007) and Metcalfe
(2017), separating the Sibumasu terrane in the east and the West Su-
matra Block in the east.
This review focuses on the Oligocene to base Middle Miocene stra-
tigraphic history and the general form of the basin, in order to identify
the primary sequence stratigraphic units. The unconformities separ-
ating these megasequences saw rapid changes in basin configuration,
sediment supply and depocentre location. These are first-order changes
that set the framework for smaller scale, and possibly more cyclical, Fig. 16. The NS40, mid Miocene Megasequence palaeogeography, between
stratigraphic studies. For example, although noted in unpublished work events 4 and 5 on Fig. 12.

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P. Lunt Marine and Petroleum Geology 106 (2019) 1–16

horsts to sea level, or above, to be eroded, followed by slow sag and reef the older one is very likely to contain the hydrocarbon source for the
growth. At the same time tectonic strain began to open a series of super-giant Arun gas and condensate field. It is perhaps a little sur-
grabens on the Malacca Shelf and initiated rapid deposition of syn-rift prising that the oil industry has been satisfied for so long not knowing
Bampo/Sembilan Formation clastics. As sediment was trapped in the what is the source rock for this and adjacent giant fields, with no evi-
new proximal grabens the distal marine locations in the northwest re- dence-based stratigraphic model to project elements of petroleum sys-
ceived only condensed sedimentation, with contributions of calcarenite tems into un-drilled areas.
debris from the new reefal areas. This distinctly more calcareous wes-
tern unit was called the Peutu Formation, and contrasts with the un- Acknowledgements
derlying black clays.
In the east, transgression over the rifting Malacca Shelf can be dated This account is based on more than 20 years of consideration of the
from the first marine sediments of mid to later Early Miocene age. The North Sumatra area and includes previously unpublished observations
oldest sediments lack marine fossils and are hard to date, varying from of analyses by the author. Two reviewers were especially helpful with
organic rich mudstones to red-beds and coarse sands. Later syn-rift both corrections and helpful improvements to the papers.
sediments are more usually quartz sands grading into sandy limestone
and sand clays, with local reefal carbonates. These mixed facies have References
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