Changing Paradigm and Leveraging Information from Proven Plays: Discoveries in New Play and Overlooked Exploration Potential in the West Natuna Basin

In 2017, the “MS-1” well was drilled in the West Natuna Basin (WNB) and discovered gas within the shallow section of Muda Formation. The discovery was an important milestone that changed the way shallow gas pockets are seen in the basin, from a potential shallow gas hazard into shallow gas reservoirs. Such a paradigm shift is proven to help discover additional hydrocarbon resources in a new play in a mature basin such as the WNB. Following this success, other explorers within the WNB chased similar play in the region and since then several discoveries have been made. Apart from this newly tested play, WNB holds other overlooked plays where in the study area, the Miocene point bar deposit and the Eocene-Early Oligocene lacustrine-fan delta stratigraphic trap plays are present, situated at close proximity to a wrench fault system. Successful analogues of such plays in other parts of SE Asia region (i.e. South Angsi and Jasmine Fields) suggest the vast remaining potential to explore in the WNB.