Timor Leste Explorationhistory

A Journey into the Exploration History of East Timor: SEAPEX Conference, April 5-7 2005
Premier’s South China Sea Interests

A Journey Into the Exploration History
of East Timor
Chris Kenyon
Peter Cockcroft
Wayne Spencer
Block
7,8/97
(VAMEX)
(14,874 sq. km incl Oecusse)

acknowledgements:
Premier Oil Far East Ltd (WayneBlock

Spencer & Phil MacLaurin)
7,8/97
Odd-Arne Larsen (VAMEX)
(FUGRO MCS)
Charles Ramsden and Andy Cunningham (GGS)
Steve Jeffery and John Boldock (ASB)
Peter Baillie (TGS-Nopec)
Peter Nicholson (‘The Australian’)
Marie Van De Zuidwind
Overview attempts to be:
•Objective and without bias in reporting

political and legislative events and milestones
•Non-affiliated
•Unrestrained and open in geological

opinions!!
THE PRINCIPAL AUTHORS – THE TIMOR CONNECTION

PETER COCKCROFT CHRIS KENYON
(all things commercial, (geological, geophysical & general exploration aspects)
petroleum legislative, engineering & political)
Kenyon, C.S., 1971. Viqueque Stratigraphy, Seismic

Timor Oil – East Timor Interpretation and the Search for Oil: Cape Suai.
Late 60’s –early 70’s Report to International Oils Exploration N.L., 1971.
Kenyon, C.S., 1974. Stratigraphy and sedimentology
of the late Miocene to Quaternary deposits of Timor.
Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of London.
Kenyon, C.S., & Warwick, D.J., 1970. The Onshore
Viqueque Group of Portuguese Timor: A Report on
the Stratigraphy and Petroleum Prospects. Timor Oil,
Internal Communication (Bl/18).
Block International Oils - West Timor

7,8/97 Late 60’s – early 70’s
(VAMEX)
Marathon – ZOCA
Early 90’s
In the period since these photographs

were taken
We’ve gone from here….
1969 Exploration Infrastructure

to here….
2005 Exploration Infrastructure

The Journey:
•Evolution in Geological Thinking
INTO THE PAST •Changing Exploration Focus
•Overriding Political Developments
•The Prize to date

THE PRESENT
•The Ultimate Prize
AND FUTURE
•How will we get there ? (resources)
A Journey into the Exploration History of Timor: SEAPEX Conference, April 5-7 2005
Regional Tectonic Framework

Block
of the Timor-N Bonaparte 7,8/97
(VAMEX)
Basin Area
Abadi Discovery
•Australian Continental Crust Australian Sunset/Troubadour +/- 4 TCF
>10 TCF
extends to the north of Timor Continental
Margin
•Evidence: Gravity Surveys (Chamalaun et al 1976)
Timor stratigraphy & sediments with
Australian affinities Evans Shoal
>15? TCF
•Sharp, linear axis of Timor Trough

marks leading edge of imbricates Laminaria, Corallina
200? MMBO
Bayu-Undan
3.4 TCF + 400 MMBO
Scott Reef/Brecknock
Petrel, Tern
17.7 TCF+ 211MMBO
1.5? TCF
Vulcan Graben
200+ MMBO
(Orig Norvick 1977)

Outer Banda Arc including East Timor, marks the zone of collision between the
northwestern edge of the Australian
continent and a former oceanic subduction zone.
(a) Pre-collision:
subduction of
Australian Plate
Beneath Eurasian
Plate gives rise to
Volcanic Banda
Arc
(b) Subduction of
the Oceanic
Plate continues
as the
Continental
margin
approaches
Source: Hamson et al 2004
Pesa Timor Symposium
(c) Onset of Arc-continent collision:

the Australian Continental Margin
reaches the subduction zone and
jams collision. South-directed
imbrication of the Aileu complex and
parts of the Banda forearc (Lolotoi
complex capped by Cablac
Limestone) occurs as the allochthons
Block
are thrust towards the south onto the
7,8/97 Australian continental margin. The
(VAMEX) Bobonaro Scaly Clay is emplaced as
a gravity slide deposit beneath and in
front of the southernmost thrust
sheet
(d) Ongoing
Collision: Shedding
of sediments from
the Lolotoi complex
towards the south
caused the
deposition of the
Viqueque formation
Source: Hamson et al 2004

Pesa Timor Symposium
Most models are of the thin-

skinned variety –
Sediments of the
Australian Continent
are in some cases
exposed, in others
accessible beneath
thrust sheets on
Timor
Sets up accessibility of
N Bonaparte Basin play
equivalents
Various models for the structural evolution of Timor (taken from Reed et al 1996, after Barber 1981)
Structure of the Timor – Timor Trough – N Bonaparte Basin area

Stratigraphic succession on Timor Island:
The rocks exposed in Timor include:
• Early-Permian to Early-Pliocene variably deformed and metamorphosed deep

water sediments of the Australian passive margin (Gondwana and Kolbano
Sequences)
• Late-Miocene-Early Pliocene Bobonaro Scaly Clay, an olistostrome thought

to be emplaced as a gravity slide in response to the southward tilting of Timor
during subduction (Johnston & Bowin, 1981).
• Banda Allochthon: pre-Cretaceous metamorphic rocks overlain by

sedimentary deposits and ophiolites of upper Jurassic to Lower Pliocene age,
all of which are derived from the pre-collisional Banda fore-arc
• Post-orogenic Upper-Miocene to Recent coral reefs, alluvial terraces and

turbidites, unconformably overlying all other lithotectonic units
Accessible ‘gently deformed’

Australian continental succession
Emplaced from the north under here
to high structural elevations
i.e.the recent stuff
(Keep et al 2004)
Frontally accreted Bobonaro Scaly Clay (‘Bobo’)
Australian sediments foliated brown clay
w/ inclusions the size of small hills
Decollement
surface
Wai Luli – seal &

source
for Plover-
equivalent
reservoirs.
Structure and Stratigraphy of Banli-1 (Sani et al 1995, Charlton 2001)

1910’s
1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
PORTUGUESE COLONY
WORLD WAR 1
Political
Petroleum
& offshore
boundary 1st Shallow well at Aliambata
legislation
FARO 37 BOPD
From 100m depth
Company
Activity
Wells 1st shallow well at

Aliambata
& Seismic Produced 37 BOPD
From less than 100m
depth
Timor Sea
& Northern
Bonaparte
Block
7,8/97
(VAMEX)
Seeps known since

the 18th Century
Seep occurrences:
•.Long history of exploitation of the seeps by
local communities – helped fire steam boilers
around Viqueque in the early 1900s
•Industry Interest began in late 1890s
•Used to place initial wells
•A pit in Paulaca produced 10s of thousands

barrels until 1960s
•Japanese mined light oil from one of the seeps

on the foreshore during WW2 – 100 bbls/day and
converted it to fuel on the spot
•Seeps are most prolific along the south coast of

East Timor, but extend over the border
to West Timor in the Tertiary basin
Figure 19 Petroleum Occurrences of Timor (Charlton 2001)
1940’s
1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
PORTUGUESE COLONY
WORLD WAR II
Political JAPANESE OCCUPATION
Petroleum
& offshore Royal Dutch-Shell
boundary
legislation Gravity & Field Work
Geological reconnaissance
1947-48 royal Dutch-Shell
Work in ET
Company
Activity
Royal Dutch Shell regional

Gravity survey 1947-48
Shallow holes dug by Japanese near Matai
recovering ‘large amounts of crude’ Royal Dutch Shell Field work
Wells In East Timor
& Seismic
Timor Sea Japanese produced oil

& Northern
Bonaparte from pits during war
Ossulari seeps-
1950’s 1955 Portuguese mid-line
1950 1950
1951 s Wells Drilled by Timor Oil
med gravity1953
1952 dark brown1954 1955
claim superimposed
1956
on present infrastructure
1957 1958 1959
crude in pit dug by Japanese-
PORTUGUESE COLONY
Borolalo Lst, close to
Well Year Status (m)
Faults in TDa/c(m)
Aliambata Flowed Section Comments
Political1955 Portuguese Claim Portugal claims
seabed Boundary
w/ Aus. On median
Line principles –
rejected by
Australia
Petroleum 1955 Portuguese mid-line

Aliambata-1claim superimposed
1957 P&A Oil 1269 Ossulari-1,1A 1957
Water Included a 62m Oil at 24m,
on 1955 exploration P&A poor shows layer of K
& offshore infrastructure shows
Block
27m and
boundary 7,8/97 & ‘slight flow’ fromBorolalo Lst
(VAMEX)
underlain by
Possible olistolith in 6000’ 56m
legislation (End-1959 Exploration Status)
Triassic Aitutu &
of black clay then more
Borolalo ERA OF TIMOR OIL
Explore portuguese ET
Timor Oil formed to
Ossulari-1 1959 Abandoned- 2056 - Bobonaro No shows.
Company almost at Located near
Technical surface. Also Ossulari seeps.
Activity (2005 Exploration Status)
Drilled on gravity
problems Penetrated a lst
horizon at depth anomaly
before Aliambata-1
Tertiary Ossulari-1
shales to TD
Wells 1955 Bobonaro
Ossulari-1A
Ossulari-1A 1959 Failed to 1402 Oil in mud at

& Seismic Portuguese almost at
(aka Maku reach main surface. 82m
mid-line
Lico-1) target Aliambata-1 1957 Penetrated the
claim* same Miocene
P&A oil shows
1914 well blew out- lst as Ossulari-1
24m to 56m
Timor Sea still seeping oil In alternating K
& Northern (1955 Exploration Borolalo/Tr Aitutu
(End-1959 Exploration Status) Status) *approximate
Bonaparte
1960 s Wells Drilled by Timor Oil
Well Year Status (m) TD Flowed Section Comments
1960’s
Matai-1
1960 1960
1961 P&A
1962 1963 2037’1964 180 BOPD
1965 1966 Bobonaro
1967 Flowed from
1968 1969
770-855’ almost at Jurassic
PORTUGUESE COLONY
TIMOR OIL EARLY1960’s WELLSsurface (350m Olistolith in
thick) Bobonaro
Matai-1A 1961 COMP 848’ 110 BOPD (37 Bobonaro Flowed from
Political deg API) almost at Jurassic
surface (350m Olistolith in
thick) Bobonaro
Matai 1, 1A
Matai-3 FARO
1961 110-180 BOPD
P&A Traces oil (34 Bobonaro Oil in
34-37 API deg API) & gas almost at ‘Bobonaro/Viqu
From ?Jurassic Lst surface (350m eque’
Petroleum ?olistolith in Bobonaro thick)
Legislation Also oil (no flow)
In Viqueque of Matai-4
Matai-4 1962 Hole lost P&A 1600’ - Oil in (end 1970 exploration
Tr bitumen @
status)
Cape Tafara-1 Others
& dry
Viqueque, 930’, tr oil at
Cape Tafara-1 ERA OF TIMOR OIL
Tafara East-1 wells
penetrated 1955m Audley-CharlesNot mapping of ET aerial1090’
Bobonaro Complete
photographic
Int’l Oils begins
mapping of
Matai-5 Cape
1962 P&A - 850m of Plioc- coverage Massive of both W Timor
Company Viqueque Fm halves of Timor by C.Kenyon, L Giani
Rec on Bobo thickening
completed by Timor ofand J. Noakes
Methane shows only Oil & Int’l Oils Expln
Viqueque off D. Warwick begins
Activity Matai seeps Infill of E Timor
From Viqueque sst crest
Exploration driven by seeps, poor sparse seismic & gravity & belief
UGCthat 1969
the Viqueque was the
& 70 Tafara Areaoil source
Matai-6 1962 P&A 1230’ 32 API
- Lolotoi at TD No shows
Early 1960s Drilling Campaign onshore Late 60’s
surveys seismic & drilling campaign
No other info.
Cape Tafara-1 1969 6414’
3-6Suai
foldCGG
dynamite
fmn tooffshore
1967 No shows
CGG 1968 onshore Tafara East-1
Wells Matai-1 Matai-1A Matai-5
110 miles
Seismic survey
1740’ then
South coast
Seismic survey
South coast Cabo Tafara-1
& Seismic Matai-3 Matai-6
Viqueque to
(End-1963 Exploration Status)
Matai-4 Tafara East-1 6414’. UGG 1969 onshore
Seismic survey
Tafara Timur-1 1969 P&A 6662’
2030m Viqueque Strong flow of Similar to Cape Viqueque South coast
Fm w/ gas-cut salt Tafara-1. First wells in Timor Sea

water-wet
water from near terminated in
Timor Sea water-wet Ashmore-1 Sahul-1
TD scaly clays.
conglomerates
& Northern
Bonaparte
CONSUL OF THE
REPUBLIC OF
PORTUGAL AT THE
HEIGHT OF TIMOR OIL’S
Block ACTIVITY IN THE
7,8/97
(VAMEX)
1960s and 1970s
=
R. ALEC DODSON
(Founder, CEO &
‘driver’
of Timor Oil
From the
1950s
To the 1970s!!)
One of my Portuguese Timor

visas issued by ‘the boss’!
Well Year Status (m) TD Flowed Drilled on Suai Loro Comments
Section Structure
Drilled W. of Cape Suai together with later well Cota Taci-1
on downthrown side of fault
Suai-1 1970 P&A 1970’s
6193’ - Suai-2 Suai-Loro-2
Suai, Viqueque & Suai-Loro-1
Minor methane gfas
NW 0 Bobonaro overlying SENE
& fluor. At 3740’
SW Timor Oil Concession
Suai Line F (Courtesy: Australian Seismic Brokers)
1974 1975 S U
1976
Lolotoi
A I
1970 1971 1972 1973 1977
metamorphics 1978 1979
Suai-2/2A 1970 PORTUGUESE COLONY (til Aug ’75)?
P&A. Operational 6800’ INDON
DST ANNEX.
rec slightly INDON 27THViqueque
Suai, PROVINCE
& 27THshows
Gas
IND at 600’,
PROVINCE - AUS REC
Indonesia claims PT as it’s

difficulties gas-cut water Bobonaro overlying 3415’ & 4866’
Portuguese Institutions
w/ 2 local pro-independ.
Fretilin fights for control
Overthrown in Lisbon
Indonesia invades-
Salazar Dictatorship
prevented open-hole
1000
Lolotoi Suai Fm
Australia recognises
27th Province
12 July 1976
Political testing metamorphics Indonesia’s annexure
parties
of East Timor
flee
Cara Ulo 1 Western
19701970 Survey:
P&A 530’ Thin Viqueque Abandoned –
overlying Bobo. drilling probslems
First ‘modern’ offshore survey Q U
Well stuck in clays ENo shows
Aquapulse 1972 Australia-Indonesia Boundary
Loxton Shoals
NO OFFSHORE1971
Suai Loro-1 BOUNDARY TREATY P&A‘1972’ AUS-IND 5088’ TREATY – GAP CREATED
BOUNDARY 30’ oil 44 deg API ‘1972’ AUS-IND
2000 BDRY TREATY –Oil
Drilled thick NO& ‘GAP’ PROBLEM
gas shows –
24 channel, 1600m cable agreement superimposed on present
Petroleum Sunset W,
–
Suspended under Force

Viqueque & Bobo Bobonaro
Oceanic Concession
Following civil unrest

Sunset
Portuguese Timor infrastructure
Majeur provisions
ProcessedAus.
toSign
& 12-fold
Indon. Begin sections mechanical probs.
& offshore Aus.Negotiations
& Indon. Begin
on seabed
awards oceanic
E&P rights over most Sunrise
Suai loro-2
Seabed boundaries 1971 550 miles
boundary treaty –
P&A – mechanical 5200’Of offshore Drilled thick Fluorescence in
boundary Ignoring Port. Could not be
probs caused
completed Portuguese Timor Indonesia indicates Viqueque & Bobo BobonaroAus. & Indonesia
begin Negotiation
legislation
objections
Across ETsidetrack
creating awards Adobe area
off E tip of island 3000
to Australia itia
willingness to close of seabed Sub-Viqueque
sections
Ranuc-1 1971
Timor Gap
P&A Viqueque
640’ Drilled on seeps &
Troubadour
‘gap’ on same terms
Thin Viqueque on
boundary across ‘gap’
Driiling problems –
ERA OF TIMOR OIL poor surface struc. Bobo ACTIVITY IN EAST
NO EXPLORATION no showsTIMOR
culmination
with bright crest
To drill offshore wildcat +
In T. Oil acreage – also
BOCAL drilled 2 wells

Off East & West Timor
Western 1970 offshore
Lateral displacement
Woodside-BOC agree
9205’
Took 65% of Intl. Oils

In return for 70% W.I
Cota Taci-1 1971 P&A 216 BOPD (25 deg Bobonaro Oil from 8388-8434’
W.Timor acreage on
Seismic survey
2300 km seismic
API) unconformably Oceanic (PetroTimor)
in lst
Similar terms
(see below)
South coast Int’l Oils completes of axis withNdepth
A R O
Company Viqueque
(1972 Exploration Status) mapping of W Timor
4000
overlying Eocene Evacuates Dili
Offshore Aliambata
Cablac which O&G
Activity Fm overlies Lolotoi shows
TIMOR OIL EARLY 70S DRILLING CAMPAIGN

basement schists Growth
Betano-1 1972 P&A 2565’ - Spudded in fault No shows ‘no
Ranuc-1 Cota Taci-1 MOLA-1, SAVU-1
zone – bobonaro & reservoir’ No logs
Mola-1
Betano-1,2 dry holes Western 1974 offshore reworked Fluor.
Bobonaro? Suai-1
Ponded
Seismic survey
turbidites?
5000
Bobonaro? Gas
Pleistocene
Wells
1972
Suai LineAUSTRALIA-INDONESIA
T Suai-2?
‘Timor’ 1972 onshore South coast Offshore
Savu-1
Beaco-Mati Boot shows
Betano-2 1972 Suai Loro -1 Seismic survey

P&A 4411’ - Eocene Lstor
Drilled imbricate Wai Luli
Minor Oil shows in
& Seismic
(Courtesy: Australian 1974 offshore
Seismic South coast
Brokers) – (Jurassic)in cores –
SEABED
contract
Suai-3? BOUNDARY
area
Shell 1972 offshore
awarded
Suai Loro-2 Seismic survey
Western 1975 offshore
Seismic survey
repeated beds
bottomed in
fractures
problems drilling
Cara Ulo-1 South coast (7 lines) South coast Miocene clay Miocene clays
Mola-1
to AGREEMENT
Oceanic By
1975
Portuguese Timor
P&AOffshore Tafara-Suai
10075’ 1
Bayu Undan
N BONAPARTE -
6000
DISC ST
>3km Plio- 2 failed RFTs at
Flamingo-1
Timor Sea Heron-1

multiples
(end 1970Pleistocene
exploration
(Viqueque (2005
&
2295-2297m– gas
status)
Exploration
shows. Status)
younger) Infrastructure)
(2005 Exploration
& Northern 1970 s Wells Drilled by Timor Oil/ or farminee Troubadour-1 Sunrise gas field
Shale-dominated
discovery well Lolotoi
Bonaparte metamorphics lithologies
Dillon Shoals-1
Credit: Keep et al 2004

(and Woodside)
Mola-1 – the only well drilled to date offshore East Timor After Keep et al
THE VIQUEQUE FORMATION (a) Fine - distal

THE VIQUEQUE FORMATION (b) Coarse - Proximal

Viqueque prospectivity – the key?

•In many places on the south coast of East Timor and over most of West Timor,
the Bobonaro Scaly Clay lies between the presumed source (Jurassic Wai Luli)
and the deep water reservoirs of the Viqueque Fmn .
•The Bobonaro is very fluid and mobile and forms diapirs and mud volcanoes over
many parts of both halves of the island
•Mobility in part driven by lateral stresses imparted by advancing thrust fronts of

the allochthon from the north
•Although the plate setting is different, this situation has parallels with the
plumbing system of parts of W Africa (e.g Mauritania) – where Mio-Pliocene deep
water reservoirs are charged from Mesozoic sources through a salt layer. In that
case mobility is driven by gravity sliding (including toe-thrusts) and of course
buoyancy.
•There is some evidence to suggest that transmission of hydrocarbons from deep

source to shallow reservoir takes place via the interface between diapir and
sediment
•Could this be one possible mechanism for charging Viqueque reservoirs??

1980’s
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
INDONESIA 27TH PROVINCE - RECOGNISED BY AUSTRALIA
Political
‘1972’ AUS-IND BOUNDARY TREATY – ‘GAP’ REMAINS UN-NEGOTIATED

Petroleum
& offshore Australia 7
Indonesia
boundary Sign Timor Gap
legislation treaty
NO EXPLORATION ACTIVITY IN EAST TIMOR
Company Timor Gap Treaty Signed

Activity
NONE IN EAST TIMOR
Wells
& Seismic
JABIRU-1A
Timor Sea
Jabiru 1A –oil
discovery
& Northern
Bonaparte
1990’s
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
For independence referendum

INDONESIA 27TH PROVINCE - RECOGNISED BY AUSTRALIA
Indon. Accepts ET demands

UN ceases tio regard ET as
Boundary & water column
Regime & later develop-

Boundary along mid-line
A colony of Poretugal
No effect on Timor-Gap
International Ct of Justice
Portuguese Govt lawsuit
Downfall of Suharto
ecomic zone (EEZ)
EEZ Treaty due to

IndonesiaExclusive
14 Mar:Australia-
Against Australia in
Political
ments
treaty
TIMOR GAP TREATY IN FORCE - ‘1972’ AUS-IND BOUNDARY TREATY APPLIES OUTSIDE OF ‘GAP’
Petroleum
1999 Acreage release in

Timor Gap treaty enters
Companies in ZOCA
PSCs signed with oil
& offshore
Into force
ZOCA
boundary
legislation
Portuguese Government Australia-Indonesia UN CEASES
sign
TO REGARD
ZOCA TENDER OF PSCS
EEZEEZ
ZOC ‘A’(Exclusive
DRILLING
TREATY Economic
NOT Zone)
IMPLEMENTED
Lawsuit
NO EXPLORATION
INDONESIA
ACTIVITY IN EAST TIMORAgreement ET‘office’
field and ASon ACCEPTS
Amid-line
COLONY
studies only – see OFUNPORTUGAL
principles
below
DEMANDS
against Australia DUEin TOFOR
-Governs DOWNFALL
INDEPENDENCE
fishing, OFinvestigations
scientific SUHARTO GOVT.
REFERENDUM
Company Mobil assessment of petroleum potential
Activity NO SIGNIFICANT AND BUILD UP-Etc.

EXPLORATION TO ET INDEPENDENCE
ACTIVITY
GRDC field work
In E Timor for Mobil using well, seismic, literature
International
TIMOR GAP ClauseZONE OF excluding influence on Timor Gap
& Pertamina and new 1994 field study
IN EAST
Court of GRDC TIMOR
COOPERATION
Justice DURING 1990s
Treaty
field work
‘A’, ‘B’ AND ‘C’ ZONES in
1991 Offshore Soe Survey
Banli-1
Mobil Assessment of Petroleum
Wells East Timor for Mobil using well, seismic, literature
Potential Discovery of
& Seismic & Pertamina Elang-kakatua – 1st
& new 1994 field study
Exploitable oil in ZOCA –
followed by laminaria
Marathon napoleon-1
Marathon
Hydra-1
Basilisk 1/1A-1
Elang-Kakatua dev.
manta-1
Plans approived
Timor Sea Marathon
Kakatua North disc

BHP Buffalo field
Belalang-1
Undan ZOCA
Elang-Kakatua
Naga-1
Phillips Bauy
Oil discovery
discovery
& Northern mina-1
1st oil
Bonaparte Lam.-Coral. 1st oil
Buffalo first oil
Amoseas Soe Block

(West Timor)
Amoseas 1991 Soe Offshore Survey
Amoseas Soe Block

Line 91-30
Banli-1
Suai Fm
SOE 91-30 (courtesy; Odd-Arne Larsen, Fugro MCS, Perth)
Noele Fm (Viqueque)
Block
7,8/97
(VAMEX)
Bobonaro Imbricates
Block
7,8/97
Banli-1 (1993-94)
(VAMEX)
Banli-1
Premier’s (1993-94)
South China Sea Interests
•Drilled 1993-94 in the Kolbano structural block
•The Kolbano block comprises a thin-skinned fold and thrust belt consisting of
imbricated Australian continental margin strata, primarily Cretaceous and
Tertiary in age, but with Upper Jurassic rocks exposed in a pseudoantiformal
core (the Pasi Inlier) Block
7,8/97
(VAMEX)
•Located on gravity high
•The upper 900m of the well column consists of strongly deformed Cretaceous
and Tertiary strata, with a complex imbricated thrust structure
•Below this, in a structural transition zone consisting of rocks of earliest

Cretaceous to Middle Jurassic age, structural disruption is much less intense
than in the upper structural domain, and no structural duplications of
stratigraphy are recognised, although bedding-parallel thrusts are identified,
particularly in the Middle Jurassic shales of the Wai Luli Formation.
•Below the Wai Luli Formation the well intersected a remarkably simple
succession of Middle Jurassic to Upper Triassic sandstones, equivalent to the
Malita and Plover formations of the Australian Northwest Shelf.
Shows deformation and
faulting
of the sub-thrust sequence-
so why no seeps??
(from Sani et al, 1995)

Cross section through the Kolbano-Timor Trough region (Sani et al 1995)
Cross section through the Kolbano-Timor Trough region (Charlton 2001)

Block
7,8/97
(VAMEX)
Wells
Activity
Political
Company
& Seismic
Timor Sea
boundary
& Northern
legislation
Bonaparte
& offshore
Petroleum
Abadi-1ST
5 July
2000
5 July 2001 ‘Timor Sea

Arrangement’
(pre-cursor to Timor Sea
Treaty)
Treaty)
PetroTimor
PetroTimor files suit in Aus.
Agreement
2001 ‘Timor Federal court re its 1974
Arrangement’
2001
Agreement with portugal

files
Development 20 May 2002 Interim deal 20 May 2002 ET

Drilling of On JPDA (‘Timor Sea Treaty’ Independence
Bayu Undan begins
Sea suit in
2002
20 May
2000’s
Dec 2002 Timor Sea Treaty

Federal court re its 1974
Ratified by Timor Leste

with Portugal
Aus.
March 2003 Timor Sea Treaty

2 April 2003 – TST (Timor
Sea Treaty)
Ratified by Australia
Sea Treaty) bet. Aus. & ET
6 March 2003 Greaer Sunrise enters into existence –
Unitisation Agreement. Not Establishes & defines the
Yet in force JPDA
2002 bet.
(pre-cursor to Timor SeaIndependence
JPDA
ET
April 2003 Timor Sea Treay

2003
Entered into force

Establishes & defines
enters into existence
Oceanic
3 March 2004 –
2 April 2003 – TST (Timor
Aus. & ET
7 June 2004: ET announces Oceanic launches lawsuit

Onshore gravity & magnetic Against Australia in U.S
Bid round – ET jurisdiction
Survey completed District Court
District
Waters only
ET releases seismic tender

2004
documents
Draft petroleum law

the Court
3 March 2004 –
Survey completed
Offshore MC2D seismic Graticulation System in

& gravity Progress for onshore
New offshore MC2D survey
Against–Australia in U.S
completed Invitation for bids (onshore)

launches lawsuit
Expected in first half

Onshore gravity & magnetic
New offshore MC2D available

Latest Aus-ET talks on
To industry
offshoreBoundary end March
Roadshow planned Q2/3 10With agreement to hold
2005
moreTalks soon
Award of 1st ET exploration

Licenses planned for Q4

1974 Oceanic Concession: 2004 events
•Loses lawsuit aimed specifically at Australia in Federal

2003: Oceanic claims it was illegally deprived of its
rights after ‘years’ of acquisition
Block and analysis of
7,8/97
exploration data and claims (VAMEX)
up to $30-billion in
compensation
•Lawsuit launched against Australia, Indonesia and

ConocoPhillips in US federal Court in 2004
•Legal status of the Oceanic Exploration permit issued

by Portugal and covering most of what is now called
‘ZOCA’. “The status of this permit is unclear even
today”
Planned Licensing Rounds:

•Maiden exploration licensing Round scheduled for June
•ET Parliament to pass legislation finalising new petroleum

laws
•Offshore, onshore and nearshore acreage
•International roadshow planned.
•Initial expressions of interest will be sought followed by

data review
•Intense interest by multinationals – according to the ET

Govt
•Size of exploration blocks awaiting review of new offshore

seismic
•Possible plans also for 2-4 blocks in the Joint Petroleum

Development Area to be offered this year
GGS Seismic Survey

Block
7,8/97
(VAMEX)
GGS Seismic Survey
•Completed and on display here
•Area defined by the southern coastline and the northern edge of the
JPDA (but runs over into JPDA)
•This data will shortly be made available for industry to bid for
exploration rights
•The survey was conducted by the BGP-GGS consortium. BGP is owned

by PetroChina and GGS is a Norwegian company.
•All previous petroleum activities have been conducted with Australia in

the Joint Petroleum Development Area, which was created by the Timor
Sea Treaty.
•The seismic, gravity and bathymetric data to be collected will be

mandatory data for the first licensing round in East Timor, planned for
2005
Final Navigation
for MC2D offshore ET
seismic survey
Pre-plot
Block
7,8/97
(VAMEX)
Timor Trough Premier’s South China Sea Interests North Bonaparte Basin
New MC2D Offshore East Timor

Courtesy: GGS
Block
7,8/97
(VAMEX)
DHI?
FUGRO Seismic Data

East Timor Premier’s South China Sea Interests Australia
Block
7,8/97
(VAMEX)
Courtesy: Odd-Arne Larsen of Fugro MCS

JPDA
Block
7,8/97
(VAMEX)
The Prize to Date

Block
7,8/97
(VAMEX)
Onshore East Timor
•Small, non-commercial oil accumulations that have yielded oil

only for local use to date
North Bonaparte Basin
•Vulcan sub-basin: around 200 mmbbls produced

•N Bonaparte gas fields: ?20 Tcf – not yet all commercially or
politically exploitable
•North Bonaparte oil fields: ?300 mmbbls in several fields, some
small
Salawati Basin
>300 mmbo produced
Bintuni Basin
Seram >14.4 TCF
>14 mmbo produced
Seram
Australian
Continental
Margin Timor Trough
Abadi Discovery
+/- 4 TCF
Sunset/Troubadour
>10 TCF
Evans Shoal
>15? TCF
Laminaria, Corallina
200? MMBO
Bayu-Undan
3.4 TCF + 400 MMBO
Scott Reef/Brecknock Vulcan Graben Petrel, Tern
17.7 TCF+ 211MMBO 200+ MMBO 1.5? TCF
The Ultimate Prize

Block
7,8/97
(VAMEX)
•Southern Onshore East Timor

•Onshore Viqueque Basins
•Past drilling unlikely to have been on target
•Structural discordance with depth
•No logs, at times no wellsite geologist!
•Plumbing system not understood
•Charge & migration models based on Viqueque
Small (to moderate??) commercial oil
•Only the later wells located by seismic
•Historically poor seismic imaging
•Improvements possible
•Ponded turbidites – plumbing favourable where
contact with diapirs- plastic deformation in
The Prize depocenters – no faults
•‘Floating Hill’ (!!!) Play (a variation on ‘buried hill’!)

•Massive, oil-charged olistoliths
•No serious volume
Not a contender
•Quoted as evidence of Bobonaro sealing capacity
•Is it??? How did the oil get there in the first
place?
•Mesozoic Play
•Structurally more exposed areas beneath frontally
Moderate size commercial oil
Higher risk, higher finding difficulty
accreted stacks – or sub-Bobo -possible larger oil
Greater reward accumulations
• complex + imaging issues. Source OK –reservoir?
•Immediately Offshore East Timor

•Viqueque Basins
•Only one well – on a high
Small (to moderate??) commercial oil •Ponded turbidite play so lows attractive?
•Seismic data quality much better than
onshore
•Attribute analysis easier – DHIs visible?
The Prize
Contd.
•Mesozoic Play
•Mesozoic Plays probably mostly sub-Bobo –
Moderate size commercial oil
Higher risk, higher finding difficulty •Bobonaro thicker?
Greater reward •Imaging easier than onshore
The Prize
Contd.
•North Slope of Timor Trough

•Imbricate Zone
•Too structurally complex
•Imaging Problems
Risk too high •Australian Continental margin
sediments (N Bonaparte play too deep in
the proximal parts
The Prize
Contd.
•South Slope of Timor Trough

•Gently Deformed N Bonaparte Basin
Sequence
Low to moderate risk •Excellent Imaging
For moderate to large •Continuation of N Bonaparte play
Gas (oil?) •Late trap breach issues
Mesozoic Petroleum System Summary

• Reservoir: Presence: Jurassic clastic reservoir (Plover fm equiv) may not be present
everywhere & may not have good sand devlopment. The Jurassic/Triassic reservoir in Timor
may not be laterally continuous or may degrade laterally..
Block
• Seal: The distribution of the Wai Luli shalesis not well
7,8/97understood (at this point) and they
(VAMEX)
may not always be present in an effective sealing facies.
• Trap: Inability to image the Mesozoic will remain a significant risk. This may decrease once
the structural model for Timor becomes better understood.
• Source: The presence of oil seeps proves the active oil source in East Timor. There is a risk
that any given large structure may not be “plumbed” into the source. Timing of maturity
(through thrust burial) mechanism makes the migration and migration timing difficult to
understand, though quite likely very recent.
AN EARLY ATTEMPT TO SIMPLIFY THE POLITICAL SITUATION

Block
7,8/97
(VAMEX)
Credit: Peter Nicholson and "The Australian" newspaper: www.nicholsoncartoons.com.au

Timor Leste Explorationhistory

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Timor Leste Explorationhistory

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A Journey into the Exploration History of East Timor: SEAPEX Conference, April 5-7 2005

Premier’s South China Sea Interests

(14,874 sq. km incl Oecusse)

Premier Oil Far East Ltd (WayneBlock

Overview attempts to be:

•Objective and without bias in reporting

•Unrestrained and open in geological

THE PRINCIPAL AUTHORS – THE TIMOR CONNECTION

Kenyon, C.S., 1971. Viqueque Stratigraphy, Seismic

Block International Oils - West Timor

In the period since these photographs

We’ve gone from here….

1969 Exploration Infrastructure

2005 Exploration Infrastructure

•Evolution in Geological Thinking

INTO THE PAST •Changing Exploration Focus

•Overriding Political Developments

•The Prize to date

Premier’s South China Sea Interests

Regional Tectonic Framework

•Sharp, linear axis of Timor Trough

(Orig Norvick 1977)

(c) Onset of Arc-continent collision:

Source: Hamson et al 2004

Most models are of the thin-

Structure of the Timor – Timor Trough – N Bonaparte Basin area

Stratigraphic succession on Timor Island:

The rocks exposed in Timor include:

• Early-Permian to Early-Pliocene variably deformed and metamorphosed deep

• Late-Miocene-Early Pliocene Bobonaro Scaly Clay, an olistostrome thought

• Banda Allochthon: pre-Cretaceous metamorphic rocks overlain by

• Post-orogenic Upper-Miocene to Recent coral reefs, alluvial terraces and

Accessible ‘gently deformed’

i.e.the recent stuff

Wai Luli – seal &

Structure and Stratigraphy of Banli-1 (Sani et al 1995, Charlton 2001)

Wells 1st shallow well at

Premier’s South China Sea Interests

Seeps known since

•Industry Interest began in late 1890s

•Used to place initial wells

•A pit in Paulaca produced 10s of thousands

•Japanese mined light oil from one of the seeps

•Seeps are most prolific along the south coast of

Royal Dutch Shell regional

Timor Sea Japanese produced oil

Petroleum 1955 Portuguese mid-line

Ossulari-1A 1959 Failed to 1402 Oil in mud at

Fm w/ gas-cut salt Tafara-1. First wells in Timor Sea

Premier’s South China Sea Interests

One of my Portuguese Timor

Indonesia claims PT as it’s

Suspended under Force

Following civil unrest

To drill offshore wildcat +

In T. Oil acreage – also

BOCAL drilled 2 wells

Took 65% of Intl. Oils

TIMOR OIL EARLY 70S DRILLING CAMPAIGN

Betano-2 1972 Suai Loro -1 Seismic survey

Timor Sea Heron-1

Credit: Keep et al 2004