IPA18-384-G
PROCEEDINGS, INDONESIAN PETROLEUM ASSOCIATION
Forty-Second Annual Convention & Exhibition, May 2018
OVERPRESSURE IN SOUTHERN PART OF NORTHEAST JAVA BASIN, AN ANOMALY?
Rizky Ferdiansyah*
Agus M. Ramdhan, PhD**
ABSTRACT
The East Java Basin, one of the oldest hydrocarbon-
producing basins in Indonesia, has long been known
as overpressured basin. This study aims to predict
pore pressure and to analyze the causes of
overpressure in study area, Northeast section of the
East Java Basin (Figure 1 & 2). The understanding of
this circumstances is expected to reduce and avoid
issues related to overpressure presence in future
exploration and exploitation wells.
Data from 4 wells drilled in the study area showed
varied pore pressure profiles. The pore pressure
magnitude in this field can partly be estimated by
using sonic data with Eaton Method, assisted by
direct and indirect pressure measurement data as well
as other well data. Mechanisms of overpressure
generation is analyzed from geochemical analysis of
source rock, well temperature, Dutta-Katahara cross-
plot and burial history.
The overpressure generation mechanism in the study
area is interpreted to be caused by combination of
factors and the top of overpressure turned out to be
dissimilar with previously encounter in East Java
Basin area.
INTRODUCTION
The East Java Basin, one of the oldest hydrocarbon-
producing basins in Indonesia, has long been known
as overpressured basin. Based on previous study,
overpressure in East Java Basin commonly found in
area where Basement relatively deep with thick
shale-dominated rock strata aged Early Miocene or
younger from Tuban and post-Tuban Formation,
whereas in area with Basement high or thick
carbonate build-up of Kujung Formation typically
had hydrostatic pore pressure (Ramdhan, et al., 2013)
and also could be found in area with thick Plio-
Pleistocene sediment resulting from rapid
sedimentation (loading mechanism) as main
overpressure generating mechanism (Reksalegora,
2015 and Surjaudaja, 2017).
* Husky-CNOOC Madura Ltd.
** Institute of Technology Bandung
This study aims to predict pore pressure and to
analyze the causes of overpressure in study area,
Northeast section of the East Java Basin. The
understanding of this circumstances is expected to
reduce and avoid issues related to overpressure
presence in future exploration and exploitation wells.
Regionally, the study area is located in the southern
part of the East Java Basin, at the southeastern border
of the Sunda Land, and is a Tertiary back-arc basin.
Based on Van Bemmelen (1949) in Malda (2013),
the study area is located in the Rembang Zone
(Figure 1A & 1B). The establishment of the
physiographic zone is closely related to tectonic
history in the basin. The Rembang Zone is a west-
east trending anticlinorium zone that shows the
tectonic processes of the Late Tertiary period.
METHOD
The data used in this study include (Figure 2):
 Post drilling data from 4 exploratory well, i.e.:
Sergang-1, Pajangan-1, Waluku-1 and Atiyya-1
wells in the form of wireline log, mud log, direct
pressure measurement data, drilling report data,
source rock maturity analysis report,
biostratigraphy analysis report and final well
report.
 Offshore seismic data from seven 2D seismic
line of three different vintage.
This study begins by calculating pore pressures for
each wells, determining top of overpressure and
ending with predictions of overpressure forming
mechanisms. (Figure 3A).
Quantitative pore pressure calculations can be
performed using wireline log data, such as porosity,
sonic and density log. From the logs, a normal
compaction trend (NCT) curve for each well was
created to illustrate the interval of sedimentary rocks
that normally compacted at shallow depths which are
then interpolated for deeper intervals. Deviation in
log readings from NCT are indicative of abnormal
pressure existence.
One of the most commonly used methods for
determining pore pressure is the Eaton Method.
Eaton (1975) empirically linked the results of
pressure tests data with the wireline logs data in the
Gulf of Mexico region, the equations for those
calculations are as follow (Eaton, 1975 in Ramdhan,
2011):
∆ and indirect pressure (drilling mud weight) data of
for sonic log
∆ the four wells in the study area (Figure 4), shows that
.
for resistivity log
Top of overpressure defined as a depth when the
pressure inside the pore is greater than the
hydrostatic pressure. Determination of the peak of
overpressure can be done by analyzing pressure
measurement data, either direct pressure
measurement in the form of formation test (RFT /
MDT) data and drill stem test or based on indirect
measurements, such as drilling mud weight, presence
of connection gas or increase in background gas and
kick presence.
Mechanisms that could cause overpressure in general
can be separated into loading mechanism and non-
loading mechanism. The loading mechanism is
overpressure caused by sediment deposition rates
which are faster than the speed of fluid (water)
discharge from deposited sediment so that rocks fail
to compact. The non-loading mechanism is
formation of the overpressure by the increase of fluid
volume caused by transformation of kerogen into
hydrocarbons occurring in the temperature range of
70 °-120 ° C (Tissot et al., 1987) and diagenesis of
clay minerals Smectite into Illit that occurs in the
temperature around 80 ° C (Boles and Franks, 1979)
and Kaolinite into Illite at temperature around 130 °
C (Bjølykke, 1998).
Determination of the overpressure generating
mechanism is started by burial history modeling to
understand the contribution of sedimentation rate to
the formation of overpressure with the loading
mechanism (Swarbrick et al., 2002). In addition,
temperature data combined with burial history
modeling is also used to determine whether rock
formation has entered a zone that allows for fluid
expansion owing to clay mineral diagenesis and
source rock maturity. Diagenesis of clay minerals
can be confirmed using the Dutta (2002) - Katahara
(2006) cross plot (Figure 3B) and XRD analysis data.
Whereas the maturation of the source rock can be
confirmed using TOC and Vitrinite reflectance data.
In addition, the patterns of porosity, sonic and
density logs can also be used to determine the
overpressure generation mechanism (Figure 3C &
3D).
RESULT
Direct pressure (formation test and drill stem test)
pore pressure profile and top of overpressure is
different for each wells. Observation from the pore
pressure profile shows that wells with claystone
dominance lithology (Sergang-1 and Pajangan-1)
have relatively higher pore pressures than wells with
limestone dominance (Waluku-1 and Atiyya- 1)
lithology. In addition, variance of pore pressure
profile and depth of top overpressure on each well
indicate a different mechanism of overpressure
generation in each well.
Burial history modelling (Figure 5A) shows that
Sergang-1 and Pajangan-1 wells have a relatively
higher sedimentation rate (> 155 meters/million
years) compared to sedimentation rates at Waluku-1
Wells and Atiyya-1 (<100 meters/million years). The
presence of fine-grained sediments dominating the
rock layers at Sergang-1 Well, Pajangan-1 and
Atiyya-1 causes the fluid unable to discharge rapidly
and the rocks fail to compact, which in turn increases
the pore pressure of the rock. The weaker pressure on
the Atiyya-1 well (Figure 6A) is thought to be
affected by a relatively lower sedimentation rate
compared to the sedimentation rate at Sergang-1 and
Pajangan-1 wells.
Formation temperature data obtained from wireline
log combined with the burial history model (Figure
5A and 6B), shows that the temperature required for
Smectite to transform into Illit (80 ° C) is reached
from depths around 1400-1500 meters at Sergang-1,
Atiyya- 1 and Pajangan-1 wells and at depths of 2100
meters at Waluku-1 well, while the temperature
required for Kaolinite to Illit transformation (130 °
C) was reached at depth of 3000 meters at Sergang-
1 well and depth of 2600 meters at the Pajangan-1
well (Figure 6B). A cross plot is made between
density and sonic logs to determine whether there has
been a clay mineral diagenesis in each wells (Figure
5B). Based on the cross plot, there is a strong
relationship between top of overpressure depth and
the depth of clay mineral diagenesis in the well
Sergang-1 and Pajangan-1. The existence of
lithology with the dominance of clay and shale at
such depths which have low permeability, has an
impact on the inability of fluid (water) resulting from
clay minerals diagenesis to discharge form the
formation and contributes to the presence of
overpressure on the wells.
Maturity of the source rock influence to the
generation of overpressure can be identified based on
geochemistry analysis of the source rock in each
well. In Sergang-1 well, there is an increase in pore
pressure at depth which is equivalent to the depth of
oil maturity window at ~2600 meters depth (Figure
7A). The formation of hydrocarbons in these wells
from 2600 meters depth to well end depth is
supported by hydrocarbon potential data that
showing TOC values of > 0.75% (fair to good
category) and Yield > 2 mg hydrocarbon per gram of
rock (fair category).
At Waluku-1 well, the top of hard overpressure is
also at a depth equivalent to the top of oil window at
a depth of ~ 3150 meters (Figure 7B) Data from two
well core rock core samples at this depth shows TOC
values of 2.3-6.3% (very good to excellent) and S1 +
S2 (yields) value of 1.54-3.95 mg hydrocarbons per
gram of rocks (fair to good) which indicate that the
rocks have ability to produce hydrocarbons.
Geochemical analysis of rock sample from Atiyya-1
wells show that the rock had ability to produce
hydrocarbons (TOC> 1%), but not yet mature (RO
<0.51%). While analysis on Pajangan-1 rock sample
show that the source rock had low potential to
generate hydrocarbon (TOC <1%) although RO data
showed that the rock had entered the window of
hydrocarbon maturity. Therefore, it is concluded that
there is no hydrocarbon generation contribution to
the presence of overpressure in both of Atiyya-1 and
Pajangan-1 wells.
Based on breakdown of the overpressure mechanism
above, top of overpressure generated by rapid
sedimentation or loading mechanisms (referred to as
top loading op) and top of overpressure caused by
fluid expansion mechanisms (referred to as top non-
loading op) is plotted in Figure 8. It could be
observed that although the top of overpressure
caused by the loading mechanism and non-loading
mechanism is located at varying depths, it is located
on the sediment strata with the same age, which is
Late Oligocene age sediments for the loading
mechanism and Late Eocene age sediments for the
non-loading mechanism, which is older than
overpressure frequently found in East Java Basin
(Early Miocene to Plio-Pleistocene).
Therefore, it could be concluded that the presence
of overpressure resulting from loading mechanism
occurs during the synrift phase, i.e. during the
period of Middle Eocene to Early Miocene which
primarily controlled by rock lithology and
sedimentation rate in each well, while the presence
of overpressure as a result of non-loading
mechanism largely controlled by the rock
lithology. The difference in present depth of top
overpressure is influenced by the tectonic process
after the overpressure is formed, which lasts from
the end of the Early Miocene to the present.
CONCLUSION
a. Overpressure in study area are formed not only
by loading mechanism caused by rapid
sedimentation (disequilibrium compaction)
but also by non-loading mechanism caused by
hydrocarbon maturity and clay mineral
diagenesis.
b. The overpressure forming mechanism for each
well may be summarized as follow:
a. Sergang-1: Combination of both loading
mechanism (rapid sedimentation) and
non-loading mechanism (hydrocarbon
maturity and clay mineral diagenesis).
b. Waluku-1: non-loading mechanism
(hydrocarbon maturity).
c. Atiyya-1: loading mechanism (rapid
sedimentation)
d. Pajangan-1: Combination of loading
mechanism (rapid sedimentation), non-
loading mechanism (clay mineral
diagenesis) and tectonic uplifting.
c. Top of overpressure as a result of loading
mechanism situated in the Oligocene age
sediment, whereas top of overpressure as a
result of non-loading mechanism located in the
Late Eocene sediment with variation in the top
of overpressure depth influenced by tectonic
process that follow after they are formed.
d. The overpressure distribution is controlled by
sedimentation rate as well as the rock
lithology, with the top of overpressure found
in older strata compared to what usually found
in the East Java Basin.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank the Indonesia
Government Authority for their approval to publish
this paper. The author also acknowledges Institut
Teknologi Bandung (ITB) Geological Department
and Husky-CNOOC Madura Ltd. (HCML) Sub-
Surface Team and Management for their support for
this paper.
REFERENCES
Bjølykke, K., 1998, Clay Mineral Diagenesis in
Sedimentary Basins - A Key to the Prediction of
Rock Properties - Examples from the North Sea
Basin: Clay Minerals, 33, p. 15–34.
Boles, J. R. and Franks, S. G., 1979, Clay Diagenesis
in Wilcox Sandstone of Southwest Texas -
Implications of Smectite Diagenesis On Sandstone
Cementation: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 49
No 1, p. 55-70.
Dutta, N. C., 2002, Deepwater Geohazard Prediction
Using Prestack Inversion of Large Offset P-Wave
Data and Rock Model: The Leading Edge, February,
p. 193–198.
Eaton, B., 1975, The Equation for Geopressure
Prediction from Well Logs: Society of Petroleum
Engineers.
Katahara, K., 2006, Overpressure and Shale
Properties - Stress Non-Loading or Smectite-Illite
Transformation?: Proceeding of The 76th SEG
Annual international Meeting, p. 1520-1524.
Malda, O., 2013, Fenomena injeksi klastik (clastik
injection) pada endapan turbidit Formasi Kerek,
bagian barat zona Kendeng: GeoPangea Research
Group Indonesia.
Pertamina BPPKA, 1996, Petroleum Geology of
Indonesian Basins Principles, Methods, and
Application, East Java Basins: Pertamina, Indonesia,
107 pg.
Ramdhan, A.M., 2010, Overpressure and
Compaction in Lower Kutai Basin, Indonesia:
University of Durham, UK (Dissertation).
Ramdhan, A.M., Goulty, N.R. and Hutasoit, L.,
2011, The Challenge of Pore Pressure Prediction in
Indonesia’s Warm Neogene Basins: Proceeding of
The 35th IPA Convention, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Ramdhan, A. M., Hakim, F., Hutasoit, L. M., Goulty,
N. R., Sadirsan, W., Arifin, M., Bahesti, F.,
Endarmoyo, K., Firmansyah, R., Zainal, R. M.,
Gulo, M. Y., Sihman, M., Suseno, P. H., and
Purwanto, A. H., 2013, Importance of Understanding
Geology in Overpressure Prediction - The Example
of The East Java Basin: Proceeding of The 37th IPA
Convention, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Reksalegora, S.W, 2015, Analisa Penyebab
Terjadinya Overpressure dan Prediksi Tekanan Pori
di Daerah Daratan dan Lepas Pantai Madura Selatan:
Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia
Swarbrick, R.E., Osborne, M.J., and Yardley, G. S.,
2002, Comparison of Overpressure Magnitude
Resulting from the Main Generating Mechanisms:
AAPG Memoir, 76. p. 1-12.
Surjaudaja, R., 2017, Analisis Mekanisme
Terjadinya Tekanan-Luap dan Prediksi Tekanan Pori
Pada Lapangan BD, Cekungan Jawa Timur: Institut
Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia.
Tissot, B.P., Pelet, R., and Ungerer, P.H., 1987,
Thermal History of Sedimentary Basins, Maturation
indices, and Kinetics of Oil and Gas Generation:
AAPG Bulletin, 71, p. 1445-1466.
Van Bemmelen, R.W., 1949, The Geology of
Indonesia vol. IA. General Geology of Indonesia and
Adjacent Archipelagoes: The Hague.
Figure 1 - Location of study area and its relationship to (A) sedimentation and structural zonation (modified
from Van Bemmelen, 1949 in Malda, 2013), (B) North-South cross section (Pertamina BPPKA.,
1996).

 
Figure 2 - Study area is located in Northeastern offshore area of Madura Island. Black box denotes study area, while black dot and green line represent wells and seismic
line accordingly.

 
Figure 3 - (A) Methodology used in this study, start from data collecting, data processing, pore pressure estimation, top of overpressure and mechanism determination.,
(B) Dutta (2002) and Katahara (2006) cross plot, to confirm clay mineral diagenesis from wireline log data, (C) Wireline characteristic for overpressure resulting
from loading mechanism (Ramdhan, 2010), and (D) Wireline characteristic for overpressure resulting from fluid expansion (non-loading) mechanism (Ramdhan,
2010).
 
Figure 4 - Pore pressure profile from 4 wells in study area. This graph shows that pore pressure profile and
top of overpressure is different for each wells. Wells with Claystone dominance lithology
(Sergang-1 and Pajangan-1) have relatively higher pore pressures than wells with limestone
dominance (Waluku-1 and Atiyya- 1) lithology.

 
Figure 5 - (A) Burial history graph combined with temperature data from wireline log, show the deposition rate and depth required for clay mineral diagenesis (B) Dutta-
Katahara cross plot indicate clay mineral transformation into Illite on Sergang-1 at 2300m and on Pajangan-1 at 1650 meter.

 
Figure 6 - Estimated pore pressures and top of overpressure using sonic log data, Eaton Methods and
formation temperature at: (A) Atiyya-1 and (B) Pajangan-1.

 
Figure 7 - Estimated pore pressures and top of overpressure using sonic log data, Eaton Methods, maturation
of source rock at: (A) Sergang-1, (B) Waluku-1.

 
Figure 8 - Tops of overpressure in the study area on the 2D seismic cross section shows that although the top of overpressure caused by the loading mechanism and non-
loading mechanism is located at varying depths, it is located on the sediment strata with the same age, which is Late Oligocene age sediments for the loading
mechanism and Late Eocene age sediments for the non-loading mechanism