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Quarterly Journal of the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons

(Under Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas)
Vol.-I

April, 2007

No. 3

CONTENTS
Foreword
V.K. Sibal
Rig Sharing: Bridging the Gap Between Supply and Demand
Ian Garrard .............................................................................................................................. 1-4
Floating Production Systems (FPS) Hull Selection Considerations
John Murray, Terje Eilertsen, Chris Barton .............................................................................. 5-6
Have We Discovered All The Oil In Upper Assam Basin?
N. Mathur .............................................................................................................................. 7-12
Hydrocarbon prospects of selected Proterozoic Basins of India
C. Vishnu Vardhan, Smitha K. Panicker and B. Kumar ....................................................... 13-21
Methodolgy (ies) To Identify The Hydrocarbon Prospectivity Of The Fractured
Reservoirs In Indian Sedimentary Basins
GSSN Murthy and Amitava Roy .......................................................................................

22-26

Basement Configuration of Indian East Coast on Either side of 850E Ridge

Jayanta Phukan, Amitava Roy & Samiksha ........................................................................ 27-29

Foreword
demobilization charges, idle time and negotiable reduced
day rate charges. Further, it will also help in sharing
technical information, skilled technical manpower and
expertise between E&P companies.
Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) has
initiated the process for introduction and implementation
of this concept in India. As a first step in this direction,
DGH has planned to implement the Rig sharing between
various E&P operators working in India in different
basins.

V.K. Sibal, Director General

Directorate General of Hydrocarbons

It would not be an exaggeration to say that we are

exploring for oil and gas in a resource-constrained era.
In the oil and gas industry, the most common perception
has been that of dwindling resources of oil and gas. In
other words, limited supply of hydrocarbons has driven
the industry. The need for fossil fuel energy, and the
burgeoning cost of this resource has transformed this
constraint into a challenge. And in the process of
overcoming this challenge, we have spawned a whole
new genre of challenges. This includes serious resource
constraints in terms of manpower and services. In the
current issue of the DGH journal Petroview, I would like
to share some of my thoughts on these important topics
with you.
The increase in global oil prices has given rise to a surge
in demand for the rigs, drilling equipments & services,
affecting the availability of these resources. The impact
of this is also being felt in the E&P sector in India where
massive exploration programs are underway by several
leading oil companies. Considering the present pace of
exploration, it is expected that in future, the shortages
for equipment & services will multiply several fold.
In order to over come the above problem, sharing of
available resources viz. drilling rigs, related services,
survey vessels etc. between the E&P operators in India
is considered as a viable and pragmatic approach. This
concept is already being successfully implemented in
countries like Norway, U.K. Mexico etc. The most
attractive feature of this concept is the hiring of services
on a long-term basis that assures the availability besides
reducing the cost by means of sharing mobilization/

A consortium comprising of 10 E&P companies has been

formed under the patronage of DGH to steer the Rig
sharing concept. The consortium engaged M/s Rig
Management Norway, AS (RMNAS) to carryout a
complete study on the demand and supply scenario for
various types of drilling rigs in India. RMNAS is pioneer
in implementing the rig-sharing concept and has
successfully implemented it in various parts of world
including U.K, Norway, and Mexico. Depending upon
the requirement, it is also planned to extend this
cooperation to other areas of E&P activities like drilling
and survey related services in future.
RMNAS officials visited several Indian E&P operators
and carried out a detailed study regarding the future
drilling programme, requirement of rigs, etc. The concept
was discussed at length with E&P operators during
RMNAS visit to their work centers. Keeping in view
the tight rig market worldwide, timely execution of the
cooperation is necessary in order to contract the available
rigs on top most priority. DGH advised the E&P
operators to expeditiously form region wise pilot groups
for cooperation in different regions, both offshore and
onshore.
Benefit of sharing the resources was clearly brought out
by RMNAS in their presentation by illustrating the
example for contracting deepwater rig for 5 years in
place of 3 years would save rig day rate by up to US$
55,000 accounting to US$ 83 Million over the contract
period per rig. Substantial savings can be made in
mobilization and demobilization cost also. Overall
savings may run into millions of dollars. The cost benefit
to individual operator can be illustrated from the fact
that by paying only US$ 21000 towards phase-I studies
cost, the operators could reap-out the benefit of the entire
study, thus a saving of US$ 190,000 per operator. If a
venture of such a small magnitude could result in more
than 90% savings, it is obvious that operations in bigger
scale have a lot to offer.

Another important issue that needs to be addressed

relates to the shortage of skilled and qualified manpower
required by the upstream sector. With the increase in
exploration activity, there has been a commensurate need
for technically qualified and experienced manpower in
the industry. However, it has become increasingly
difficult to fulfill the gap between demand and supply.
DGH has taken a small but significant step in this
direction. To begin with, DGH has been recruiting trainee
officers, primarily in the Geology, Geophysics and
Reservoir Engineering disciplines from various
universities since the year 2005. Fresh postgraduates
from various reputed academic institutions undergo
rigorous training on various facets of E & P activity.
Besides training within DGH, they are also sent on
assignments to seismic survey vessels, onland and
airborne geophysical surveys and other field visits. It
gives me great satisfaction to inform you that the
response from the various E & P companies, both Indian
and foreign, has been overwhelming. Majority of the

officers who have been trained in DGH have been

absorbed by the industry and they are now well placed
to face the technical and technological challenges of the
present and future. DGH is continuing with the process
of recruiting bright, young trainee officers and equipping
them with all the technical excellence needed to carry
forward the golden era of petroleum exploration in the
country.
Considering the above facts, it is my firm belief that
rather than creating new resources that may eventually
cause a glut in the market, there is a need for sharing
resources optimally to overcome the problem of
shortages, reduce costs and keep up the tempo of oil and
gas exploration in the country.

V.K.Sibal

Rig Sharing Bridging the Gap Between Supply and

Demand
Ian Garrard
Curtis Davis Garrard LLP, UK.
e-mail:ian.garrard@cdg.co.uk

The demand for rig capacity has been fuelled by recent

highs in the oil price. E&P companies, including an
increasing number of the smaller independent operators,
are striving to bring production on as quickly as possible.
The larger oil companies with significant drilling program
are securing rig capacity into 2009 and well beyond under
long term contracts, for upto 5 years. Drilling rates have
on average almost doubled in the last 18 months and
rates for deepwater rigs/drillships are rumored to have
broken the US$ 500,000.00 per day barrier. The industry
perception is that the level of investment in rig and
drillship new building is sustainable in the longer term;
and that even with the increased capacity coming on
stream a significant shortfall against demand is
anticipated. Rig utilization is at its highest for many years.

also to be recognized that there is very little history of

offshore ventures cooperating with each other in the
manner envisaged by a rig sharing agreement. Partnering
arrangements under which offshore contractors agree
to collaborate for the benefit of a specific E&P project
have, of course, attracted interest, particularly in the
North Sea, but these are normally between companies
who are not in competition with each other and the risk/
reward structure, often imposed upon the contractors
by a single, substantial oilfield operator, is very different
from that involving the sharing of a third party rig.
Consortium Approach to Rig Sharing
Rig sharing involves a pooling by E&P companies of
their requirements and the planning of a joint strategy.
Time invested in planning will rarely be time wasted,
particularly in this context. To the extent that the area of
operations for each operator is one region, under one
form of regulatory control with comparable water depths
and subsea, wave and weather conditions, there should
be sufficient synergies to derive costs savings and other
benefits from a rig sharing arrangement. If the area of
operations within the operator consortium spans different
regions and regulatory controls, the issues become
markedly more complicated and the economics of the
arrangements will become harder for those operators in
the more benign and less regulated environment to
justify- in effect, they may be subsidizing the higher costs
of a more extensive rig upgrade or refurbishment
re1quired for the harsher and more regulated environment
of their consortium members.

Against this background, E&P companies with a more

limited drilling program and the smaller independent oil
companies face frustrating times. In todays very tight
drilling market, they cannot be certain of securing a rig
on competitive terms, or of securing a rig at all. The
concept of rig sharing, therefore, is being more widely
examined with increased interest. Other alternatives are
also being explored, with E&P companies considering
whether to acquire and operate their own rig through
joint ventures with contractor or farm out a participating
interest in the field to contractors to secure a rig.
Rig sharing is still relatively uncommon, but an
increasingly attractive option. Its purpose is to enable
smaller, less financially strong E&P companies to club
together to secure drilling capacity. It also serves to
enable larger E&P companies who have a limited number
of wells to drill to share costs (principally mobilization
and de-mobilization costs) and obtain a longer-term
contract at lower rates. The flexibility of rig sharing is
also potentially very attractive, and it need not be limited
to one specific area of operation provided the economics
add up.

There is a philosophical issue at the outset when

establishing any consortium. The operators are not
forming their alliance with a view of profiting from a
venture they support and would otherwise tackle alone;
they are taking a pragmatic step in response to the market
conditions, to save time and costs, but principally to
secure a rig. There are a numbers of risks inherent in
this. If one operators drilling program takes longer to
complete through no fault of the contractor, this may
have a material effect on the next operators program in
sequence. Absent recourse to the contractor, to the
operators look to apportion blame between the
consortium or not? The operators may be willing to adopt
a flexible, conciliatory approach to the arrangement and
agree to absorb any loss each suffers (sort of any loss,

Contractors in the current market are looking at one year

minimum terms, with the expectation that they may be
able to amortize as much as 50% of their upgrade/
refurbishment costs over one year. If two or more
operators can string together a sequence of drilling
programs, they can offer a more attractive contract term
to contractors and seek to encourage a competitive
element to their rig selection, which may otherwise be
lacking on a shorter term arrangement. However, it has
1

caused by willful misconduct or gross negligence on

part of another operator) or they may prefer to be more
prescriptive, setting out in detail the remedies that will
apply in the event of any delays etc. The strength of the
relationship between the consortium members will
influence which approach is adopted but any attempt to
be too prescriptive runs the risk of becoming
counterproductive. It is also necessary to keep in mind
that the costs of establishing the consortium and
documenting the agreements should be proportionate
to the savings to be derived from the arrangement.

the arrangement can accommodate them for one or more

of the operators.
A common specification or the rig that accommodates
each of the operators requirements and the regulatory
regime will also need to be agreed at an early stage.
The operators will also need to agree on one set of drilling
terms and conditions. Whilst this is self evident, the
difficulties should not be underestimated. They will also
need to agree on a contracting strategy for securing the
rig. The arrangement will need to be clearly presented to
contractors, who will perceive potential difficulties in
serving more than one client, particularly if any problems
are encountered. Contractors will be especially
concerned to ensure that the invoicing and payment
provisions are clear , so it is clear who they will have
recourse to for payment throughout the contract.

Security
At substantial day rates, even over a year, the question
of security will be an issue for the smaller independents.
The contractor (and its financiers) will look for a
guarantee of payment and one of the challenges for the
consortium of operators will be how they collectively
satisfy the contractor that they have the resources to
pay and can provide security for payment. This raises a
significant timing issue. The consortium will need to
secure the drilling capacity well in advance of the window
allowed for drilling to commence. If they are unable to
satisfy the contractors requirement to secure payment,
a contractor is unlikely to take a rig off the market and it
is likely that the rig will be contracted elsewhere. In such
circumstances, some form of adhoc arrangement may be
required, but achieving agreement on terms which secure
exclusively over a rig for any extended period in the
current market is a real challenge. Contractors are not
willing to provide option in this market.

Transferring the Rig

So, what will be the legal mechanics of transferring the
rig from one operator to the next? The drilling contract
could be assigned from one operator to the next
operator in turn. In the rig sharing context, this might be
affected by a novation rather than an assignment such
that each operator assumes the right to call for the drilling
services to complete its wells and responsibility for
paying the applicable day rates during that period. Each
operator would not assume any rights or liabilities
relating to any period during which drilling services were
being provided to another operator. The parties would
need to agree the time and date on which he handover
form one operator to the next operator would take place,
so that there was certainty to the transfer of rights/
obligations. From the contractors perspective, it will look
to the consortium representative to notify it of the
relevant time/date- it will not wish to become involved in
any dispute between operators. Outside the drilling
periods, the consortium will need to agree which operator
has carriage of the drilling contract, during any
upgrade/refurbishment of the rig and mobilization, prior
to commencement of drilling services at the first well ;
and equally in the period after completion of the last well
until completion of demobilization.

The Drilling Program, Rig Capability and form of

Drilling Contract
Clearly, agreeing the drilling program sequence between
operator is the key, and this will be influenced by the
extent to which each program has been advanced and
whether all of the data required is available. A sufficient
window will need to be allowed for each well in turn,
bearing in mind not only the specific contingencies of
each operators exploration program but also the inherent
risk of cumulative delay and rig movements between the
operators fields.
If one of the operators has a significantly longer drilling
program than the other operators and the overall
sequence is not reasonably balanced, the arrangement
may not be workable without significant flexibility on
the part of the other operators.In particular,if the first
operator in sequence has a significantly greater number
of wells to drill, the risk of delay in completing those
wells is greater, with the other operators bearing the risk
and consequences of any delay.

The Rig Sharing Agreement

The rig sharing activity will normally be governed by an
agreement between the operators who will be part of the
consortium. This rig sharing agreement will set out the
principles for the sharing of the rig and supporting
services, with such costs/risks apportionment as the
parties agree. It is likely to take several weeks to negotiate
and agree upon a rig sharing agreement. It is therefore
sensible to agree a short MOU setting out the principal
features of the arrangement, in part to determine whether
there genuinely is a consensus on how the arrangement

Consideration will also need to be given within the

schedule to the number of optional wells, and whether
2

of the rig, how are the additional costs of those changes,

to the extent that the day rate is adjusted, to be borne?
Despite being paid through the day rate mechanism to
the contractor, are they to be re-allocated to the operator
who sought the change? Each operators consent to
any change will be required, because any changes may
have a material impact on its drilling program. The time
spent in planning is important for this reason, because
an operator alone will be unable to force through any
change.

will operate, and also set out a general framework for

moving forward.
Within the consortium, a number of contractual issues
will need to be addressed so that the parties intentions
are clear. What follows is a checklist of some of the issues
to be considered, in addition to the usual contractual
terms.
Consortium Representative (s)
Which of the operators will represent the consortium in
their dealings with the contractor? Whilst each operator
will designate its own representative for the purpose of
its own drilling program, there are a number of
administrative tasks relating to the rig sharing (including
the preparation and issuance of an invitation to bid
(ITB) and form of drilling contract; mobilization, logistics
generic to the contract as a whole, de-mobilization). The
operators will probably need to acknowledge that there
will be no recourse to the consortium representative
arising from the performance of its role, unless through
willful misconduct or gross negligence.

Withdrawal rights
When, if at all, can an operator withdraw from the
consortium and what are the consequences? The
position is likely to be different, depending upon whether
a firm drilling contract has been concluded or whether
the rig selection process is at an earlier stage. In either
case, the drilling program sequence will need to be
adjusted, but in the former case there is likely to be lost
time in respect of which the contractor will expect
payment of the operating or stand-by rate. It would be
sensible to seek to agree in advance what the fee for
withdrawal will be, so that there is certainty.

Changes

Termination/ Suspension Rights

If at the time of securing a rig the drilling requirements

of each operator are not fully foreseen and changes are
required to be made during the upgrade/ refurbishment

In the event that issues in relation to the contractors

performance arise, the operator for whom the services
are being undertaken at the time ought to be able to take
certain steps to enforce performance, but in large measure
this will be dealt with through the compensation regime
and the application of a zero rate or other applicable rate
for downtime. The other operators whose drilling
programs are next in line have a vested interest in ensuring
proper performance by the contractor, but they will not
be willing to countenance a situation in which the rig
contract is suspended or terminated without their
agreement. It is, therefore, important that certain bare
limitations on the exercise of such rights and the need
for consultation are included in the rig sharing
agreement. Equally, there may be good reason to defer
the enforcement of certain remedies against the
contractor until the overall drilling program is complete.
If the consortium comprises a number of smaller
independents with limited financial resources, the
agreement (which looks to drilling services being
performed 18 months or more ahead)ought also to
address the consequences of the insolvency of an
operator, and how the remaining operators can protect
the drilling contract by qualifying the contractors right
to terminate in such circumstances, (if a new operator is
brought in or additional security is provided).
Cost Sharing
Whilst each operator will pay the day rate (s) applicable
to drilling its wells, how will the generic costs such as
3

the mobilization and de-mobilization fees and

administrative costs be paid and borne? Should they be
borne equally or be borne in proportion to the number
of wells or program days of each operator? These are
purely commercial issues for the operators concerned;
but some principles need to be established at the outset.
An appropriate budget in relation to the consortium
representatives activities on behalf of the consortium
should be pre-approved, with the usual mechanisms for
its revision on a periodic basis.

Step in right
A rationale for forming the consortium is collective
benefit- safety in numbers-with the underlying
motivation to maximize individual gain. But what if an
individual operator does not perform its obligations in
other words, the primary obligation to pay the contractor?
What if this happens during the first drilling program? A
step in mechanism is a sensible inclusion to protect the
operators next in turn. It is in the interest of all the
operators that the drilling contract remains on foot even
if one operator has unforeseen difficulties.

Delays

Operational logistics

The philosophy adopted by the parties to the

arrangement as a whole will dictate how delays to the
drilling program are handled within the agreement. The
success of the arrangement depends upon there being
minimal delay such that the drilling programs for all
Parties are performed on time. There may be a number of
causes of delay. If it is due to the contractors breach,
the affected operator or consortium representative on
behalf of the consortium will have such rights of recourse
as are agreed under the rig contract. Absent any recourse
to the contractor, the delay may be due to an operators
lack of readiness or failure to plan adequately or
unforeseen events may occur which could not have been
anticipated. The parties intentions should be expressly
set out and, if one operator is to have recourse to another
operator, specific remedies should be agreed, to avoid
the cost and time of resolving difficult issues of loss.

Ongoing communication between the operators and the

contractor is critical. Over the term of the drilling contract,
there are a number of transfers or handovers of personnel,
equipment and consumables. The potential for friction
amongst operators and between the operators and the
contractor will be dramatically reduced if they are all
kept regularly informed.
The rig sharing concept may still be novel and it is in
formative stages but, for the foreseeable future in the
prevailing market, it will continue to rapidly evolve as an
attractive alternative for both small and larger E&P
companies.
Ian Garrard is a Partner at CDG
and leads the offshore team
Ian.garrard@cdg.co.uk

Floating Production Systems (FPS) Hull Selection

Considerations*
John Murray, Terje Eilertsen, Chris Barton FloaTEC, LLC

floater takes into consideration whether it will support

dry or wet trees, future expandability, and its function as
a production hub or wellhead platform. Some of the
physical considerations taken into account when
selecting a floater are hull steel weights in relation to
supported payload, the overall performance in a
particular environment (which has a direct impact on
tensioning systems if a dry tree unit is selected), and
marine operations required for installation, and hook-up
and commissioning.

Introduction
Selection of a particular floating hull type can depend
on a number of factors. For instance, the primary reasons
that Operators select a Dry Tree Unit (DTU) are for well
intervention and riser response. Well intervention costs
can represent 40-50% of OPEX. These costs can be
significantly reduced by selecting a dry tree approach
and using a workover rig or drilling rig for well
intervention. Waiting on the availability of a Mobile
Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) for well intervention can
greatly increase the well downtime. DTUs provide the
opportunity to re-enter a well at any time. Some claim
that as much as 25% additional reserves can be recovered
using dry trees vs wet trees.

Certain considerations influence the selection of a

deepwater floating production system:
a. Small in-place motions to enable dry tree production
and drilling risers. The economics of a DTU - particularly
in view of present-day availability and cost of deepwater
Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODUs) can be very
favorable for systems that can drill and complete wells
from the same platform. Both the TLP and Spar have dry
tree capability.

Whether the hull type is a Spar, TLP or Semi, efficient

design of floating structures is predicated on
functionality and performance. It should be capable of
supporting the necessary equipment for drilling and
production, while at the same time meeting all
performance and safety-related criteria. The floating
structure should provide sufficient space and
robustness to fulfill its intended purpose and it should
be built at a minimum of cost, which is governed mainly
by the hull steel weight.

b. Large, open deck areas to enable more efficient

operations. This allows for good ventilation, lay-down
areas, and equipment arrangements on a single-deck
elevation. The Semi and TLP are more adaptable to large
footprints and open areas. Because of the single caisson
footprint architecture of the Spar hull, the topsides
equipment has to be stacked several decks high.

Hull Selection
Selecting a hull form is guided by criteria such as
operating environment, subsurface characteristics,
availability of fabrication facilities, suitability to the
operators development plan, and sometimes an
Operators preference for a certain concept.

c. Quayside integration to enable installation and

commissioning of topsides on the floating hull at a
quayside location. This reduces cost and mitigates risk
associated with offshore operations since it eliminates
the need for heavy-lift equipment. Quayside integration
requires a floater to have adequate stability at a shallow
draft. The Semi and TLP have an advantage over the
Spar in this regard.

Hull weight estimates are based on global sizing which

is determined by the naval architectural and structural
design. Global sizing is a key engineering process in
both the concept selection and follow-on design phase
of a floating structure. The sizing of a moored floating
structure considers relationships between payload, hull
size, and mooring system. During concept selection,
efforts are concentrated on the main dimensions and
weights with respect to design standards and
performance requirements without a high degree of
engineering detail. Final dimensions and properties of
the hull will be determined in the FEED stage through
various analyses.

d. Water depth sensitivity to enable a range of water

depths given the additional buoyancy requirements
related to increased mooring and riser loads as water
depth increases. The Spar and Semi are less sensitive to
water depth, whereas the current limit for TLP technology
is around 5,000 ft, governed mainly by the tendons.
Spar Technology
The first Spars were based on the Classic caisson
design. This evolved into the Truss Spar by replacing
the lower section of the caisson hull with a truss. Spars
are ideal as DTUs because of their small vertical motions.

Well and completion design are governed by the

subsurface characteristics. Designing a fit-for-purpose
5

around 30 seconds. The water plane area inertia makes a

small contribution to the GM, which is controlled
primarily by the distance between the CB and CG. The
CG is kept low by installing fixed ballast in the soft tank.
The Spar is moored using a spread centenary system,
which is generally pre-installed before the hull arrives.
The main design features of the Spar are:

High heave and pitch natural periods greater than
25 seconds (without risers)

Maximum offset of 7-9% of water depth in damaged
condition

Maximum heel angle less than 10 in intact and
damaged condition

Wet tow draft shallow enough to offload hull from
dry transport vessel

Adequate structural strength for up-righting during
installation
Buoyancy cans typically support the risers in wet
centerwells. New designs emerging use hydro-pneumatic
tensioners. When these are used, the weights of the
risers are borne by the buoyancy in the hull. As the
number of risers increases, the tensioners increase the
heave stiffness of the Spar, which reduces the heave
natural period. The total tensioner stiffness is designed
to have a heave period that is high enough above the
wave periods to avoid resonance excitation. Buoyancy
cans in the open centerwell do not effect the heave period.
However, buoyancy cans are difficult to install once the
topsides are in place. Buoyancy cans are installed before
the topsides, whereas hydro-pneumatic tensioners can
be installed as the wells are tied back and completed.

Dry trees provide direct vertical access to the wells,

which allows the Spar to be configured for full drilling,
workover, production, or any combination thereof. One
of the distinctions of the Spar is that its center of gravity
(CG) is always lower than the center of buoyancy (CB),
hence it is unconditionally stable. The Spar derives no
stability from its mooring system, so it does not list or
capsize even when completely disconnected from its
mooring. The deep draft is a favorable attribute for
minimizing heave motions - its draft and large inertia filter
wave frequency motions in all but the largest storms.
The natural period in heave and pitch are above the range
of wave energy periods. The long response periods for
Spars mitigate the mooring and riser dynamic responses,
which are common to ship-shaped FPSOs and Semis.
The deep draft, along with the protected center well,
also significantly reduces the current and wave loading
on the riser system. These loads normally control the
tension and fatigue requirements of the production risers
on TLPs.
The Truss Spar is characterized by a hard tank
compartmentalized to house void tanks and variable
ballast tanks, a truss section with a number of heave
plates, and a soft tank at the keel to hold fixed ballast.
The hard tank is designed to provide sufficient
buoyancy to support the topsides, hull structure, and
moorings. The heave plates provide added mass and
damping, which gives the Spar a heave natural period

Summary
In summary, a general description of criteria for selecting
a particular hull form are qualitative and based on a
number of general considerations evaluated in the
selection process. The capacity of the three hull forms
to satisfy these criteria is summarized in the Table below.
Spar

Small motions, can

support TTRs and
SCRs, can require
centenary mooring to
assist in offset control

Because of deep draft. Spar

must be towed horizontally to
the installation site.

Water depth
insensitivity

Covers a wide range of

depths and payloads

Minimum at-sea
commissioning

Requires heavy lift vessel for Requires installation on

pre-installed tendons,
single or multiple module lifts can be difficult where
swell persists
Within limited water depths,
sufficient to tow hull in
vertical orientation

*The article has been suitably edited to exclude commercial aspects of the products.

Small motions, can

support TTRs and
SCRs

Can support large open Can support large open

deck areas, steel savings deck areas similar to
in smaller deck span
conventional
Semisubmersible

Dockside HUC of
topsides

Redeployment

Dry-Tree Semi

Large open deck areas Because of small footprint

from single column hard tank
deck is multi level

ETLP

Small in-place motions Small motions, can support

TTRs and SCRs, accelerations
at deck level higher than
ETLP and Dry Tree Semi

Topsides can be installed Topsides can be installed

and commissioned
and commissioned
dockside
dockside with heave plate
retracted

Limited to water depth of Covers a wide range of

depths and payloads
about 6,000 ft with
standard tendon design

Difficult to disconnect
from tendons

Can be installed on
preset moorings

Can be returned to
dockside for refit and
redeployment

Have We Discovered All The Oil In Upper Assam Basin?

N. Mathur, R & D Department, Oil India Limited, Duliajan 786 602 Assam
nmathur@oilindia.in

determine if still there are hydrocarbons present in the

basin that have not yet been discovered.

Abstract
The Upper Assam basin has a history of producing oil
from different formations, like Girujan (Upper to Middle
Miocene), Tipam (Lower Miocene), Barail (Oligocene),
Lakadong member of Sylhet Limestone & Langpar
(Eocene), for more than a century. A number of potential
source rocks have also been identified in the basin that
include Barail coals, Barail shales, Kopili shales,
Lakadong shales and Langpar shales. Coals are known
to be good source of oil. Huge reserves of coal belonging
to Barail Group are present in Upper Assam. So the
question arises, are the oils in Upper Assam basin
sourced from coals? This article is based on a
comprehensive study of the coals of Upper Assam basin
with the aim to determine whether they are capable of
generating oil and whether the oils present in the basin
have actually generated from them. The study shows
that Barail coals are oil prone and mature and thus capable
of generating oil. Oil to source correlation study shows
that most of the oils from Upper Assam basin do not
been correlate Barail coals. Only Tipam oils from Digboi
oilfield, which form a very small part of the total oil
discovered in the Assam basin, correlate with Barail coals.
Thus, a huge reserve of mature, oil-prone Barail coal is
present in the basin, which is likely to have generated
significant amount of oil. But most of the oil discovered
in the basin has not been generated from coals. It appears
that a large amount of oil generated from Barail coals has
not yet been discovered. Efforts should be made to
discover this oil.

The Upper Assam basin in Northeast India has been

producing hydrocarbons for more than a century. Oil is
being produced from reservoirs in following formations
in Oil India Limiteds PEL area of Upper Assam basin


Girujan Formation (Upper to Middle Miocene),

Tipam Formation (Lower Miocene),

Barail Formation (Oligocene),

Lakadong member of Sylhet limestone Formation

(Eocene),

Langpar Formation (Eocene)

Also, a number of potential source rocks have been

identified. These include


Barail Group coals (Oligocene),

Barail shales (Oligocene),

Kopili shales (Eocene),

Lakadong shales (Eocene),

Langpar shales (Eocene)

Any of the above potential source rocks could be the

source of oils in Upper Assam basin. In this article (based
on Mathur, 2007) an attempt has been made to determine
if the oils in Upper Assam basin have been generated
from Barail Group coals. This has been done first, by
evaluating the Barail Group coals for their hydrocarbon
generation potential, oil-proneness and maturity and
then, correlating the coals with the oils from the basin
using biomarkers like C 30 triterpanes, oleananes,
bicadinanes and C29 steranes.

Introduction
Correlation of oils with each other and with the source
rocks plays a very important role in exploration in a basin.
Oil to oil correlation helps to identify different families of
oils present in the basin. Since each family of oil must
have generated from a distinct source rock, oil to source
rock correlation leads to identification of parent source
rock of each family of oil. Once all the source rocks have
been identified in a basin and oil to source rock correlation
has been done, it becomes easier to determine whether
an unexplored structure is likely to be oil-bearing or not.
For example, farther a structure is from the sources of oil,
less likely it is, to be oil-bearing. Further, mass balance
calculations can be done for each source rock to
determine the amount of hydrocarbons generated and
available for accumulation. This can be compared with
the hydrocarbon reserves already discovered to

Hydrocarbon Generation Potential of Coal

It is now widely known that coals can act as a good
source rock for oil. Huge reserves of Barail Group coals
are found in thrust-belt outcrop on the Northern flank of
Naga-Patkai Hills. The coals are known to be oil-prone
(Sinha et al. 2005). It is likely that the coals have also
generated oil. In this study, seven Barail Group coal
samples were selected. Four surface samples belonged
to Tirap, Tipong and Ledo coal mines located in the
eastern part of Assam. Three sub-surface coal samples
belonged to a well in Moran oilfield in OILs operational
area. Coals were analyzed using Rock Eval 6 and
7

Table I:
Sample Location

Rock Eval Data for sub-surface and surface Barail Group Coals

Depth (m) S 1 (mg/g)

S 2 (mg/g)

S 3 (mg/g)

TOC (%)

Tmax (C)

HI (mg/g
TOC)

OI (mg/g
TOC)

Well Moran A

3146

4.39

245.91

6.28

69.63

412

353

Well Moran A

3158

2.95

160.53

6.12

55.79

409

288

11

Well Moran A

3194

1.37

100.94

4.78

48.12

416

210

10

Ledo Mine

Surface

4.26

238.38

3.64

73.17

421

326

Tipong Mine

Surface

3.49

271.57

2.84

78.99

428

344

Tirap Mine A

Surface

3.88

248.65

3.42

73.74

429

337

Tirap Mine B

Surface

2.91

244.69

3.36

76.29

428

321

Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer (PyGC-MS).

Figure 1 shows the HI-Tmax plot for the coals. These

coals are a mixture of Type II and Type III organic matter.
Thus, they are capable of generating significant amount
of oil apart from generating gas.

Rock Eval analysis is useful to determine the organic

richness and quality of source rock. S1 is a measure of
the bitumen present in the rock whereas S2 is a measure
of the hydrogen content and S3 is a measure of the
oxygen content of the rock. Tmax is a maturity parameter
and Hydrogen Index (HI) and Oxygen Index (OI) are
normalized values of S2 and S3 with respect to total organic
carbon (TOC)

Py-GC-MS analysis of source rocks is used to find out

the type of hydrocarbons i.e. oil or gas that will be
generated when the rocks mature in the geological
conditions. The result of Py-GC-MS analyses of a typical
Barail coal sample is shown in Figure 2. A series of
doublets are seen in the chromatogram. Identification
using mass spectrometer has confirmed that these peaks
are n-alkane / alkene doublets. This confirms that the
coals are capable of generating oil.
Correlation of oils with Barail coals
For the purpose of correlation, biomarkers have proved
to be very useful. Biomarkers or biological markers are
complex compounds present in oils and bitumens that
show little or no change in their structure from parent
organic molecules in living organisms. Thus, if certain

Table I shows the results of Rock Eval analysis of coal

samples. As is expected, coals have high TOC values (~
50 80%). The S2 values of the coals are very high (~ 100
270 mg/g) indicating that they have very good
hydrocarbon generation potential. A plot of Hydrogen
Index (HI) and Tmax can give a very good idea about the
quality of the source rock. Using this plot, the source
rocks can be classified as Type I (oil prone), Type II (oil
+ gas prone) and Type III (gas prone).

Figure 1. HI vs Tmax plot for Barail coals

Figure 2. Pyrolysis GC-MS (TIC) pattern of Barail coal

Previous studies (Mathur, 2005) have shown that certain

biomarkers like C 30 triterpanes, oleananes and
bicadinanes are present in significant quantity in oils in
Upper Assam basin. Moreover, biomarkers like steranes
and hopanes are universally present in varying quantities
in all the oils worldwide. Ratios C30 triterpanes / hopane,
oleananes / hopane, bicadinanes / hopane and steranes
/ hopane have proved to be useful for oil to oil and oil
source correlation in Upper Assam basin.

biomarkers are present in a fixed ratio in oils as well as

bitumens in the source rock, then one can conclude that
these oils have derived from this source rock.
Seventeen crude oils belonging to different producing
reservoirs were selected for the purpose of correlating
them with Barail coals. The bitumen present in the coals
was also extracted. The oils and the extracts were
analyzed using Gas Chromatograph with Mass
Spectrometer / Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS/MS).

Figure 3. C 30 triterpanes / hopane vs oleanane / hopane plot for oils and coals from Assam

Figure 4. Bicadinanes / hopane vs oleanane / hopane plot for oils and coals from Assam

Figure 5. Steranes / hopane vs oleanane / hopane plot for oils and coals from Assam

A plot of C30 triterpanes / hopane and oleananes / hopane

shows that oils in Upper Assam basin fall in two groups,
I & II (Fig. 3). Group I oils belong to Eocene reservoirs.
These oils are rich in both C30 triterpanes and oleananes.
Oleananes are derived from land plants and are known
to be present in terrestrial oils that are younger than
Cretaceous but generally of Tertiary age.

terrestrial oils from Southeast Asia. Group II oils belong

to reservoirs in Barail, Tipam and Girujan Formation. The
interesting observation here is that coals are falling in
Group III, which is severely depleted in both C 30
triterpanes and oleananes. Thus, there exists a negative
correlation between Assam coals and oils. Digboi oilfield,
which is the oldest oilfield in India, has been producing
oil from Tipam Formation. The Tipam oils from Digboi

Similarly, C30 triterpanes have also been observed in many

10

Figure 6. Steranes maturity parameter plot for oils and coals from Assam

oilfield are correlating with the coals. Thus, it appears

that most of the Assam oils have not generated from
coals, except Tipam oils from Digboi oilfield.

higher plants. Thus, these coals cannot be the source

for oils in Upper Assam basin.
A comparison of the results on the geochemical analysis
of oils from ONGCs PEL area in Upper Assam (Goswami
et al. 2005) with the Barail coal shows that even the oils
in that part of the basin have not generated from coals.

Bicadinanes originate from Dammar resin and are

observed in terrestrial oils. Ratio of bicadinanes / hopane
is also a useful parameter for correlation of oils and source
rocks. A plot of bicadinanes / hopane and oleananes /
hopane (Fig. 4) also separates the oils in Upper Assam
basin in to two groups. Group I corresponds to oils from
Eocene reservoirs and Group II corresponds to oils from
reservoirs in Barail, Tipam and Girujan Formation. Assam
coals, as earlier, are falling in Group III. This confirms the
observation that these oils have not generated from
coals. However, Tipam oils from Digboi oilfield are
correlating with the coals.

Maturity of oils and coals

Sterane maturity parameters C29 S/(S+R) and C29 i/(i+r)
(Fig. 6) show that oils are early to mid-mature. Subsurface coals from a well are immature but the surface
coals from the mines are mature. This is because these
coals have been upthrusted from much deeper depths.
Thus, the coals have attained sufficient maturity to
generate hydrocarbons.

Steranes are used as an indicator of marine input to the

organic matter from which the oil has generated. High
steranes / hopane ratio in oil are indicative of marine
nature. A plot of steranes / hopane and oleananes /
hopane (Fig. 5) also separates the oils in to two groups.

Conclusions
The study shows that huge reserves of oil prone and
mature Barail Group coals in Upper Assam must have
generated oil. However, most of the oil discovered so far
in the Upper Assam basin has not generated from these
coals. Thus, there is likelihood that huge amount of oil
generated from Barail Group coals has not yet been
discovered. Efforts should be intensified to discover this
oil.

Group I oils, from Eocene reservoirs, are low in steranes

and high in oleananes indicative of their terrestrial nature.
Group II oils from Barail, Tipam and Girujan Formation
are richer in steranes have slight marine character. Assam
coals are falling in Group III and are low in both steranes
and Oleananes. This shows that although the coals are
terrestrial in nature, they have not formed from terrestrial

Acknowledgement
The author is grateful to Management of Oil India Limited
for permission to publish this article

11

REFERENCES
Goswami, B.G. Bisht, R.S., Bhatnager, A.K., Kumar, D.,
Pangtey, K.L., Mittal, A.K., Goel, J.P., Dutta, G.C. and
Thomas, N.J. (2005): Geochemical characterization and
source investigations of oils discovered in KhoraghatNambiar structures of the Assam-Arakan Basin, India.
Organic Geochemistry, vol. 36, pp 161-181.

Mathur, N. (2005): Geochemistry of oils from Eocene

Formation of Upper Assam Basin, India. Petrotech 2005.
Sinha, A.K., Prasad, I.V.S.V, Sharma, B.L., Gangu, J.,
Goswami, B.G. and Mittal, A.K. (2005): Geochemical
evaluation of surface and subsurface Oligocene Barail
coals and coaly shales of Upper Assam shelf with respect
to hydrocarbon generation. Petrotech 2005.

Mathur, N. (2007): Oligocene Coals as Possible Source

of Oils in Upper Assam Basin. Petrotech 2007.

12

Hydrocarbon prospects of selected Proterozoic Basins of

India
C. Vishnu Vardhan, Smitha K. Panicker and B. Kumar*
National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad-500007
*e-mail: baleshk@yahoo.com

Abstract

Geology and tectonics of Proterozoic Basins of India

The discovery of hydrocarbons from the Proterozoic

formations of Russia, China, Australia, Oman etc. proved
that the older strata should not be omitted in the
everlasting search for petroleum. The Proterozoic basins
of India (Vindhyan, Chattisgarh, Cuddapah, Bastar,
Kaladgi, Bhima) are comparable to the producing basins
of similar age from other parts of the world and have
all the necessary prerequisites for hydrocarbon
generation and accumulation. The Indian Proterozoic
basins have favorable structural geometry for
hydrocarbon accumulation, rock types that can act as
good reservoirs and seals, rich stromatolitic and fossil
assemblages, and presence of organic matter. The
evidence of hydrocarbon occurrences and gas shows
are also reported from some of these basins. This
paper presents an overview of hydrocarbon prospects
of selected Proterozoic basins of India based on
geological, tectonic, paleontolog- ical, geophysical and
geochemical information, and recommendations for
further studies.

The Proterozoic basins of India, called as Purana Basins

offer favorable structural geometry for hydrocarbon
generation and accumulation viz. large open anticlines,
buried domal structures, inversion structures, cross folds
which are typical of giant oil fields3. Some of these basins
are least disturbed and unmetamorphosed with
considerable sediment thickness. These basins also have
suitable geothermal gradient for hydrocarbon generation
and maturation. The rocks which can act as good
reservoirs and seals, are also present in these basins.
The geology and tectonics of some of the selected
Proterozoic basins are discussed:
Vindhyan Basin
The Vindhyan is an intracratonic basin, having an areal
extent of ~165000 sq.km. of which 65000 lies under the
Deccan Trap volcanic flows (Fig. 1). The basin is limited
by son-Narmada lineament in south, Great Boundary
Fault in west, Monghyr Saharsa Ridge in east4. Based
on the geophysical studies, it has been shown that the
basin extends underneath the gangetic alluvium towards
north in Ganga valley5. The sediments of the Vindhyan
Super group attain a maximum thickness of about 5250 m
close to the southern margin of the basin 1 . The
sedimentary sequence of Vindhyan Supergroup has been
divided into two lithostratigraphic units, the Lower and
the Upper Vindhyans (Vindhyan Supergroup), separated
by a well-marked erosional unconformity (Table 1). Lower
Vindhyan consists of Semri Group and Upper Vindhyan
comprises the Kaimur, Rewa and Bhander Groups.
The lithology mainly includes limestones, shales,
sandstones, conglomerate, siltstone and clay
deposited in a shallow marine domain. The Vindhyan
sediments are least metamorphosed and considered as
one of the best-preserved Proterozoic sedimentary
sequence of India6.

Introduction
Twenty-six sedimentary basins of India are classified into
four categories based on their hydrocarbon prospects.
The basins that have established commercial production
are grouped under category I and category II has basins
with known accumulations of hydrocarbons but no
commercial production. The other basins, which are
geologically prospective, and potentially prospective,
are grouped under Category III and IV basins,
respectively. Six Proterozoic basins of India namely
Vindhyan, Chattisgarh, Cuddapah, Bastar and Bhima Kaladgi are grouped under category III and IV. The
occurrence of commercial oil and gas accumulation in
Proterozoic basins of Russia, Australia, Oman and China
have proved that Proterozoic biomass was capable of
generating hydrocarbons. In Indian context hydrocarbon
occurrences in Proterozoic basins have been reported
by presence of gas shows from the test wells drilled in
Vindhyan basin1 and presence of bitumen and oil seeps
from Cuddapah basin2. The other Proterozoic basins also
have basic elements necessary for petroleum formation.

The Basin has a characteristic rhombohedral

configuration bounded by major faults and is divided
by Bundelkhand Massif into two parts, the Chambal
Valley in the west and the Son Valley in the east.

13

Figure 1. Geological map of Vindhyan Basin (after Soni et al., 1987)

Table 1. General stratigraphy of Vindhyan basin

Chattisgarh Basin
The crescent shaped Chattisgarh basin is an
intracratonic, middle Proterozoic basin located within the
central Indian shield. This is the third largest Purana
basin of India covering an area of ~35,000 sq. km. A
maximum thickness of about 4000 m have been indicated
by Geophysical studies7. The Chattisgarh Supergroup
has an unconformable relationship with the Archean
granitic and gneissic basement. The supergroup is
divided into lower Chandarpur Group and upper Raipur
Group. The lithology includes conglomerate, siltstone,
sandstone, limestones and minor amount of shales, clays
and cherts8. The sedimentation is of cyclic nature starting
with limestone and ending with shale9 deposited in a
marine environment. Stratigraphically, Chattisgarh basin
can be correlated with Vindhyan and on the basis of
cyclicity in sedimentation it can be correlated with
Indravati, Kurnool, and Bhima basins.
The basin slopes moderately towards west and it shows
centripetal dips. In the eastern part, outliers of Gondwana
formations are noticed. Several outliers of Chattisgarh
rock occur at different heights to the south and southeast
due to tectonism and denudation. The basin shows
evidences of structural disturbances along the eastern,
northern and western margins. In the eastern part the
sediments are intensely folded and faulted. Srinivas et
al.10, on the basis of gravity model had reported a ridge
like structure near Raipur where the thickness of
sediments is around 400 m. and on either side of the
ridge the thickness is about 2.5 km. The western and
northern margins of the basin are also faulted, whereas
southern and southeastern margins do not show any
signs of disturbance.

It generally dips southward, and the Lower Vindhyan

rocks are comparatively more structurally deformed than
Upper Vindhyan. Normal faults (anticlinal structures) are
reported along the son Narmada lineament arranged in
an en-echelon pattern. There are many exposed folds
associated with major fault systems, which are aligned
in the direction of the adjoining faults. NW-SE trending
tight folds are reported around Chitaurgarh. Series of
step faults are also reported along the southeastern
boundary of Bundelkhand massif.
14

separated by an unconformity (Table 2). Each group

starts with quartzite and ends with a shale unit
representing cyclic repetition of quartzite and shale
sequence. This is reflective of transgression and
regression in an episodically sinking basin. The
intrusives present in the basin are due to the igneous
activity that occurred simultaneously during
sedimentation and is thought to be a local phenomenon.
All sediments in the basin are mature 12 and
unmetamorphosed except on the eastern part due to the
thrusting of Eastern Ghat Mobile Belt.

Cuddapah Basin
The Proterozoic Cuddapah basin (Figure 2) is an
epicratonic basin covering an area of ~44500 sq.km. The
aggregate stratigraphic thickness is about 12000 m and
the sediments are deposited in a shallow marine carbonate
shelf and beach environment11. The sediment thickness
increases from west to east suggesting the deepening
of basin towards east. The sedimentary sequence of
Cuddapah Super group is divided into lower Papagni
Group (2100 m), Chitravati Group (6000 m) Nallamalai
Group (3500 m) and younger Kurnool Group (520 m)
comprising quartzites, limestone and shale units,

The western half of the Cuddapah basin is less deformed

Figure 2. Geological map of Cuddapah basin (modified after Singh and Mishra, 2002)

15

Kaladgi in these parts are exposed as inliers16. The

Kaladgi Supergroup is divided into the lower Bagalkot
Group and the upper Badami Group separated by an
unconformity. The sedimentary sequence mainly
consists of orthoquartzite, argillites and carbonates
including limestones and dolomite and sediments of the
basin are least affected by metamorphism except at the
basin margin. Dharwar Super group and Hungund
schists, granites and gneisses form the basement for the
Kaladgis.

Table 2. General stratigraphy of Cuddapah basin

The Bagalkot group is much disturbed with tight isoclinal

folds, which can be contemporaneous with
sedimentation where as Badami group suffered little
deformation. Sequences of the Lokapur Subgroup of
Bagalkot group display doubly plunging synclinal
structure and elongated domal structures. These domes
are surrounded by basins and vice versa. The Simikere
Sub group of Bagalkot group occurs as elongated doubly
plunging synclines and, at places, with its complimentary
anticlines. The sequences of both the groups are cut by
faults and joints, the major faults being parallel to the
direction of regional axis.
Bhima basin
The Bhima basin is a neoproterozoic, epicratonic,
extensional basin and is the smallest of all Proterozoic
basins of India. The NE-SW trending, S-shaped basin,
formed due to gravity faulting17 has an area of ~5200
sq.km. The geologically estimated maximum thickness is
up to 273 m18 but gravity surveys revealed that a relief of
about 10-15 mgals which can be interpreted in terms of
sediment thickness of approximately 1.5 km19. The Bhima
has independent sedimentation history compared to
other Proterozoic basins of India20. The basement is the
Archean Gneissic Complex and the top of the succession
is covered by Deccan Trap flows and intertrappean beds.
The Bhima Group comprises the Sedam and the Andola
subgroups separated by a paraconformity 18 . The
sediments include mainly shale, sandstone and limestone
deposited in a shallow marine domain.
The basin comprises tectonically least disturbed, nearly
horizontal beds. The rectilinear E-W to NW-SE trending
boundaries are faulted, while the N-S and NNE-SSW
linear trends show unconformable relation with the
underlying gneisses. Among the faults, the E-W trending
Gogi and Kirni dextral strike slip faults are extensive with
a strike length of over 20 and 15 km. respectively17.
Occasionally evidences of deformation like brecciation
and slump folding due to movements along fault lines,
which cut the basin, are observed. Signs of slight
disturbances prior to the outpouring of Deccan basalts
is indicated by the presence of broken and upturned
beds. Except for the regions near faults where the beds
dip at high angles, original horizontal bedded character

as compared with the eastern part with sub horizontal or

gentle quaquaversally dipping beds11. The general dip
of beds in the basin is towards east. The rocks of
Nallamalai Group are intensely folded, with intensity
increasing from west to east. In the intensely folded
eastern part, the Nallamalai fold belt, isoclinal folds are
observed and the eastern margin is intensely faulted
and affected by thrusts. The Iswarkuppam, a N-S
elongated dome is an important structural feature in the
north-central part of the basin13. Faults in the basin are
mostly steep, some are basement-rooted and preCuddapah in age, and normal and reverse types are
present whose periodic reactivation played a major role
in the evolution of Cuddapah basin.
Kaladgi Basin
The Kaladgi is a Mesoproterozoic epicratonic basin
covering an area of ~8300 sq.km14. The basin has a
maximum thickness of ~7000 m15 and deposition of
sediments is believed to be near shore shallow marine
with individual horizons indicative of lagoonal, beach
and tidal environments. The sedimentation is cyclic in
nature due to the repeated marine transgression on an
episodically sinking epicratonic basin16. Some part of
the northerly and westerly extension of the basin is
concealed under the Deccan traps and at places the traps
are removed by weathering and erosion. The rocks of
16

is preserved (with dip rarely exceeding 5) for the Bhima

sediments20.

the Chattisgarh basin. Calcareous algae and burrows

have been recorded from the uppermost part of the
Raipur sequence. In the upper part of the sedimentary
sequence, presence of microbiota mainly filamentous
cyanobacteria and acritarchs are reported32.

Age
The Proterozoic sedimentary succession of India
(Vindhyan, Chattisgarh Cuddapah, Kaladgi and Bhima)
mostly range in age from Mesoproterozoic to
Neoproterozoic. Based on biochronological data, the
deposition of Vindhyan sediments started around 1400
Ma and had continued for over 800 Ma6. The studies of
Murti8 and Kruezer et al21 have suggested a Meso to
Neo Proterozoic age for Chattisgarh basin. The
sedimentation in Cuddapah basin has begun at 1700 Ma22
and continued upto Neoproterozoic. The rocks belonging
to Kurnool have been ascribed a Neoproterozoic age23.
Cuddapah and Kaladgis can be correlated with Vindhyan
and Chattisgarh based on faunal assemblage12. A close
resemblance in lithological characters of the rocks of the
Bhima Group with that of the Kurnool Group of Cuddapah
Supergroup has been noticed, suggesting that both
formed during Neoproterozoic20.

The sediments of the Cuddapah Basin have yielded rich

stromatolitic assemblages, Ediacaran fossils, sabellidites,
chuaria etc. The Lower Cuddapah (Papagni and
Chitravati) carbonates show evidence of significant
development of columnar stromatolites. The Vempalle
formation of Papagni Group and Tadpatri Formation of
Chitravati Group are characterized by the presence of
stromatolites demonstrating the extent of proliferation
of microbial life during Cuddapah sedimentation33.
Ediacaran fossils from Paniam quartzite of Kurnool group;
sabellidites, and chuaria from Owk shale of Kurnool group
have been reported by Gururaja et al. 34. In the southwest
part of the Cuddapah basin (ThummalapalleGandankipalle area) the shale contain thin stringers of
brown colored organic matter (bitumen?) and humic acid
produced by decay of algal colonies2.

Palaeolife

The occurrence of different species of stromatolites, algal

sphaeromorphs, acritarchs, cellular tissues, oncholites
etc. indicate the presence of life during Kaladgi
sedimentation. Stromatolites occur in large colonies
termed as Stromatolitic bioherms in the limestone and
dolomitic horizons indicating intense algal activity35. The
Bagalkot Group of Kaladgi Supergroup have yielded
microfossils of algal sphaeromorphs, arcitarchs and
cellular tissues with amorphous organic debris and
Kussiella, Collonella genus22. Badami group of rocks
contains trace fossils, acritarchs and palyno
assemblages. The Bhima rocks are characterised by a
rich assemblage of acritarchs, algal filaments and organic
plates of possible animal origin 36. Algal structures
(stromatolites) and microplanktons are reported from
Bhima Group of sediments by Gowda37 and Gupta23.
Occurrence of Chuaria circularis38, rich and diversified
variety of biota, both mega and micro are reported from
the Halkal shale of Sedam subgroup39.

It is widely accepted that the prime source for

hydrocarbon generation is the marine phytoplankton.
Vassoyevich and Sokolov24 confirmed that .there
are no grounds for doubt that phytoplankton was the
main supplier of organic matter to the Precambrian
sediments. Laboratory studies have shown that under
conditions designated to stimulate those occurring during
natural geochemical maturation, modern algal mat
communities (stromatolites) can yield hydrocarbons25.
Stromatolitic algae and bacteria are, therefore, among
the potential sources capable of generating petroleum
and consequently stromatolitic bearing Precambrian/
Proterozoic carbonate rocks cannot be ignored in the
ever-lasting search for new hydrocarbon accumulations/
resources26. The Proterozoic sediments of India are rich
in stromatolites and other organic matter and can be
considered favorable for hydrocarbon generation and
accumulation.
The microbial life in Vindhyan sediments is represented
by the well-preserved algal stromatolites, primitive
brachiopods, annelids and arthropod, planktonic,
benthic microfossils, vascular plant remains, Chuaria sp.,
acritarchs, algal and fungal remains etc.1,6 The limestone
formations of both Semri and Bhander Groups have
yielded abundant stromatolitic assemblages. About 50
records of metaphytes and metazoa are reported from
Vindhyan Supergroup. In Chattisgarh basin,
stromatolites are reported from limestones of Raipur
Group27-29. The stromatolites show columnar, domal and
stratiform morphology30. Murti31 has reported trace
fossils, mainly metazoans from limestones and shales of

Hydrocarbon Prospects
The Proterozoic basins of India have all the necessary
prerequisites for hydrocarbon generation, such as
significant sediment thickness, favorable structures,
biological life, thermal gradient and are similar to the
other producing basins of the world. The hydrocarbon
prospects of selected Proterozoic basins of India are
discussed below:
Vindhyan Basin
The Vindhyan basin has considerable sediment thickness
upto a maximum of 5250 m. The geothermal gradient in
the basin is greater than 70 mW m-2 and based on that
17

the basin is categorized under medium to good prospect

zone for hydrocarbon generation 40. Limestone and
sandstone sequences can form good reservoir rocks due
to the development of fracture and secondary porosities.
Presence of lithological units, which can act as effective
caprocks are reported by Chakrabarti 5 . In Upper
Vindhyans, cap rock conditions are better than in Lower
Vindhyans due to the presence of alternating shale,
sandstone, and limestone sequences. The unconformity
between Lower and Upper Vindhyans may act as a seal
rock. The structures along the Son Narmada lineament
and series of step faults along the southeastern boundary
of Bundelkhand massif may act as favorable locales for
hydrocarbon accumulation. Tectonically, Vindhyan basin
is comparable to Proterozoic basins of Russia (Lena
Tunguska) and Australia (Amadeus), which are
producing. The geochemical studies of Vindhyan
equivalent rocks from Ganga basin revealed the
occurrence of green colored amorphous organic matter
with algal filaments (type II kerogen) capable of
hydrocarbon generation. Considerable TOC content
(upto 8.08% in Kajarahat Limestone, 6.43% in Bijaigarh
Shale, 1.09% in carbonaceous shales) and organic carbon
distribution (Corg. upto 1.76% in the limestone and shale
sequences in both Upper and Lower Vindhyans)
suggests the development of potential source rocks in
Vindhyans1. The sediments show the organic maturity
level well within wet to dry gas generation limit. The
wetness studies of absorbed C1 to C 6 hydrocarbons
(20.77-97.11%) and the Thermal Alteration Index values
(3.0 3.5) of the Vindhyan equivalent sediments in Ganga
basin (Puranpur-2 well), show a maturity level within the
active oil and gas generation limit (oil window)1. The
sediments extending in the northern part below the
alluvium can have better hydrocarbon generation
potential. Isotopic studies carried out by B. Kumar, et
al.41,42 have shown that the carbonate rocks of the Nagod
Formation of the Bhander Group are characterized by
marked positive 13C signatures (4.10.9 0/00 V-PDB)
suggesting higher organic productivity / burial. The
gently dipping Nagod Formation carbonates of Bhander
Group (Upper Vindhyan) are generally exposed on the
surface, however, if sufficient sediment cover overlies
these carbonates, as may be the case of Indo-Gangetic
alluvial terrain, they can form good source rock for
hydrocarbon generation. National Geophysical Research
Institute (NGRI) in association with Directorate General
of Hydrocarbons (DGH) has carried out a reconnaissance
survey for surface geochemical prospecting for
hydrocarbons in the western part of Vindhyan basin
(Chambal Valley) and reported that the region in and
around Baran-Jhalawar-Bhanpura-Garot may form a warm
area for future hydrocarbon exploration (Unpublished
Tech. Rep. No. NGRI-2002-Exp-361). Krishnan43 recorded
that the lower Vindhyan shales have geochemical

parameters with possible source-rock potential.

All the above features confirm that Vindhyan sediments
have necessary potential for hydrocarbon generation
and entrapment. The reconnaissance surveys and some
of the exploration wells drilled in Vindhyan Basin have
shown hydrocarbon generation/occurrence1,44.
Chattisgarh Basin
The maximum sedimentary thickness of the Chattisgarh
sediments is about 4000m and sediments are deposited
in a stable beach environment. The basin is having heat
flow above100 mW m-2 and geothermally it is categorized
as a medium to high prospect zone40. In the eastern part,
the sediments are intensely faulted especially in the
Barapahar area. Rich assemblages of stromatolites are
reported from limestones in Raipur Formation. The
calcareous algae, cyanobacteria and acritarchs are
recorded from the Chattisgarh basin.
Although the Chattisgarh basin has all the prerequisites
for the generation of hydrocarbon, like considerable
sediment thickness and sufficient organic content, the
recent surface geochemical studies (adsorbed soil gas
surveys) carried out by NGRI and DGH have suggested
that hydrocarbon generation has not taken place in the
basin (Unpublished Tech. Rep. No. NGRI-2004-Exp-456).
Cuddapah Basin
The aggregate thickness of Cuddapah sediments is
about 7000m. in the western part of the basin and
thickness towards east in the basinal part is ~12 km. The
northwestern and southeastern regions of the basin have
heat flow over 130 mW m -2 and these regions are
considered to associate with highly prospective zone
for the generation of hydrocarbons40. This is the thickest
Purana basin of India. The thickness of the sediments
where the Nadyal shale (Upper Kurnool Group) is
exposed, is in the range of 6000-9000 m and these shales
are considered as a future target for petroleum
exploration2. The Vempalle limestone/dolomite can act
as good reservoir rocks with its vuggy and fracture
porosity. The Papagni and Chitravati Groups are mostly
undisturbed and have the prerequisites, which can be
favorable for generation and accumulation of
hydrocarbons. The eastern margin of the basin
(Nallamalai Group) is highly disturbed with isoclinal and
recumbent folds, complex faulting and also thrusting with
the Eastern Ghat Mobile Belt, however K. Chandra, et
al.2 have shown that these form ideal sites to look for the
traps below the Nallamalai group of sediments. The
structures like synclines, anticlines, fault closures etc.
can play an important role in hydrocarbon generation
and entrapment. The Vempalle limestone Formation of
Papagni Group and Tadpatri shales of Chitravati Group
contain abundant stromatolites and can be potential
18

source rocks. Rich assemblages of ediacaran fossils,

chuaria circularis, Sabellidites etc. have been reported
from the Kurnool group, which may have potential
hydrocarbon occurrences.

or burial during sedimentation, which may have bearing

on hydrocarbon generation44. The top of the Bhima
succession is covered by Deccan Trap flows and that
might have provided sufficient thermal conditions for
hydrocarbon generation.

Adsorbed Soil Gas Surveys carried out by NGRI jointly

with DGH have shown that the basin has hydrocarbon
generation potential (Unpublished Tech. Rep. No. NGRI2005-Exp-499).

The Bhima group of rocks have all the basic prerequisites

as shown above for generation of hydrocarbons.
Summary and recommendations

Thick sedimentary succession, reported presence of life,

suitable lithounits, structure and the geothermal gradient
can be favorable for hydrocarbon generation and
accumulation.

The geological, tectonic, paleontological, geochemical

and geophysical informations presented above suggest
that the Proterozoic basins of India may have necessary
pre-requisites for hydrocarbon generation and
accumulation. The further studies needed to assess the
hydrocarbon prospects of these basins are as follows.

Kaladgi Basin
The aggregate thickness of the basin is about 3800 m.
and further thickening is expected towards the
northeastern part. Based on geothermal criteria, the basin
has heat flow over 130 mW m-2 and is grouped under
high prospect zone for hydrocarbons40. The fold patterns
in limestone member of Yendigeri Formation and the
Upper Badami group and domal and basinal structures;
fault and joint patterns from both the groups may form
good structures for hydrocarbon generation and
entrapment. The limestones and dolomites of both
Bagalkot and Badami groups contain abundant fossil
remains including acritarch, sphareomorphs, oncooids
and can form potential source rocks. Some part of
northerly and westerly extension of the basin is
concealed under Deccan Traps, which might have
provided sufficient thermal conditions for hydrocarbon
generation.
Necessary thermal conditions due to Deccan volcanicity
and prerequisites such as thick sedimentary succession,
fossils, lithounits and structure may be favorable for
hydrocarbon generation.

i)

Remote Sensing studies aided with digital image

processing in all the basins to delineate the surface
and subsurface structural features.

ii)

Detailed geophysical studies consisting of gravity,

magneto telluric, seismic surveys in Bhima and
Kaladgi basins to determine the thickness of trap
and the sediments.

iii)

Reconnaissance geochemical surveys comprising

of adsorbed soil gas surveys for hydrocarbon
exploration in the western margin (covering Papagni
and Chitravati Groups) of Cuddapah Basin and
Kurnool sub-basin; northwestern part of Kaladgi
basin (covering Badami Group); and in Bhima basin
to demarcate anomalous hydrocarbon zones and
warm areas.

iv) Detailed adsorbed soil gas surveys (2 km X 2 km

grid) for geochemical prospecting for hydrocarbons
in specific blocks in western Vindhyan basin (in and
around
Baran-Jhalawar-Bhanpura-Garot),
southeastern part of Bundelkhand Massif (Son
Valley) and along the southern margin of Vindhyan
basin.

Bhima Basin
The gravity surveys in Bhima basin show a thickness of
approximately 1.5 km19. The Bhima basin is categorized
as high prospect zone for hydrocarbons based on
geothermal criteria, having heat flow over 130 mW m-2 40.
The rich assemblages of algal structures (stromatolites),
microplanktons, acritarchs, algal filaments and organic
plates of possible animal origin, have been reported from
Lower and Upper Bhima groups. A variety of biota, both
mega and micro also have been recorded from the Halkal
shale. The Shahabad and Katamadevarhalli formations
are characterised by positive 13 C signatures (an average
of 2.4 o/oo V-PDB for Shahabad and 2.7 o/oo V-PDB for
Katamadevarhalli) indicating higher organic productivity

v)

Stable isotope studies of soil gases from Vindhyan,

Cuddapah, Bhima and Kaladgi Basins to determine
their provenance and source.

vi) Integrated geological, geochemical, geophysical and

remote sensing studies to demarcate the potential
hydrocarbon zones.
Acknowledgement
The authors are thankful to Dr. V.P. Dimri, Director NGRI
for taking keen interest in this work and granting
permission to publish this paper.

19

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Methodolgy (ies) To Identify The Hydrocarbon

Prospectivity Of The Fractured Reservoirs In Indian
Sedimentary Basins
GSSN Murthy and Amitava Roy
Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, New Delhi
e mail: ganti_murty2000@yahoo.co.in and aroy_amitav@yahoo.com

and accretion of OIIP are going on in the eastern and

western onshore basins since last 25-30 years from
Borholla-Champang fields of Assam-Arakan fold Belt and
Padra field of Cambay Basin

Introduction
The Exploration of Hydrocarbons has become
increasingly challenging as more and more
unconventional and unorthodox reservoirs are being
explored with increasing uncertainities.The easy oil is
already explored.

Besides the above sedimentary basins, India has got other

potential basins to hold sizable hydrocarbon prospects
in fractured reservoirs of Precambrian, Proterozoic,
Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks.

Fractured reservoirs are an important component of the

global hydrocarbon reserve and production base. In many
parts of the world, including USA, Canada, India, the
Middle East and Mexico, fractured reservoirs account
for a part or the bulk of world oil production. In other
areas, such as the Rockies of North America, AssamArakan and part of Cambay Basin in India, low
permeability formations that were once considered
unconventional hydrocarbon resources are now quickly
becoming mainstream.

A Few Indian Basins to Look for Fractured Reservoirs

are (Figure-1):
I)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)
vi)

In India, Oil production from fractured igneous/volcanic

reservoir rocks and subsequent reserve replenishment

Assam-Arakan fold Belt

Cambay basin
Mumbai Offshore Basin
Krishna-Godavari Basin
Cauvery Basin
Andaman Basin

Figure 1. Producing Indian Basins with Presence of Fractured Reservoirs

Assam Arakan Fold Belt

Mumbai High Basin
Cauvery Basin

22

Cambay Basin
Krishna-Godavari Basin

which play the role of the reservoir. However, in a

favourable geotectonic environment the fractured
basement (igneous/metamorphic) with interconnected
fracture porosities can hold huge amount of
hydrocarbons in their fractures.

Origin of Fractures
The fractures are developed in rocks due to the stress
released because of seismic disturbances, basement
faulting, major lineament related tectonics. A basement
reservoir is always associated with a high on which it is
directly formed during the gradual uplift over geologic
time. Sedimentary rocks which deposit later, overlie the
basement or come into juxtaposition due to subsequent
faulting and growth fault related tectonics. The magnitude,
directions and sizes of fractures depend upon a few
factors, including:
i)

lithology of rocks

ii)

compactness of rocks

iii)

depth of burial

Indian Examples
Assam-Arakan fold Belt
The granitic/meta granitic fractured basement rocks as
well as the basal sandstone lying above it in Borholla Champang fields of Assam-Arakan fold Belt are having
good amount of produceable hydrocarbons .
Cambay Basin

Classification of Fractures

In Padra field of Cambay Basin, 11 Km southwest of

Baroda, Oil is being produced from the fractured basalt
and also from the immediately overlying Olpad Formation
from several other fields of Cambay basin. Fractured coal
of Motera and Kalol fields of Ahmedabad sub-block of
Cambay Basin , produce oil & gas.

Geologically the fractures can be classified as:

Cauvery Basin

Surface Related

If regional fractures are properly sealed then they become

important for HC accumulation. It grades 2nd in the
classification scale of fracture porosity/HC accumulation
and production.

In the Cauvery offshore basin, four productive gas wells

including the discovery well PY-1-1 in the PY-1 Field on
the Portonovo high (Anon,1995) reported13 MMCF/day
flow of gas (Anirbid Sircar,2004). from heterogeneous,
Precambrian, weathered granite reservoir rock of about
200 ft thickness and at depths of 5000 to 5500 ft. The
field lies beneath approximately 250 ft of water depth.
It was estimated that PY-1 could yield as much as 250
BCF of gas and 1.16 M bbl of condensate in primary
production.

Contraction

Mumbai High Basin

Some amount of fracture porosity are developed as

contraction fractures and they are graded 3rd in the
classification scale for Hydrocarbon accumulation/
saturation and production

Occurrence of oil & gas in semi-commercial quantities

in fractured basement was reported from Mumbai High
field.

Tectonic

Hydrocarbon occurrences in semi-commercial quantities

was reported from fractured basement in Bantumilli and
from fractured traps (basalt) in Mummidivaram in KrishnaGodavari Basin.

iv) Intensity of the earthquake

v)

strength of the lineament

These are not important from hydrocarbon point of view

since most of the oil accumulated in these fractures might
have been lost due to surface leakage.
Regional

Krishna-Godavari Basin

Fold or fault related and developed due to the uneven

stress distribution. This kind of fractures entrap maximum
hydrocarbon and maximum production is obtained from
these tectonic fractures
Source, Entrapment, Reservoir and Seal Conditions

Exploration for Hydrocarbons in Fractured Reservoirs

in Producing Basins of India:

Often sedimentary rocks are the source rocks of

hydrocarbons which after generation, migrate laterally
to the adjacent naturally fractured basement or other
fractured reservoir rocks using the available faults, joints
or fracture systems as conduits for migration after
expulsion from organic rocks during compaction. Most
of the time it is the technical basement or a basal sand
stone or other sedimentary rocks derived from the
weathering, erosion and diagenesis of the basement

An explorationist may take cue from this, that in the

different geological systems in India, hydrocarbon
bearing fractured reservoirs exist and production of oil/
gas is also going on on a commercial basis.Occurrence of
hydrocarbons in semi-commercial quantities in prolifically
producing basins of India,should attract the attention of
the explorationists to undertake a concerted exploration
activity for exploring hydrocarbons in fractured reservoirs
in those basins.
23

Petrophysical and geological data, well log data

interpretation, and seismic modeling.

Identification of Fractured Reservoir in Existing Oil

Fields
To identify oil and gas in fractured reservoirs in existing
oil & gas fields, inter-well seismic logging techniques
have been attempted for interpreting the geology and
rock physical properties. The work involved a balanced
study of theoretical and numerical modeling of seismic
waves transmitted between pairs of wells, combined with
experimental data acquisition and processing under
controlled field conditions. The field applications were
aimed at correlating high-resolution seismic
measurements with a detailed interpretation of
heterogeneous hydrocarbon-bearing formations
integrated with the existing reservoir parameters of the
producing formations
In low-porosity, low-permeability formations, natural
fractures are the primary source of permeability,
controlling both production and injection of fluids. Open
fractures do not contribute significantly to total porosity,
but they provide an increased drainage network. An
important aspect of characterizing reservoir fracture
orientation and permeability in determining how fractures
affect the propagation of acoustic and seismic waves
through the rock.
The goals are to map the orientation and extent of fracture
zones and to predict permeability distribution using
multiphase (oil and gas or oil and water) production data.

Well logs and borehole cuttings have been analyzed to

ascertain the geologic factors controlling horizontal and
vertical rock density as well as the distribution of fractures
in the formation and the extent to which porosity
contributes to hydrocarbon production in the field. These
results have been integrated with seismic data to
determine if the fractured intervals have a characteristic
seismic signature.
High-resolution seismic data is required to delineate the
fracture zones between wells in an oil field. SwRI
conducted a feasibility study to determine whether
compressional (P) and shear (S) waves can be transmitted
and detected between wells 500m apart. The model results
demonstrated that it is feasible to conduct inter-well
seismic measurements between wells at a producing oil
field. Recent research and development on hydrocarbon
reservoir characterization in the past several years has
developed theoretical and numerical models that integrate
core, well log, surface and inter-well (borehole-toborehole) seismic data, as well as vertical seismic profiling
(VSP) and reverse VSP data, from producing oil fields to
predict fracture porosity and permeability distribution
constructed from well logs, inter-well seismic data, and
core information.

Figure 2. Under/Unexplored Basins with Possible Fractured Basement Reservoirs

Vindhyan (outcrop/subcrop)
Cuddapah

24

Godwana (outcrop/subcrop)

At the conclusion all the informations gathered this way,

will be integrated with the hydrocarbon production
history of the field to provide a comprehensive overview
of fracture and permeability distribution of a reservoir
in discovering the potential and subtle prospects of the
future.
Fractured Basement Reservoirs in Hitherto
Underexplored / Unexplored Basins of India

Processing workflows account for P-wave Vfast and

Vslow magnitudes and directions, shear wave
splitting, and azimuthally-varying AVO

All available seismic, engineering, and geologic data

is integrated to relate seismic attributes to reservoir
fracturing, and to tie reservoir fracture models to
actual production

SOLUTIONS

A number of basins like Vindhyan, Gondwana, Cuddapah

(Fig-2) are likely to hold hydrocarbons in commercial
quantities in fractured basement reservoirs. To undertake
exploration for likely reservoirs in these basins, we need
to know more about the fractures & the possble
methodologies to be used.

Combinations of innovative field acquisition

technologies and processing techniques are
necessary to solve fractured reservoir imaging
challenges.

Services and software for reconciling seismic data

and attributes with reservoir, production, and
geological information that generates fracture
properties for reservoir models are available.

Mechanism & Method of Fracture Determination

One has to understand the fracture network, distribution
and connectivity within fractured basement rock
(metamorphic or igneous) or other naturally fractured
rocks like limestone , shale or coal. Also to determine the
potentiality of fractured reservoir, following parameters
has to be determined:
i)

magnitude and Direction of In-situ principal stresses

ii)

azimuth

iii)

dip

Integrated Seismic Solutions

Where seismic data does not exist or is not sufficient to
meet an explorationists imaging objectives, Integrated
Seismic Solutions (ISS ) are available.
ISS programs have been designed and delivered for
leading E&P companies in major hydrocarbon basins
around the world, including the Gulf of Mexico, West
Africa, and Caribbean basin and are fit to be applied in
Indian basins too.

iv) spacing
v)

Full-wave imaging solutions

Full-wave imaging addresses the E&P industrys most
challenging seismic acquisition and processing
situations, including:

if possible aperture of fractures.

The methods widely practiced and applied in quantifying

fractures and its challenges & solutions are discussed
below:

Complex acquisition environments, including

seabed, swamps, deserts, and the polar region, where
surface and near-surface conditions make it difficult
to deploy equipment or acquire broadband, high
fidelity seismic data.

Complex reservoirs targets, including those that are

fractured, thin, highly faulted or steeply dipping.

Time-lapse (4D) reservoir monitoring, where high

resolution images (of both lithology and fluid
location) is required and ambient noise from
production operations can interfere with the quality
of the acquired data.

Fractured Reservoirs Imaging Solutions

Challenges
A key part of fractured reservoir characterization is making
high-quality measurements of anisotropy, which indirectly
indicates fracture orientation and intensity. In a vertically
fractured zone, AVO response will vary with azimuth. The
largest variation will occur between AVO responses
parallel and perpendicular to the dominant fracturing
direction.
In order to measure this anisotropy and properly
characterize fractured reservoirs, geophysicists must
ensure the following:


Surveys are designed with long offsets, wide

azimuths, and high station density

Seismic data is recorded using high-fidelity, 3-C

sensors that capture broadband P-wave and S-wave
data (especially at lower frequencies)

Challenging environments as well as Complex reservoirs

including fractured/ highly faulted reservoirs represent
unique challenges whose potential can best be unlocked
through cutting-edge, integrated solutions that
incorporate full-wave technologies including:
VECTORSEIS, SCORPION, FIREFLY, VECTORSEIS
OCEAN, AZIM etc.

25

Land 4D

custom rock property measurements

Time-lapse (4D) seismic has been proven as a reservoir

management tool. By acquiring successive seismic
images on the same producing field, geoscientists can
identify by-passed oil, accumulation of oil in fractures
and can better manage injection programs.

petrographic descriptions

Conclusion & Recommendations

Apart from specialized seismic tools & methods applied

for determination of fractured reservoirs there are other
methods too which are applied indoor in laboratory
conditions including simulation models. They are as
follows:

Fractured reservoirs, including basements , not only

contain considerable quantities of hydrocarbons but
also produce large amount of oil & gas since early
20th century.

Discovering, delineating, establishing and

producing hydrocarbons from fractured reservoirs
in commercial quantities for a long period is a
challenge for an E&P company

The ever increasing and widening gap between

demand and supply of hydrocarbons,rising price of
oil and gas, reducing discoveries of oil and gas in
conventional reservoirs and domains, availabilty of
state-of- the art technologies, adoption of integrated
comprehensive processing, interpretation of multi
disciplinary geoscientific and geotechnical data are
encouraging E&P companies to venture for
exploring hydrocarbons in unconventional and
geologically challenging reservoirs

Occrrence and production of hydrocarbons in

fractured reservoirs in Indian sedimentary basins,
like Cambay, Assam-Arakan Fold Belt, Mumbai High,
Cauvery, Krishna-Godavari, is a well known fact.The
need of the day is to carry out a concerted effort for
discovering and establishing more reserves in these
basins using state-of the -art technologies.

We should also make effots to discover

Hydrocarbons in fractured reservoirs of Vindhayan,
Gondwana, Cuddapah etc basins with presently
available state- of the- art technologies.

Structural Geology







stress analysis from breakouts and coring-induced

fractures
paleostress analysis using natural fractures
structural analysis of natural fracture development
outcrop analogue studies of fractured reservoirs
geomechanical simulation of thrust and fold
structures with
advanced numerical modeling techniques
quantitative image analysis of cores, thin sections,
and logs

Core and Log Studies



interpretation of Fms, Fmi, Ubi and other image logs

analysis of shear and compressional sonic logs

goniometric services for oriented core studies

paleomagnetic core orientation services

custom log presentations prepared from various

datasets

core to log correlation studies

digital photography and image analysis

Acknowledgement
The authors have used some knowledge downloaded
from Internet and as such like to express their sincere
thanks to all authors who contributed to Internet either
directly or indirectly.Authors express their sincere thanks
to Director General, DGH for encouraging and permitting
to publish this paper.

Laboratory Investigations


rock mechanical and velocity properties

velocity anisotropy on cores

natural fracture aperture and roughness studies

quantitative image analysis on cores and thin

sections

REFERENCES
1.

Hydrocarbon production from fractured basement

formations, by Anirbid Sircar, Jubilant Enpro Limited,
India, CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 87, NO. 2, 25 JULY
2004

2.

Anon, Development studies for gas field of India, Oil

Gas Journal, 1997

3.

26

Internet Inputs from I/O - a leading technology-focused

seismic solutions company .Its Corporate Headquarters
is at 2101 City West Blvd Building III, Suite 400,
Houston, TX 77042

Basement Configuration of Indian East Coast

on Either side of 850E Ridge
Jayanta Phukan, Amitava Roy & Samiksha
Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, New Delhi
e mail: jayantaphukan@gmail.com, aroy_amitav@yahoo.com, samikshageo@gmail.com

The Indian east coast and its geological uniqueness were

always there in the explorationists mind since 1956 or
before. Bay of Bengal is the site of massive deposition
of sediments from the Ganga-Padma, Mahanadi, Krishna,
Godavari and other river systems, which bring about
2300 million tons of material into the sea every year. The
accumulated material comprises an enormous fan that
extends some 4000 km from the Mouths of the Ganges, a
delta system which encompasses the entire coast of
Bangladesh and a major part of the east coast of India.
(Curray and Moore,1971) [1], The major tectonic elements
affect the distribution of sediments of the Bay of Bengal
and surrounding areas are :
(i)

Fans were delineated and named by Curray and

Moore,1971 [3], who also noted two reflecting horizons
that pass into unconformities over the exposed and
buried hills of folded sediments in the southern part of
the fan and over the Ninetyeast Ridge. They concluded
that these two horizons are regional and used them to
subdivide the sedimentary section into three parts in
the Bay of Bengal. The ages of these unconformities
were tentatively determined to be uppermost Miocene
and upper Paleocene to middle Eocene. (Curray and
Moore,1971) [3].
With this geological background, a lot of preliminary
data was acquired and based on the interpretations of
all available data , many wells were drilled in Bengal
Offshore till 1995 by different Indian and international
agencies without any commercial success. Some of these
wells have however shown oil indications from both
Tertiary and Mesozoic rocks.

the passive eastern continental margin of India

(ii) the 850E Ridge

(iii) the 900E Ridge
Satellite derived free-air gravity data, marine magnetic
data, available seismic profiles and isopach maps over
the Bay of Bengal have been utilized by several workers
in determining the configuration of the 850 East Ridge.
Combined inversion of gravity and magnetic data are
carried out along several profiles across the different
structural units of Bay of Bengal and adjoining regions
to throw light on the tectonics and geodynamics of the
region. The crustal model generated from potential field
data depicts a very strong reverse magnetization with
thickening of the crust along 850 E ridge while part of
900E ridge appears to be thin (Anand S P & Rajaram,
M)[2] & [3].

Subsequently with the onset of NELP Era, a number of

exploratory blocks were acquired by Indian and foreign
companies and very large Gas prospects were discovered
by RIL, GSPCL, CAIRN and ONGC in Krishna-Godavari
Off-shore Basin from Tertiary, Mesozoic and Paleocene
formations.These Recent hydrocarbon discoveries in
huge quantities in KG offshore have given an impetus
to study the Bay of Bengal offshore for possible impact
of 850E & 900E ridges on hydrocarbon prospectivity.
K-G Basin has been recognized by several workers as a
peri-cratonic passive continental margin basin which
developed during the separation of India from Antarctica
during Late Jurassic. The earliest sedimentary deposition
dates back to the Gondwana time when Pranhita-Godavari
graben extends from onshore into the Krishna-Godavari
Basin.This was an earlier pre-rift depositional episode
over Pre- cambrian crystalline basement which
commenced in the Early Permian and continued through
the Middle Jurassic. The formation of northeastsouthwest horst and graben features are the results of a
mechanical extension along the eastern margin caused
by the Late Jurassic rift episode. (Bastia et al, 2006) [4]

The Bengal Fan covers the floor of entire Bay of Bengal

from the continental margins of India and Bangladesh
to the Sunda Trench off Myanmar and the Andaman
Islands,and along the west side of the Ninetyeast Ridge.
Another lobe of the fan, called the Nicobar Fan, lies east
of the Ninetyeast Ridge, but its primary source of
sedimentation i.e. the turbidites from the head of the
Bay of Bengal apparently was cut off during the
Pleistocene by convergence between the northern end
of the Ninetyeast Ridge and the Sunda Trench.(Curray
and Moore,1971) [3],The northeastern edges of the fans
have been subducted, and some of the Tertiary turbidites
cropping out in the Indo-Burman Ranges of Myanmar,
the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and in the outer arc
ridge off Sumatra have been interpreted as old Bengal
and Nicobar Fan sediments. The Bengal and Nicobar

The basin has an onland part of about 28 000 km2.The

offshore part consists of an approximate area of 24,000
km2 upto the water depth of 200 m. However, the basin
extends into deeper water and covers a much larger area.
27

An en-echelon horst and graben system which is filled

with a thick pile of sediments of Permian-to-Recent age
brought by Godavari-Gautami and Krishna rivers. (Gupta
S.K., July, 2006)[5]
Keeping the importance of the area in mind DGH engaged
GXT, USA to acquire High Resolution 2D Seismic Data
all along east coast of India from NEC & Bengal basin
through Mahanadi & KG to Cauvery Basins.Although
they have also acquired data from Andaman
Basin,Kerala-Konkan & other west coast offshore
basins, the main focus is presently around KG basin,
east and west of 850 E Ridge.
The present study includes mapping of the regional
seismic data acquired by GXT as well as all the regional
seismic data of the East coast, available with DGH,
including seismic data acquired by Department of Ocean
Development, Government of India. The quality of 2D
seismic data used for the study is reasonably good. As
soon as part of the initial data acquired and processed
by GXT was available, a few important lines viz. GXT
lines 700-1,860-1,900-1,1000-1,1290-1,1200-1,1400-1,15001,1600-1,1700-1,1800-1 & 4000-1 and some other lines of
Large & DOD survey viz. EC-01-31 & E-4 were seen and
the bottom most reflector (Figure-1), which does not
show any other signature below it, was picked up as
Basement and a two way time contour map on top of
Basement was prepared. The mapped area was bounded
by latitudes 21300N & 100N north to south and 800E &
90.50E west to east. The signatures corresponding to
Basement as seen on seismic sections were associated
with a number of Basement related faults, horst-graben

tectonics and a steep uplift against which discontinuous

younger signatures are abating.
On the map, however the ridge is very clearly seen as a
prominent high across 850E Ridge extending NE-SW in
the eastern side to N-S in the southern side (Figure-2).
The ridge is a terrace like feature and takes a clear
plunging swing towards south in the central portion. On
either side the high is flanked by two lows which show
more depth towards west at 9500msec while eastern side
is slightly shallower with depth around 9000msec. The
lows however were always the most ideal places
paleogeologically to receive comparatively more
sediments as it is already said that all the major rivers
like Ganga, Padma, Mahanadi, Krishna, and Godavari
have brought enormous amount of sedimentary load in
this area.
It appeared from the sections seen, that the 850E Ridge
was in place before most sediments were deposited and
the intervening lows along with the 850E Ridge are totally
covered by thick sediments. Several onlapping younger
sequences of sediments are frequently seen abating
against the high. The Ninetyeast Ridge, on the other
hand, protrudes above the seabed as far north as 100N,
where it plunges beneath the thickening sediment &
separates the deposits into the Bengal Fan and the
smaller Nicobar Fan. The 850E and Ninetyeast Ridges
present the most significant relief in the crystalline
basement underlying the Bay of Bengal. Further detailed
studies are required to understand the role played by
850E & 900E ridges in deposition of sediments and
development of structures/hydrocarbon plays thereupon

Figure 1. NW-SE Trending Seismic Profile Passing Through 85 0E Ridge

28

Figure 2. TWT Contour Map Close to top of Basement

visualized. This will require some more interpretation

work in near future. Only then the actual potentiality of
the area will be known.
Acknowledgement

in Cauvery, KG, Mahanadi & Bengal offshore

basins,since major part of the Bengal fan is restricted to
the area between 850E & 900E ridges. In order to visualise
the relationship between the sedimentary pattern and
the basement related fault configurations including the
listric faults and the Growth faults , further studies are to
be done in detail. Also detailed study is to be undertaken
if the sediments are associated with any fault or
stratigraphic pinchout prospects. Only then possible
locales for generation of hydrocarbon traps can be

The authors express their sincere thanks to DG, DGH for

providing an opportunity to carryout regional study of
latest data and for encouraging and permitting to publish
this paper.

REFERENCES
1.

Growth of the Bengal deep-sea fan and denudation in the

Himalayas: J R Curray & DG Moore,Geol Society of America
Bulletin 82,1971

2.

A re-look into the structure and tectonics of northeast Indian

Ocean using Satellite derived high-resolution gravity and
magnetic data, Geophysical Research Abstracts, Vol. 8,
00231, 2006 European Geosciences Union, 2006: S.P.
Anand(1), Mita Rajaram (1)&T.J. Majumdar (2) Indian
Institute of Geomagnetism, Navi Mumbai, India,

3.

Magnetic Anomaly Modeling in the Bay of Bengal: Rajaram,

M & Anand, S, Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, New Panvel
(W), Navi Mumbai, 410218 India

29

4.

Tectonostratigraphy and depositional patterns in Krishna

Offshore: Ravi Bastia and Prasanta K.Nayak, Reliance
Industries Ltd., Mumbai, India. The Leading Edge; July 2006;
v. 25; Issue. 7, Society of Exploration Geophysicists

5.

Basin architecture and petroleum system of KrishnaGodavari Basin, East coast of India: S. K. Gupta, Oil and
Natural Gas Corporation, Dehradun, India. The Leading
Edge,July 2006,Volume 25, Issue 7,Society of Exploration
Geophysicists