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Sedimentary basins of Kalimantan are prolific for to the south. Geologically, the western and
petroleum and coal deposits. One of the basin, northern borders follow the peaks of the Central
Kutei Basin, have been producing oil since the Range, a complex terrain of variably deformed
late 1800s and remains to be one of the most and metamorphosed Paleozoic and Mesozoic
prolific basins in Indonesia. Producing basins sediments and volcanics with Mesozoic granitic
located at the eastern part of Kalimantan (Barito, plutons. To the northeast, the border with Sabah is
Kutei, Tarakan) are prolific for coal deposits, just south of the Semporna Arch, a NW-SE
mainly of Miocene coal deltaic deposits. Barito trending volcanic arc which is now dormant and is
and Kutei Basins are also two of the first three part of the larger inactive Sulu Arc system. The
basins in Indonesia explored for methane from geological boundary to the east of Kalimantan is
coal deposit (CBM -coal bed methane). poorly defined, but is postulated to be Paleogene
spreading center in the Makassar Straits. To the
GEOLOGI SETTING south and southwest Kalimantan covers part of the
larger Sundaland craton which crops out in the
Kalimantan is the Indonesian portion of the island Schwaner Mountains and extends westwards and
of Borneo. To the west and north, it borders the northwestwards under the South China Sea.
Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah, to the
east lies the Straits of Makassar, with the Java Sea
HISTORY OF GEOLOGICAL the southwest and west. Oceanic crust and its
INVESTIGATIONS accreted derivation of Kuching High and Central
Kalimantan Ranges form the backbone of the
Geological reconnaissance of Kalimantan dates island from western corner swings to the
from the early 19th century and initially northnortheast. The sub-cropped continental
concentrated on the search for alluvial gold and Mangkalihat Arch constructs the eastern end of
diamonds as well as coal deposits (Courteney, the island, whereas the oceanic Meratus
1991). The early reconnaissance work was carried Mountains form the southeastern end. In the light
out in the coastal regions but by 1846 inland of plate tectonic and terrane concepts, these
expeditions had reached the Schwaner Mountains. basements have originated from diverse places
Various coals from Kalimantan were described in and have subducted and collided to each other
an 1858 paper by van Dijk. Numerous oil seeps, forming the subduction and collision complex
which were located near outcrops of coal in the with their associated accreted crust. These
Balikpapan-Samarinda area of the Kutei Basin, terranes are bounded by structural elements of
were formally recorded by Greve in 1865. sutures or representing former oceans, by narrow
However, it was not until 1888 that the first mobile belts or by major fault zones. Situated
Mining Concession (MC) in Kalimantan was between or covered these basements are sediments
awarded by the Sultan of Kutai to J.H. Menten. that derived from the basement highs and
The concession, called Mathilde, was for the deposited in basins formed by basement tectonic
extraction of coal and covered 22,899 bouw processes. The sedimentary basins of Kalimantan
(162.5 sq. km). Though the early records have are : Pembuang Basin, a thin intra-cratonic basin
been lost it seems that at the same time J.H. forming within southern margin of the Schwaner
Menten also obtained the Louise Mining Block at South Kalimantan; Barito Basin,
Concession. On 1891 these two concessions were presently a foreland asymmetric basin situated at
included in the Dutch Colonial Mining Law and the front of Schwaner continent and bordered by
modified to include the extraction of petroleum, the Meratus Mountains and thrust-fold belt at
hydrocarbon gases, etc., thus heralding the Southeast Kalimantan; related with Barito-type
beginning of the oil and gas industry in but smaller is Asem-Asem and Pasir Basins at
Kalimantan. Since then, commercial hydrocarbon Southeast Kalimantan; narrow and elongated
production has been achieved in the Barito, Kutai intra-cratonic and strike-slip (pull-apart)basins of
and Tarakan basins. Several of the fields in the Melawi and Ketungau at Western Kalimantan;
Mahakam Delta region of the Kutei Basin are broad and very deep deltaic-embayment basin of
classified as giant fields. Kutei in Eastern Kalimantan holding the record of
the deepest basin in Indonesia; similar to Kutei-
type but smaller is Tarakan Basin at Northeast
GEODYNAMIC SETTING AND Kalimantan. Across the border of the backbone of
SEDIMENTARY BASINS the Central Kalimantan are deltaic basins similar
to Kutei-type of Sandakan Basin at Norteast
Kalimantan Island is formed by the amalgamation Kalimantan, Sabah Basin at North Kalimantan,
of several pre-Tertiary basement cores derived and Baram and Balingian Basins at Northwest
from both continental and oceanic crust. The Kalimantan.
continental Schwaner Core composes the island to
PROCEEDINGS PIT IAGI LOMBOK 2010
The 39th IAGI Annual Convention and Exhibition
Figure 3 Basement geology of Borneo-Kalimantan and distribution of sedimentary basins (Satyana et al.,
1999).
Formations of sedimentary basins in Kalimantan Opening of the Makassar Strait during the
were response to geodynamic evolution Paleogene was responsible for the formations of
undergone by Kalimantan during the Paleogene. the Kutei and Tarakan Basins. The basins opened
Geodynamic events responsible for the formations as passive margins to the opening of the Makassar
of the Kalimantan's sedimentary basins are: Strait forming embayment geometry with
occurrence of regional strike-slip fault (Lupar- deposition of Neogene deltaic and deepwater
Adang-Paternoster Fault), sea-floor spreading of sediments. Paleogene sections of the basins are
South China Sea, and opening of the Makassar rifted basins related to the continental rifting of
Strait. Regionally, all these events related to the Makassar Strait opening.
escape tectonism (extrusion tectonics) due to
collision of India to Eurasia in mid-Eocene time. Opening of the South China Sea through sea-floor
spreading affected northwestern margin of Borneo
Strike-slip faulting of the Lupar-Adang- forming passive margin basins of Balingian,
Paternoster Fault, crossing Kalimantan Island at Baram and Sabah in Malaysia and Brunei.
weak zone of the sutures in between the basement Sandakan Basin formed as passive margin basin
terranes composing the island, was responsible for related to opening of the Sulu Sea, to the west of
the formation of rifting basins of Melawi and Philippine.
Ketungau sedimentary basins by mechanism of In the Early Miocene there was a significant
pull-apart basin. Deformation stress of the splay change in the character of sedimentation around
of the fault to the south of Adang Fault was Borneo/Kalimantan. Large amounts of siliciclastic
responsible for the formation of parallel rifts sediments began to pour into the deep basins to
forming the Paleogene section of the Barito Basin the north and east of the island and major delta
and may be Paleogene rifts in the Asem-Asem and systems formed which prograded rapidly away
Pasir Basins, Southeast Kalimantan as well as rifts from the island. The only possible source for the
in the Sebuku area. Neogene sections of these sediments is Kalimantan itself, namely Kuching
basins related to foreland basin type as response to High started to be uplifted between Oligo-
Miocene.
PROCEEDINGS PIT IAGI LOMBOK 2010
The 39th IAGI Annual Convention and Exhibition
Figure 4 Geologic sections acros Tarakan Basin (upper figure), Kutei Basin (middle figure), and Barito
Basin (lower figure) (Satyana et al., 1990)
PROCEEDINGS PIT IAGI LOMBOK 2010
The 39th IAGI Annual Convention and Exhibition
Davis, S. N., dan De Wiest, R. J. M., 1967, Satyana, A.H., Imanhardjo, D.N., and Surantoko,
Hydrogeology, 1st ed., John Wiley and Sons, 1999, Tectonic Controls on the
New York Hydrocarbon Habitats of the Barito, Kutei,
and Tarakan basins, Eastern Kalimantan,
Hall, R. and Nichols, G., 2002, Cenozoic Indonesia : Major Dissimilarities in
sedimentation and tectonics in Borneo: Adjoining Basins, Journal of Asian Earth
climatic influences on orogenesis, in Jones, Sciences, 17 (1999), 99-122.
S.J. and Frostick, L. eds, Sediment Flux to
Basins:Causes, Controls and
Consequences, Geological Society, London,
Special Publication, 191, 5-22.