Helen R. Smyth

Thrusting of a volcanic arc: a new structural model for Java

ABSTRACT Java is part of a volcanic island arc situated in the Indonesian archipelago at the southern margin of the Eurasian Plate. Sundaland continental crust, accreted to Eurasia by the Early Mesozoic, now underlies the shallow seas to the north of Java where there has been considerable petroleum exploration. Java has an apparently simple structure in which the east–west physiographic zones identified by van Bemmelen broadly correspond to structural zones. In the north there is the margin of the Sunda Shelf and, in southern Java, there are Cenozoic volcanic arc rocks produced by spatially and temporally discrete episodes of subduction-related volcanism. Between the Sunda Shelf and the volcanic rocks are Cenozoic depocentres of different ages containing sedimentary and volcanic material derived from north and south. This simplicity is complicated by structures inherited from the oldest period of subduction identified beneath Java, in the Cretaceous, by extension related to development of the volcanic arcs, by extension related to development of the Makassar Straits, by late Cenozoic contraction, and by cross-arc extensional faults which are active today. Based on field observations in different parts of Java, we suggest that major thrusting in southern Java has been overlooked. The thrusting has displaced some of the Early Cenozoic volcanic arc rocks northwards by 50 km or more. We suggest Java can be separated into three distinct structural sectors that broadly correspond to the regions of West, Central and East Java. Central Java displays the deepest structural levels of a series of north-directed thrusts, and Cretaceous basement is exposed; the overthrust volcanic arc has been largely removed by erosion. In West and East Java the overthrust volcanic arc is still preserved. In West Java the arc is now thrust onto the shelf sequences that formed on the Sundaland continental margin. In East Java the volcanic arc is thrust onto a thick volcanic/sedimentary sequence formed north of the arc in a flexural basin due largely to volcanic arc loading. All the components required for a petroleum system are present. This hypothesis is yet to be tested by seismic studies and drilling, but, if correct, there may be unexplored petroleum systems in south Java that are worth investigating.

SedLog: A shareware program for drawing graphic logs and log data manipulation

SedLog is a free multi-platform software package for creating graphic sediment logs providing an intuitive graphical user interface. The graphic sediment logs generated by SedLog can be exported as PDF, Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), or JPEG for use by other drawing applications or for publications. Log data can be imported and exported in Comma Separated Values (CSV) format. The logs can also be printed to any paper size the user wants. Zoom In, Zoom Out, Fit page, Fit Height and Fit Width facilities are also provided to enable the user to customise the workspace size.

Sediment provenance studies in hydrocarbon exploration and production: an introduction

Abstract Sediment provenance studies concern the origin, composition, transportation and deposition of detritus, and are therefore an important part of understanding the links between basinal sedimentation, and hinterland tectonics and unroofing. Such studies can add value at many stages of hydrocarbon exploitation, from identifying regional-scale crustal affinities and sediment-dispersal patterns during the earliest stages of exploration to detailed correlation in producing reservoirs and understanding the impact of mineralogy on reservoir diagenesis. This Special Publication records 20 of the papers given at the conference titled ‘Sediment Provenance Studies in Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production’ organized by the Petroleum Group of the Geological Society of London, and held in London from 5 to 7 December 2011. The observations drawn in this introductory section reflect the volume editors’ experience, presentations at the conference and papers within this volume.