The Prospectivity of Kanikeh Formation as a Mesozoic Petroleum System in Central-Eastern Seram, Maluku Province, Indonesia

Kanikeh Formation in Central-Eastern Seram consists of interbedded sandstone, shale, and mudstone series. It is interpreted as the oldest sediments resting unconformably above the metamorphic basement. Sedimentation coincided with intra-cratonic rifting associated with north-western Australian continental margin. According to its lithological characteristics, Triassic Kanikeh Formation can be interpreted as a good petroleum system within Mesozoic in the area. The regional geological study, fieldwork (including measured stratigraphy), petrography, and geochemistry analyses have been conducted to reveal its potential for further hydrocarbon exploration. This study utilized seventeen outcrop samples from Kanikeh Formation for petrography and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses, whilst five samples were selected for total organic carbon (TOC) analysis. Petrographic data suggested that the samples are classified as quartz arenite, sublitharenite, lithic arenite, quartz wacke, lithic wacke, mudrock, and sandy micrite. Lithic arenite and lithic wacke are the most common sandstone types among the samples. Both petrographic and XRD analyses exhibit quartz abundance up to 50. Porosity value of Kanikeh sandstone reaches more than 30 mentioned by a previous study is very encouraging. A very high TOC value (2.53 wt.) of carbonaceous sandstone and shale indicates good preservation of organic matters. The measured stratigraphy of Bula area shows that the top of Kanikeh Formation becomes silt in size (fining upward). It may constitute a good seal rock for the petroleum system. Based on these results, Kanikeh Formation is considered a complete petroleum play. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.