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ASSAM-ARAKAN BASIN

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 ASSAM-ARAKAN BASIN
INTRODUCTION
This is one of the principal petroliferous basins of India. The Assam-Arakan Basin is situated in the
northeastern part of India categorized as category-I basin. The basin covers an area of 1,16,000
Sq.Km. Major tectonic elements of the basin are:
• Assam Shelf
• Naga Schuppen belt
• Assam-Arakan Fold belt
The oil exploration in India commenced with the discovery of Digboi oil field of Assam. The chief oil
fields of Assam are Digboi, Nahorkathiya, Moran, Rudrasagar and Lakwa. The Upper Assam Basin
has long been one of the major onshore petroleum producing regions of India with reservoir rocks
being mainly of Tertiary age.

The Upper Assam Shelf of the Assam–Arakan Basin lies mostly below alluvial cover of the mighty
Brahmaputra River and its tributaries. Towards south and southwest, the shelf extends to the
Dhansiri valley, lying between the Mikir hills in the west and the Naga foothills in the east to
southeast, and then continues westward to North Cachar hills and southern slope of Shillong
Plateau.

Fig 1: GEOLOGICAL MAP OF ASSAM-ARAKAN BASIN

 ELEMENTS OF PETROLEUM SYSTEM

1. SOURCE ROCK PRESENCE

Source rock refers to rocks from which hydrocarbons have been generated or are capable of being
generated. Source rocks with excellent oil and gas generation potential occur within Barail shale
contacting carbonaceous shale with thick coal seems (Oligocene) and Kopili shale (Eocene). They
contain predominantly land derived type II organic matter with TOC – 1% – 4%. The reservoirs in
this oil basin are sandstones in Barail and Tipam formations. The Girujan Clay acts as the main cap
rock for accumulation in Upper Assam Valley. The oil fields generally exhibit structural control over
accumulations-mostly anti-clinal structures affected by faults trending ENE-WSW and NNE-SSW
with throws ranging from a few to 300 metres. The Total Petroleum System of Sylhet- Kopili/Barail-
Tipam are composed of the rocks of the Eocene-Oligocene Jaintia Group Sylhet and Kopili
Formations, the Oligocene Barail Group, and the Oligocene-Miocene Surma and Tipam Groups.
These rocks consist of platform carbonates, shallow marine shales and sandstone, and the
sandstone, siltstones, shales and coals of deltaic, alluvial and lagoonal facies.

Fig 2: THE AVERAGE TOC RANGES OF DIFFERENT FORMATIONS

The sediments within Tura and Sylhet possess fair to good mature source rock characteristics. Kopili
sediments also possess fair to good source rock characteristics and are marginally mature. The
Barail sediments are found to be highly organic rich among all the sequences but they are
immature.

2. MIGRATION AND CHARGE ACCESS

The movement of hydrocarbons from their source into reservoir rocks is called migration. Primary
migration is expulsion of petroleum from fine-grained source rock, while secondary migration
moves petroleum through a coarse-grained carrier bed or fault to a reservoir or seep. Tertiary
migration occurs when petroleum moves from one trap to another or to a seep.

Migration is primarily up dip, along the northeast-trending slope of the Assam Shelf. Migration
paths may extend to adjacent reservoirs but more often as far as 15 km. The source rocks in many
fields are reported to be only marginally mature; therefore, significant volumes of the oil found
there must have migrated from deeper areas along the Naga thrust fault. Oil generated beneath
the thrust sheet has probably migrated to the leading edge of the thrust sheet and contributes
materially to the total oil volume in reservoirs along the leading edge of the thrust sheet. Vertical
migration through reactivated basement-rooted faults associated with plate collision may
predominate in some areas, particularly near the edge of the Naga thrust fault. Shore face sands
within Barail main sand (BMS), are likely to have acted as carrier beds for lateral migration of oils
generated in the Schuppen belt areas. Vertical migration is envisaged along the NE-SW trending
faults and ENE-WSW cross trends. Reactivation of structures and developing folds in the foreland
possibly created impedance to lateral migration from the Schuppen Belt since Pleistocene.

Fig 3: SCEMATIC GEOLOGICAL CROSS-SECTION

3. RESERVOIR ROCK PRESENCE

Reservoir rocks are rocks that have the ability to store fluids inside their pores, so that the fluids
(water, oil, and gas) can be accumulated. In petroleum geology, reservoir is one of the elements of
petroleum system that can accumulate hydrocarbons (oil or gas)

Reservoir rocks are present throughout most of the stratigraphic section in the Assam geologic
province. Reservoir rocks include the Eocene-Oligocene Jaintia Group Sylhet Formation limestones
and Kopili Formation interbedded sandstones; Tura and Langpar (basal) marine sandstones also
have reservoir potential, and Surma Group alluvial sandstone reservoirs are productive in the
southwestern part of the Assam geologic province. The most productive reservoirs are the Barail
main pay sands and the Tipam Group massive sandstones.

Adjacent from the Borholla and Champang oil fields of the Dhansiri valley and the adjacent
schuppen zone respectively, where oil occurs in fractured granitic basement rock (Precambrian)
and Tura sandstones (Upper Paleocene/ Lower Eocene), oil in the Upper Assam Shelf and schuppen
belt occurs in sandstone reservoirs ranging in age from Upper Paleocene-Lower Eocene to Mio-
Pliocene. However, the major accumulations occur in Upper Paleocene plus Lower Eocene,
Oligocene (Barail Formation) and Miocene (Tipam Sandstone) sandstones. The major oil fields,
where oil occurs in Upper Paleocene and Lower Eocene sandstone reservoirs are Tengakhat, Dikom,
Kothaloni, Baghjan and in Oligocene sandstone reservoirs (Barail Formation), are Nahorkatiya,
Hapjan, Shalmari, Geleki, Lakwa, and Rudrasagar etc. Oil reserves in Kopili sandstones (Upper
Eocene) are found mainly in the Geleki field. Most of the oil in the Tipam Sandstone is found in the
Lakwa-Lakhmani and Geleki fields. In the Kumchai and Kharsang fields of Arunachal Pradesh, oil
occurs in the Girujan Formation of Mio-Pliocene age. Recently gas has been discovered in the
sandstone reservoir of Dirok structure within Girujan Formation. The Girujan Clay being floodplain
deposits, the reservoir sands are generally lenticular and some what erratic in distribution. In the
Khoraghat oil field of Dhansiri valley, oil occurs in sandstone reservoirs within the Bokabil
Formation (Middle Miocene). In the North Cachar area of Assam, potential reservoir rocks are
expected to be fractured granitic basement rock (Precambrian)and sandstones in the Tura
(Paleocene), Kopili (Upper Eocene), Renji (Oligocene), Bhuban and Bokabil (Middle Miocene)
formations.

Fig 4: TEMPORAL AND LITHOLOGY DISTRIBUTION OF PRODUCING RESERVOIRS BY

YOUNGEST AGE AND PREDOMINANT LITHOLOGY
4. RESERVOIR DELIVERABILITY

Reservoir deliverability is defined as the oil or gas production rate achievable from a reservoir at a
given bottom-hole pressure. It is a major factor affecting well deliverability. Reservoir deliverability
determines types of completion and artificial lift methods to be used . The productivity of a well is
determined with deliverability testing. Deliverability tests provide information that is used to
develop reservoir rate-pressure behavior for the well and generate an inflow performance curve.

Fig 5: AOFP VARIATION WITH VARIOUS PARAMETERS

5. TRAP
Trap is a geological structure affecting the reservoir rock and caprock of a petroleum system
allowing the accumulation of hydrocarbons in a reservoir. A configuration of rocks suitable for
containing hydrocarbons and sealed by a relatively impermeable formation through which
hydrocarbons will not migrate. Traps are described as structural traps (in deformed strata such as
folds and faults) or stratigraphic traps (in areas where rock types change, such as unconformities,
pinch-outs and reefs).

Anticlines and faulted anticlinal structures sub parallel to and associated with the northeast
trending Naga thrust fault, are the primary traps . Sub thrust traps are probably present below the
Naga thrust sheet. There have also been stratigraphic trap discoveries, such as Dholiya gas field,
described as an Oligocene Barail clastic depositional lens, and Hapjan and Sarojani oil fields
identified as Barail depositional sandstone lenses. Two major tectonic grains are imprinted on the
Assam shelf. NE-SW is the older grain whereas east north east- west south west (ENE-WSW) is the
younger one. These trends have been reactivated during foreland tectonic phase. ENE-WSW fault
show differentiation as well as strike slips movement. The basement inversions in north Assam
shelf and south Assam shelf started forming subsequent to Tipam deposition. The major trap
formation has happened during the close of Girujan deposition nearly 1.8Ma. Separation and
sinistral development across Jorhat fault confined the Mikir forebulge isolating north and south
Assam rack. From there on north and south Assam carried on diversely across Jorhat fault during
the superposing period of the Himalayan foreland. In north Assam, the slant turns around to NW,
which is a causative factor for storm cellar angling, where as in south Assam Mikir upliftment kept
causing separation across a large portion of the faults partitioning the zone into fault blocks. The
compensating antithetic fault along major faults provided gave trapping mechanism.
 Fig 6: DISTRIBUTION OF TRAP TYPES

6. SEAL CAPACITY
The seal is a unit with low permeability that obstructs the escape of hydrocarbons from the
reservoir rock. Seals in Assam-Arakan Basin include interbedded Oligocene and Miocene shales and
clays, and the thick clays of the Pliocene Gurjan Group. In the southwestern part of the Assam
geologic province, the upper marine shale at the top of the Tipam Sandstone is a regional seal that
extends into and throughout much of Bangladesh.

There are three well developed regional cap rocks within the Tertiary sedimentary succession, the
lower one, occurring in the Upper Eocene is the argillaceous Kopili Formation, the middle one is the
Barail Coal-Shale Unit and the upper one, overlying the Tipam Sandstone is the Girujan Clay. Most
of the oil accumulations, discovered till date in the Upper Paleocene-Lower Eocene, Oligocene
(Barail) and Miocene (Tipam Sandstone) reservoirs, occur in structural combination (fold + fault)
traps developed by compressive forces during Mio- Pliocene and later times. Most of these
hydrocarbon traps, particularly those developed in post- Barail sediments, orient parallel to the
Naga thrust. Faults associated with these traps in the southeasterly sloping shelf zone in the
Brahmaputra and Dhansiri valleys have NE-SW to NNESSW orientation. Most of the prominent
faults continue upward into post-Tipam sediments, and the rest die out in the lower part of the
Tipam Formation. Some of the prominent faults, particularly those near the Naga thrust, are
reverse faults, e.g., one at the northeastern flank of the Geleki structure, another at the northern
flank of the Rudrasagar structure. It may be mentioned that oil, generated in the Kopili and Barail
source beds, accumulated in post-Barail sediments by vertical migration through such prominent
faults. Oil within the Kopili Formation (composed predominantly of shales with subordinate
sandstone) occurs in strati-structural combination traps, as in the Geleki field. Oil within the Girujan
Clay Formation as in the Kumchai and Kharsang fields also occurs in combination traps, but here the
control of lithology on accumulation is more than that of structure. In the Borholla field of the
Dhansiri valley and Champang field of the neighbouring schuppen belt, oil reserves occur in
structurally controlled subtle trap in fractured basement rocks. Oil accumulations within the
Bokabil Formation (Middle Miocene) in the Khoraghat and Nambar fields of the Dhansiri valley,
occur in structural combination traps.

Fig 7: SEAL

GEOLOGICAL HISTORY
The basin covers the states of Meghalaya and Assam. The upper Assam basin consists of northern
Himalayan foreland basin (HFB) and the southeastern Assam Arakan foreland bas in (AAFB). The
AAFB consist thick wedge of pre- orogenic passive margin CretaceousEocene (Khasi-Jaintia groups)
and deep marine Oligocene (Barail group) flysch sediment overlain by post- Orogenic Neogene
molasses (Tipam group). The basement of HFB is covered by the Neogene (Tipam group) and
Quaternary.

The Paleocene to Eocene continental shelf of the Indian plate which became emergent and which is
being over-thrust by the Himalayas on the north-northwest and by the Naga hills on the southeast
comes under the upper Assam shelf.

The present-day Assam Basin, a cratonic margin, reflects three distinct tectonic phases. The earliest
was Late Cretaceous to Eocene block faulting and development of a southeasterly dipping shelf.
Duringthe second phase, in Oligocene time, uplift and erosion occurred north of the many
basement faults were reactivated; and many basement-controlled structures became prominent.

In eastern Manipur, thin cretaceous limestones to the south are the oldest rocks reported near the
Assam geologic province. The Assam geologic province consist the oldest sedimentary rocks. It is
comprised of continental to lagoon sandstones and interbedded shales of Upper Cretaceous and
Paleocene Dergaon and Disang Formations. The Manipur and Mizoram areas consist more than
5,300m of shales & sandstones and Assam shelf consist more than 500m of sandstones and shales,
of the upper Cretaceous and Paleocene Disang Formation.

The top of the Dergaon and Disang is overlain by the mediumgrained massive sandstones of the
Paleocene and Eocene Jaintia Group Tura and Langpar Formations and is also marked by an
unconformity. In a fluvial to marginal marine environment, more than 250m of the Tura and
Langpur were deposited.

The Eocene Sylhet Formation was deposited in a range of environments and was subdivided into
the members which generally represents these different depositional environments. The lower
Lakadong member was deposited in a lagoonal environment consists of more than 350m of
thin sandstones and interbedded shales and coals in it basal parts (Fig. 4 showing the
development of Assam Shelf). The environment of the Lakadong member typically consists of the
thick sands of barrier- bar. The members of upper part of the Lakadong Formation are
calcareous sandstone of a restricted shallow water platform.

The overlying Narputh member consists of claystones and siltstones of a shelf environment. The
upper member of the Sylhet, the Prang member, is a shelf carbonate with interbedded siltstones
and clay. Due to contemporaneous platform tilting and basement sourced block faulting the
Sylhet Formation is depositionally thicker from northwest to southeast in the Assam geological
province. A 500m of shallow marine to lagoonal shales and interbedded limestones of Eocene Kopili
Formation are accumulated over a regional unconformity marked on top of Sylhet Formation.

Fig 8: Generalized cross section showing development of the Assam Shelf

STRATIGRAPHY
The oldest sedimentary rocks reported near basement-sourced block faulting. The top of
the Assam geologic province are thin the Sylhet is marked by a regional
Cretaceous limestones to the south, in unconformity on which as much as 500 m of
eastern Manipur. Within the Assam geologic the shallow marine to lagoonal shales and
province, the oldest sedimentary rocks are interbedded limestones of the Eocene Kopili
the continental to lagoonal sandstones and Formation accumulated.
interbedded shales of the Upper Cretaceous
and Paleocene Dergaon and Disang
Formations. More than 5,300 m of shales and
sandstones of the Upper Cretaceous and
Paleocene Disang Formation were deposited
in the Manipur and Mizoram areas, and on
the Assam Shelf more than 500 m of
sandstones and shales of Upper Cretaceous
Dergaon Formation were deposited. The top
of the Dergaon and Disang is marked by an
unconformity and overlain by the medium-
grained massive sandstones of the Paleocene
and Eocene Jaintia Group Tura and Langpar
Formations. More than 250 m of the Tura and
Langpar were deposited in a fluvial to
marginal marine environment. The overlying
Eocene Sylhet Formation was deposited in a
range of environments and is subdivided into
members generally representing these
different depositional environments. More
than 350 m of thin sandstones and
interbedded shales and coals of the basal part
of the lower Lakadong member were
deposited in a lagoonal environment. The
middle part of the Lakadong member typically
consists of the thick sands of strand plain or
barrier-bar environments. The upper part of
the Lakadong member is calcareous
sandstone of a restricted shallow-water
platform. The overlying Narputh member
consists of claystones and siltstones of a shelf
environment. The upper member of the
Sylhet, the Prang member, is a shelf
carbonate with interbedded siltstones and
clay. Within the Assam geologic province, the
Sylhet Formation is depositionally thicker Fig 9: GENERALIZED STRATIGRAPHY
from northwest to southeast due to
contemporaneous platform tilting and
On the partly unconformable top of the Kopili more than 3,000 m of the upper Eocene and
Oligocene Barail Group rocks were deposited. The Barail Group is divided into the Barail Lower
Arenaceous Unit, also referred to as the Tinali Formation in some places and the Upper Barail
Group CoalShale Unit. The Barail Group strata are truncated by an unconformity north of the Dukai
fault. This unconformity is probably associated with uplift caused by crustal shortening. In the
Dhansiri Valley, erosion completely removed the Barail Group and Kopili Formation from the
southeastern portion of the Mirkir Hills at the end of the Oligocene.

The Miocene-Pliocene Surma Group is missing on much of the Assam Shelf. The Surma Group is
divided into the Bhuban Formation, overlain by the Bokabil Formation, and is typified by a series of
thin siltstones, sandstones, and shales deposited in fluvial deltaic to estuarine environments.

Southward tilting of the Assam Shelf, an early Miocene transgression occurred, depositing tidal
mudflat and minor tidal sand-flat facies. The Surma, or Barail, and Jaintia Groups are overlain by as
much as 2,200 m of massive sandstones and subordinate shales and clays of the Tipam Sandstone
Formation.

By late Miocene time the course of the Brahmaputra River east and south of the Shillong Plateau
was altered, possibly by uplift along the edge of the Assam Shelf, to its present-day course around
the north side of the Shillong Plateau and then south to the Bay of Bengal. In the Manipur and
Mizoram areas, the Nahorkatiya or Tipam Group thins to 900 m, possibly due to the uplift. During
the Pliocene fluvial shales, sands, and clays were deposited in the Indus, Bengal, and Central Burma
Basins and onto the Assam Shelf, where the Nahorkatiya or Tipam Group is overlain by the sandy
clay and mudstones of the Duptilia and Dihing Groups

Fig 10: STRATIGRAPHY OF UPPER ASSAM BASIN

Fig 11: GENERALIZED STRATIGRAPHIC SUCCESSION OF ASSAM BASIN
 Fig 12: GEOLOGICAL MAP OF ASSAM BASIN

Fig 13: GEOLOGICAL CROSS-SECTION OF ASSAM BASIN

Hydrocarbon Exploration
The Assam-Arakan Basin is situated in the northeastern part of India categorized as category-I
basin. The basin covers an area of 116000 Sq.Km. Major tectonic elements of the basin are:
• Assam Shelf
• Naga Schuppen belt
• Assam-Arakan Fold belt.

Oil and gas are established from clastics reservoirs of Mio-Pliocene- Girujan, Miocene -Tipam,
Oligocene –Eocene –Barails, Mid-Upper Eocene –Kopilli, Lower Eocene –Lakadong and Therria and
from the fractured Archean Basement. The Miocene – Oiligocene –Tipam and Barail Formations
contain most of the discovered oil.

Oil investigation in India initiated with the revelation of the Digboi oilfield in Upper Assam over 100
years back, when, in light of surface oil appears, an all-around was penetrated on an uncovered
anticline, related with the Naga push. Other huge achievements in oil investigation in Upper Assam
were the disclosures of the Nahorkatiya, Moran and Rudrasagar oil fields in 1953, 1956 and 1960,
separately. In this way, in more than 100 oil and gas fields, including Jorajan, Kumchai, Hapjan,
Shalmari, Lakwa, Lakhmani, Geleki, Amguri, Charali, Borholla, Khoraghat, Baghjan, Dirok and so on
have been found.

Fig 12: TECTONIC MAP OF NORTH-EASTERN INDIA

Main part of the oil and gas, found in Upper Assam till late 1980s, has been found in the Barail
Group of Upper Eocene to Lower Oligocene age and the Tipam Group of Upper Miocene age.
During the most recent decade, oil and gas gatherings have been found inside the Langpar and
Lakadong developments of Paleocene to Lower Eocene age in a few structures like Dikom,
Kathaloni, Tengakhat, Tamulikhat,Shalmari, Baghjan, Panidihing, and so on. In the Borholla oil field,
oil happens in broke granitic storm cellar rock of Precambrian age. The oilfields, found up until this
point, are arranged for the most part in the territories south and southeast of the Brahmaputra
stream and a couple in the push belts, related with Naga-Patkai slopes. Be that as it may, the
territory toward the northof the Brahmaputra waterway up toward the Eastern Himalayan lower
regions has remained ineffectively investigated. In the Naga Schuppen zone, aside from the Digboi
oil field, two moresignificant oil fields, in particular, the Kharsang field, having oil accumulations in
Upper Miocene to Pliocene reservoirs and the Champang field, having oil accumulations in cracked
granitic storm cellar rock of Precambrian age, have been found.In the Khoraghat and Nambar fields
arranged in southeastern piece of the DhansiriValley, oil happens in the Bokabil Formation (Middle
Miocene) which isn't created towards north in the Brahmaputra valley. In a portion of the
exploratory wells, drilled in the southwestern piece of the Dhansiri valley, great shows of oil have
been watched in Eocene and Oligocene sands.

Exploration of deeper plays (Tura and Basement) has been a major challenge in the Assam Shelf.
Tura play (Palaeocene) is an exciting horizon in terms of deeper prospect exploration in entire
North Assam Shelf and has potential to emerge as a significant play. A recent exploratory effort by
NOC’s has resulted in risk-reward perception of Tura play and identification of prospects in Lakwa
and Geleki fields in the northern part of Assam Shelf. There has been significant achievement in
establishing fractured Basement and Kopili plays (Eocene) in southern part of the Assam Shelf in
Khoraghat area which has opened up new area for exploration of deeper plays in the Assam Shelf.

New age data sets continued to consolidate the Miocene - Tippam Sands and the Barail Play
(Oligocene) with identification of new exploration prospects. In the southern part of Assam Shelf
Sylhet and Kopili plays are well established in BorhollaChampang fields and remain elusive in the
rest of Dhansiri Valley.Taking these leads into consideration the focus of exploration is for
establishing for Sylhet and Barail plays in the Assam-Arakan Basin. Bokabil play continues to be an
attractive stratigraphic exploration play in southern part of Assam Shelf. In Fold Belt, elusive
“Badarpur Oil Play” remains to be elusive for oil though few gas discoveries are reported. Naga up
thrust Tipam Section has emerged as one of the attractive play in the north Assam shelf. Similarly
the basement exploration in Khoraghat area has been rejuvenated with use of new technology DFN
modelling (Discreet Fracture Network) and drilling of horizontal wells.
 References

1. Elements of Petroleum Geology by Richard C Selley

2. Geology of Petroleum by AI Leverson

3. Petroleum Geoscience by Knut Bjorlykke

4. Lecture slides of Petroleum geology by Dr. Atul Kumar Patidar(University Of Petroleum And
Energy Studies)

5.Directorate Generals of Hydrocarbon Website.Link-

http://dghindia.gov.in/assets/downloads/56cc43934337fAssam-Arakan_Basin.pdf

6. Sylhet-Kopili/Barail-Tipam Composite Total Petroleum System, Assam Geologic Province, India

By C.J. Wandrey. Link- https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/2208/D/b2208-d_508.pdf

7. Articles on Researchgate.net

8. Petroleum Exploration in India - A perspective and Endeavours

https://www.insa.nic.in/writereaddata/UpLoadedFiles/PINSA/2016_Art68.pdf

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