Structure and hydrocarbon potential of the new guinea fold belt

Abstract

Seismic, borehole, and field data acquired over the last 12 years demonstrate that the structural style in the Papuan Fold Belt comprises inverted basement extensional faults and asymmetric detachment folds that break through the overturned forelimb. The previous fault-bend fold model was flawed because of a lack of data and because of inappropriate analogs that ignored the mechanical stratigraphy. In the oil province of Papua New Guinea, the deformation front has not yet impinged on strong Australian lithosphere, so a relatively low fold belt occupies its own foreland basin. The adjacent gas-condensate province in the western Papuan Fold Belt has just impinged on the strong lithosphere, dev..