Facies Heterogeneity and Lobe Facies Multiscale Analysis of Deep-Marine Sand-Shale Complexity in the West Crocker Formation of Sabah Basin, NW Borneo

Muhammad Jamil,Muhammad Usman,Qazi Sohail Imran,Nisar Ahmed,Abdul Hadi Bin Abd Rahman,Mohd Suhaili Bin Ismail,Zain Gul,Noor Azahar Ibrahim,Numair Ahmed Siddiqui

doi:10.3390/app11125513

Muhammad Jamil, Muhammad Usman + Show 7 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/app11125513

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Abstract

Deepwater lobes constitute a significant volume of submarine fans and are primarily believed to exhibit a simple sheet geometry. However, recent studies interpret the geometries of these deep-marine lobes as distinct with respect to the complexity of the facies and their distribution. Hence, a conceptual model of deep-marine sediments is essential to discuss the deep-marine sediments associated with the fan and lobe architecture. The present study highlights the facies heterogeneity and distribution of various lobe elements at a multiscale level by considering a case study of the West Crocker Formation of Sabah in northwest Borneo. The formation was logged on a bed-to-bed scale from recently well-exposed sections, with a total vertical thickness of more than 300 m. The lithological characteristics, bed geometry, sedimentary textures and structures of individual beds were used to categorize the rock units into nine sedimentary lithofacies: five sandstone lithofacies (S1–S5), one hybrid bed facies (H), two siltstone facies (Si1 and Si2) and one shale or mudstone facies (M). These facies were grouped into four facies associations (FA1–FA4), which were interpreted as lobe axis (FA1), lobe off-axis (FA2), lobe fringe (FA3) and distal fringe to interlobe (FA4) facies associations. This study is applicable for the distribution of lobes and their subseismic, multiscale complexities to characterize the potential of hydrocarbon intervals in deep-marine sand-shale system around the globe.

Highlights

Deep-marine siliciclastic deposition is primarily influenced by several factors, including the rate, type and source of sediments, sea level changes and tectonic settings [1,2,3].These deposits are mainly present at the basin floor, constituting various submarine fans, which are considered one of the major hydrocarbon producing systems around the globe [4,5]
The results presented in this study reveal that there are multiple feeder channels in West Sabah’s deposition, where the number of feeder channels and lobe complexes increased toward northwest Sabah
The results highlight the facies analysis and facies association linked with the architectural elements of lobes in the submarine fan deposits of West Sabah

Summary

Introduction

Deep-marine siliciclastic deposition is primarily influenced by several factors, including the rate, type and source of sediments, sea level changes and tectonic settings [1,2,3] These deposits are mainly present at the basin floor, constituting various submarine fans, which are considered one of the major hydrocarbon producing systems around the globe [4,5]. Gravity-driven flows are one of the major sediment transport processes in a submarine depositional environment [9,10] These flows principally encompass two endmembers: turbidity currents (frictional flow) and debris flow (cohesive flow) [9,11,12]. The classification of deep-marine fan and lobe deposits, with respect to sedimentary processes, requires the spatial distribution, thickness of individual units, sedimentary structures and variation in grain size [13,14]

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