Geochemical Characteristics of the Mallawa Formation, and its Relationship with the History of Source Rock Formation in the South Makassar Basin, South Sulawesi

Abstract

A hydrocarbon system to determine the hydrocarbon potential in an area can be determined by the presence of three main components that ensure its existence together, one of main components are source rock. The South Makassar Basin has the potential to have a petroleum system that acts as a source rock for the Mallawa Formation. Source rock is a component of the petroleum system that has the ability to produce and store hydrocarbons, where this rock is generally a rock with fine grains such as coal or shale. Oil and gas exploration in Indonesia is a common thing because there are many prospect areas that have the potential to produce hydrocarbons. The South Makassar Basin is a Tertiary sedimentary basin of land type which is geographically located along West Sulawesi to South Sulawesi and this basin occurs due to tectonics or structures with high frequency. The South Makassar Basin was formed as a result of the expansion of the Makassar Strait which occurred at no younger than the Early Paleocene age where the tectonic consequences would influence the maturation process of the source rocks in the South Makassar Basin. Apart from that, in this research a geochemical method was carried out in the form of laboratory analysis to determine the maturity of the source rock using cuttings samples. So this research provides something new in the exploration of the maturity of source rocks, which in the South Sulawesi area has a complex tectonic setting.