Abstract

Norpac International crew #503 acquired 22.7 km of seismic line off the West coast of New Zealand’s North Island in the Taranaki basin for New Zealand Oil and Gas industry in order to evaluate the subsurface stratigraphy of the basin. The seismic line trends east-west crosses the Taranaki Fault, a basement overthrust that forms the eastern boundary of the Taranaki basin, New Zealand’s most prolific petroleum province and is in relatively shallow water estimated to be 119.6 ± 2.1 m with water velocity of 1486.3 ± 10.6 m/s. Reflectors on the processed seismic section were clearly visible with strong amplitudes, which revealed the subsurface stratigraphy of the basin. The potential reservoir formation (Miocene sediments) are marked by significant unconformity, over much of the western platform, the unconformity is disconformable. Sediments of Cretaceous and Paleocene age are not present toward the eastern platform, generally due to non-deposition over high-standing basement areas. The Taranaki crustal Fault is clearly visible on the processed seismic section despite lack of surface exposure.  

Key words: Seismic, basin, processing, stratigraphy, velocity and petroleum.