Abstract

Woodside has built one of the largest deepwater acreage positions in the Rakhine Basin, off the west coast of northern Myanmar. Woodside acquired acreage in Myanmar permits in 2013 and 2014, and began to acquire seismic and commenced technical studies. The Thalin and Shwe Yee Htun gas discoveries were made in early 2016, Woodside’s first drilling campaign in Myanmar. A further, large-scale 3D seismic programme was also acquired at around the same time. Woodside and its partners are currently appraising the Thalin discovery, and exploring in the vicinity of both discoveries, and intensively reviewing the 3D seismic with a view to generating further drilling targets.

The deepwater Rakhine Basin is an active, young geological province. Deposition has been strongly influenced by two main sediment delivery systems – the Ganges/Brahmaputra and paleo-Ayeyarwady rivers. The two systems are of different scales, but both have the ability to control sedimentation into the basin. Shelf collapse and the presence of Mass Transport Deposits also play a key role in the timing and location of basin sediment delivery.

Insights from Woodside’s two wells, and the extensive 3D seismic, has provided new geological understanding at all scales; leading to the development of a new reservoir scale sequence stratigraphic framework and nomenclature, as well as providing insights into differential plate movement between the India and Burma Plates. Modern high-resolution 3D seismic, combined with new technologies such as full waveform inversion, has proven critical in understanding the evolution of these systems.

This presentation briefly reviews Woodside’s exploration in Myanmar to date and its near-term exploration operations, and provides some technical insights into the geology and chronostratigraphy of the Rakhine Basin.