Sumatra Fore-Arc Basin

In general, there are 2 fore-arc basins in West Sumatra which are

1. Sibolga Basin (northwest Sumatra fore-arc)
2. Bengkulu Basin (southwest Sumatra fore-arc)

Structural Setting and Margins/Extension of the Basins

Sibolga Basin (Rose, 1983)

lies between the island of Sumatra and the adjacent outer-arc ridge to the west
trends northwest-southeast (The northern end terminates against the northwest extension
of the Sumatra Fault System. The southern end of the Sibolga basin was arbitrarily placed in
the vicinity of Pini and Batu Islands where a broad, southwest trending low-lying arch
separates it from the Bengkulu basin to the southeast)
110 km wide and 800 km long
asymetrical to the southwest with upwards of 6100 m of Neogene sediments adjacent to the
outer-arc ridge.
the western margin of the basin is formed by a high-angle fault zone which created
associated drag structures as did strike-slip faults that cut diagonally through the basin in the
vicinity of Nias-Banyak islands. In spite of these faults, the majority of the Neogene
sedimentary rocks in the basin are undeformed.
filled with a moderately deformed Neogene sedimentary section 1000 to 15000 feet thick
overlying a strongly folded Paleogene sedimentary and volcanic sequence of unknown
thickness.

Bengkulu Basin (Yulihanto et al, 1996)

located in the southeast part of the Sumatra Island covering both onshore and offshore.
trending NW - SE, parallel to Sumatra Island (To the north and northeast lies Barisan
Mountain range, while in the south and southwest is bounded by islands or slope break of
the Sunda Arc Trench System).
600 kms length and 150 - 200 kms wide.
the onshore part of the basin can be divided into two sub -basin i.e Pagarjati sub-basin in the
north and Kedurang sub-basin in the south which separated by north - south trending
Masmambang High.
The stratigraphy of the onshore Bengkulu Basin composes of a series of Oligo-Miocene up to
Pliocene sediments overlaying unconformably the Pretertiary basements complex . Based on
few seismics sections and wells drilled in the Bengkulu offshore area known that the
sediment thickness is about 4000m.

Possible Age of formation and its evidences

Based on current tectonic model, both basins are formed during Late Eocene to Early Miocene and
continues to the present time (Sapiie et al, 2014). The continental Eurasian/ Asian plate or the
Sundaland had southeast motion that is accommodated by the Great Sumatra/Mentawau duplex,
and the Sulawesi and Philippine transform fault-systems. (after Netherwood)
Subduction
along West
Sundaland
margin

Figure 1: Plate tectonic movement shows subduction during Middle Eocene that formed the fore-arc
basin(Hall, 1995 and 1997)

Formation of fore-arc
basin caused by
subduction along west
Sundaland margin.

Figure 2: Chronostratrigraphic summary shows major geological events in Cenozoic

(Longley, 1997 and Hall, 1997)

References:

Netherwood, R., Petroleum Geology of Indonesi. Retrieved from

https://www.scribd.com/doc/244277237/6/Bengkulu-basin-including-the-Mentawai-andSibolga-basins
Sapiie,B., Dharmayanti,D., Satyana, A. , Rustam,A. Deighton, I., Yulian,F., Chandra, J.(2014).
Geology And Tectonic Evolution Of Fore-Arc Basins In The Western Indonesia.Retrieved from
https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2014AM/finalprogram/abstract_249897.htm
The Geology of Indonesia/Sumatra. Retrieved from
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/The_Geology_of_Indonesia/Sumatra