Rivera, Ma. Margarette B.

54047 | Non-Metalliferous Deposits

201310648 January 25, 2018 | Friday Class

Sedimentary Basins of the Philippines and their Geology and Hydrocarbon

Potential: A Summary
Tectonics and Structure
- NS Philippine Archipelago: 400km-wide zone of active tectonism between the
Philippine Sea and Eurasian Plates
As evidenced by:
a. shallow seismicity
b. volcanism
c. rugged topography
- Eastern limit: Philippine Trench and East Luzon Trough together with a strike slip
zone east off central Luzon that connects the two.
- Western Limit: Manila, Negros, and Cotabato trenches.
- convergence along Philippine Archipelago - direction: NW rate: approximately 7-
10 cm/yr
- The Philippine Sea Plate is moving northward apparently 15°-25° since ~50 Ma
(from paleomagnetic data). Few intervening terranes resulted from this convergence
were amalgamated into the archipelago:
1. Rifted continental margin
2. Forearc basin
3. Volcanic arc
4. Accretionary wedge
5. Oceanic environments

There is a total of thirteen (13) sedimentary basins within the territorial limits of the
Philippines. Of the 13 basins,
 Ten (10) belongs to the Philippine Archipelago (such is referred to as archipelagic
basins)
General characteristics:
- deep and narrow troughs
- mostly underlain by intermediate crust
- related to arc-trench system of convergent margins
 Three (3) belongs to the Eurasian plate that is within Philippine limits
General characteristics:
- found in either divergent margins associated with continental crust or convergent
margins associated with intermediate crust
Classification of Philippine Sedimentary Basin Types
A. Forearc Basins
1. Ilocos Trough
2. Central Luzon Basin
3. West Luzon Platform
4. Iloilo Basin-West Masbate Shelf
5. Agusan-Davao Basin
6. Bicol Shelf-Lamon Bay Basin
7. Balabac Sub-basin (Sulu Sea Basin)
8. Bancauan Sub-basin (Sulu Sea Basin)
Rivera, Ma. Margarette B. 54047 | Non-Metalliferous Deposits
201310648 January 25, 2018 | Friday Class

General characteristics:
- has limited hydrocarbon potential
- low geothermal gradient*
- scarce in good clastic reservoirs**
*compensated by:
a. Invariably thick sedimentary fill (Central Luzon Basin)
b. Presence of ancestral sedimentary prisms (Bicol Shelf, Agusan-Davao, Central
Luzon basins)
** locally improved by:
a. Presence of continental fragments
b. Prolific carbonate reservoir development

B. Backarc Basins
1. Visayan Sea Basin
2. Southeast Luzon Sea Basin
3. Cotabato Basin
4. Cagayan Basin
5. Sandakan Sub-basin

General characteristics:
- typified by moderate to high geothermal gradients
- has volcanoclastic reservoirs
- has extensive development of carbonate reefs

C. Rift Basins
1. North Palawan-Mindoro Basins
2. South Palawan Basin
3. Reed Bank

General characteristics:
- has insufficient trap size
- very high geothermal gradient
- has inadequate development of source rocks
- but is most hydrocarbon-productive
The Philippines consists of three gross structural units namely:
(block I and II comprise the Philippine island arc system)
Structural Block I: represents Philippine archipelago
- reflects convergent margin tectonic setting
- covers Luzon, Visayan group of islands, and most of Mindanao
- north-south trending sigmoidal geometry
- area of high structural relief
- composed of alternating basement ridges which are volcanic to non-volcanic arcs
- composed of depositional troughs which corresponds to deep Tertiary basins
predominantly filled with arc-derived marine clastics and carbonates
Rivera, Ma. Margarette B. 54047 | Non-Metalliferous Deposits
201310648 January 25, 2018 | Friday Class

- compressional deformation: within periphery of basement uplifts and fold belts

associated with major strike-slip faults
- shear deformation: Philippine Fault system
- extensional deformation*: limited to relatively stable platforms
*must have covered larger zones before but has been overprinted
Structural Block II: represents Philippine basins in Eurasian Plate
- exhibits convergent margin tectonic regime
- encompasses South Palawan, Sulu Sea, Sulu Archipelago-Zamboanga Peninsula, and
partly Celebes Sea
- area of moderate to high structural relief
- consists of three NE-striking ridges alternating with three major offshore depression –
Southeast Sulu Sea basin, Celebes Sea basin, and Northwest Sulu Sea basin
a. Southeast Sulu Sea and Celebes Sea basins
- broad and smooth-surfaced basins with a generally thin
sedimentary blanket fill (2-3 km)
*Sandakan sub-basin, found in the extreme southwest, has 9 km
sedimentary fill
b. Northwest Sulu Sea basin
- a topographically-rough asymmetrical trough with 6-8 km
sedimentary fill
- shale diapiric features dominate north-central part
- compressional deformation: western parts of Sulu and Negros trench; subduction
complex in south Palawan
- extensional deformation: margins of Sulu Sea Sub-basin and within Sandakan Sub-
basin
Structural Block III: represents rifted continental Kalayaan-Calamian microplate
- encompasses North Palawan, Mindoro, Cuyo Platform, Kalayaan-Reed Bank area,
Tablas, the substructures of South Palawan, and possibly Marinduque, Romblon, and
Sibuyan
- stable, low to moderate relief platform
- dominated by extensional regime
- except its eastern margin*, much of the block is characterized by NE-trending tilted
horst and graben features
*site of collision of block I and II; compressional and shear structural regime
has been overprinted
- compressional deformation: thrust belts of Mindoro and South Palawan and detachment
block of east Cuyo platform
- major E-SE striking shear zones all around Mindoro
Evolution and Development of Sedimentary Basins
Two distinct sedimentation domains:
1. the island arc which consists of Structural Blocks I and II and hosts 11 major
sedimentary basins
-arc developed in a convergent margin setting since its inception within the
Pacific plate in Late Mesozoic time
Rivera, Ma. Margarette B. 54047 | Non-Metalliferous Deposits
201310648 January 25, 2018 | Friday Class

-sedimentation began in Cenozoic with the dominant sediment being

volcaniclastics

2. the Kalayaan-Calamian microcontinental plate which corresponds to Structural Block

III and comprises 2 sedimentary areas
-microplate evolved in convergent continental margin setting for much of
Mesozoic, thence in a divergent margin setting
-sedimentation started in Mesozoic and is dominated by non-volcanic quartzose
sediments
LATE PALEOZOIC-TRIASSIC
- Kalayaan-Calamian microplate was once a part of South China continental massif
- From stratigraphic record, deposition of transitional to shallow marine coarse clastics
and shallow marine carbonates was found
- uplift at the end of Paleozoic caused the erosion of sedimentary fill
- Triassic is mostly absent in both the microplate and South China (both on and offshore)
- Presence of radiolarian cherts on islands north and east of Palawan suggests Mid-
Triassic pelagic deposition
- Late Triassic: volcanics were extruded, coarse clastics were deposited
LATE TRIASSIC
- Indosinian orogeny was caused by the convergence and suturing of the Indochina and
South China continental blocks
- This was accompanied by ophiolite emplacement, metamorphism, deformation, and
igneous activity
JURASSIC
- characterized by the deposition of non-marine to transitional marine fine to coarse
clastics from the China craton in the South China margin

LATE JURASSIC
- the early phase of Yenshanian Orogeny: caused by the NW-dipping subduction along
the SE margin of the amalgamated Indochina-South China block; characterized by
magmatism and uplift

CRETACEOUS
- characterized by the inception of the Philippine Island Arc system
- proto-Philippine island arc: initiated by the ‘jumping’ of the subduction to Sumatra-
Java zone area; earliest stage characterized by intense volcanism in the form of
submarine extrusion of basaltic lavas and pyroclastics
- sedimentation was limited to pelagic deposition of cherts

CRETACEOUS-PALEOCENE BOUNDARY
- rift-onset event
- rifting along the SE China margin coincided with the latest phase of the Yeshanian
Orogeny in mainland China
Rivera, Ma. Margarette B. 54047 | Non-Metalliferous Deposits
201310648 January 25, 2018 | Friday Class

PALOCENE TO EARLY OLIGOCENE

- southeast China: NE-SE trending continental crust attenuation occured
- evolution of island arc continued with a flip of subduction to the north
- Late Eocene: Pacific plate changed its direction to NW which caused for the
counterclockwise rotation of the island arc system; Celebes and Sulu Seas, as well as,
West Philippine Basin opened
- Structural Block I: sedimentation was subordinate to volcanism, consistent with the
early stage of island arc development
- Structural Block II: dominated by pelagic sediments, while the forearc region (NW Sulu
Sea) received mainly deep-marine arc-derived clastics

MID-OLIGOCENE
- break-up event and regional uplift in the island arc system
- N-S opening of South China Sea: caused drifting of the Kalayaan-Calamian microplate,
erosion of basement rocks, metamorphism, and deformation in the island arc system
LATE OLIGOCENE
- Kalayaan-Calamian microplate: drifted to the south; transgressive sequence of platform
carbonates and non-marine clastics were deposited
- signalled the infilling of the most sedimentary basins in the anticlockwise rotating
island arc system
- coals and coaly sediments were also deposited in restricted lagoons and deltaic
embayments
- Volcanism waned by the end of this period
END OLIGOCENE
- Borneo collided with the drifted continental blocks causing it to uplift
- Subsequently, South China Sea spreading ceased
EARLY MIOCENE
- Sulu Sea sub-basins were formed due to differential faulting at the SW end of Structural
Block II
- Continuous deposition of sediments in the island arc system
- The central part of Kalayaan-Calamian microplate subsided and accumulated deep
marine clastics towards the end of this period
MIDDLE MIOCENE
- the southward drifting Kalayaan-Calamian microplate, the anticlockwise rotating island
arc system, and the southeastward-drifting Samar-East Mindanao terrane continued to
converge
- sedimentation and subsidence generally continued in most basins

END MIDDLE MIOCENE

- collisional event – rifted Kalayaan-Calamian microplate collided with the island arc
system
Rivera, Ma. Margarette B. 54047 | Non-Metalliferous Deposits
201310648 January 25, 2018 | Friday Class

- consequence of the event:

a. cessation of subduction along Palawan and Negros trench
b. uplift of most sedimentary basins of the Philippines except in a few deep-
water areas
- accretion of Samar-East Mindanao terrane with the rest of the island arc system
occurred concomitantly
LATE MIOCENE
- whole Philippines was amalgamated into one body
- Structural Province I: attained its maximum subsidence through post-collision down
faulting/wrenching in most of the basins
- Structural Province II: experienced differential block subsidence which resulted to the
deposition of predominantly clastic lithofacies with varying depositional conditions
which ranges from non-marine to deep marine settings
- Structural Province III: deposition of post-collision sediments which includes shallow
marine carbonates and clastics

EARLY PLIOCENE
- Gross sedimentation pattern during this period was unchanged but progressive
shallowing of the seas occurred
LATE PLIOCENE
- Regional uplift occurred causing the renewed activity along trenches of the Philippine
Archipelago and a related strong pulse of movement along the Philippine Fault zone
QUATERNARY
- deposition of neritic reefal carbonates and minor shallow marine clastics occurred due
to a short period of subsidence
- Withdrawal of the seas in the basinal areas occurred due to subsequent uplift of the
islands where transitional marine to non-marine sediments were deposited onshore and
marine clastic and carbonate sediments were deposited on the adjacent and intervening
seas