PERGAMON Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181

Tertiary facies architecture in the Kutai Basin, Kalimantan,

Indonesia
Steve J. Moss a, 1, John L.C. Chambers b
a
Robertson Research, 69 Outram Street, Perth, 6005, WA, Australia
b
LASMO Runtu Ltd, Jakarta, Indonesia
Received 12 January 1998; accepted 22 June 1998

Abstract

The Kutai Basin occupies an area of extensive accommodation generated by Tertiary extension of an economic basement of
mixed continental/oceanic anity. The underlying crust to the basin is proposed here to be Jurassic and Cretaceous in age and
is composed of ophiolitic units overlain by a younger Cretaceous turbidite fan, sourced from Indochina. A near complete
Tertiary sedimentary section from Eocene to Recent is present within the Kutai Basin; much of it is exposed at the surface as a
result of the Miocene and younger tectonic processes. Integration of geological and geophysical surface and subsurface data-sets
has resulted in re-interpretation of the original facies distributions, relationships and arrangement of Tertiary sediments in the
Kutai Basin. Although much lithostratigraphic terminology exists for the area, existing formation names can be reconciled with
a simple model explaining the progressive tectonic evolution of the basin and illustrating the resulting depositional environments
and their arrangements within the basin. The basin was initiated in the Middle Eocene in conjunction with rifting and likely sea
oor spreading in the Makassar Straits. This produced a series of discrete fault-bounded depocentres in some parts of the basin,
followed by sag phase sedimentation in response to thermal relaxation. Discrete Eocene depocentres have highly variable
sedimentary lls depending upon position with respect to sediment source and palaeo water depths and geometries of the half-
graben. This contrasts strongly with the more regionally uniform sedimentary styles that followed in the latter part of the
Eocene and the Oligocene. Tectonic uplift documented along the southern and northern basin margins and related subsidence of
the Lower Kutai Basin occurred during the Late Oligocene. This subsidence is associated with signicant volumes of high-level
andesiticdacitic intrusive and associated volcanic rocks. Volcanism and uplift of the basin margins resulted in the supply of
considerable volumes of material eastwards. During the Miocene, basin ll continued, with an overall regressive style of
sedimentation, interrupted by periods of tectonic inversion throughout the Miocene to Pliocene. # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.
All rights reserved.

1. Introduction of Borneo, the Schwaner Mountains (Hamilton, 1979;

Borneo is bounded by three marginal oceanic basins
to the north and northeast (Fig. 1) and by mainland
SE Asia (Indochina and Peninsular Malaysia) to the
west and north west. To the north of Borneo is the
South China Sea, formed by seaoor spreading
between Borneo and South China of Oligocene to mid
Miocene age (Briais et al., 1993). To the south, separ-
ating Borneo from Java, is the shallow Java Sea,
underlain by Sundaland continental crust. Sundaland
crust is believed to extend into the southwestern corner
1
Formerly at University of London Southeast Asia Research
Group, Department of Geology, Royal Holloway, U.K.
van de Weerd and Armin, 1992). To the east is the
deep Makassar Straits and Sulawesi.
Tertiary sedimentary basins, of which the Kutai
Basin is the largest, cover a signicant area of Borneo
(Fig. 1) and all appear to have a sedimentary ll de-
rived from the inland parts of Borneo, suggesting that
central Borneo was aected by extensive uplift and
erosion during Tertiary times. In the central and
northern parts of Borneo, turbidites of the Late
CretaceousEarly Tertiary Rajang and Embaluh
Groups cross the island in a NESW trending crescent
(Fig. 1). Where these turbidites have been extensively
eroded an underlying ophiolitic-type basement of
Jurassic-Early Cretaceous age is exposed. To the
south-west, the Schwaner Block, composed of

1367-9120/99 $ - see front matter # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 7 4 3 - 9 5 4 7 ( 9 8 ) 0 0 0 3 5 - X
 158
S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181

Fig. 1. Simplied geological map of Borneo and its location within SE Asia. SR=Semitan Ridge; UKP=Upper Kutai Basin.
 S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181
Palaeozoic metamorphic rocks, form part of the
Sundaland continental crust. Both the Schwaner Block
and the Rajang/Embaluh Groups are intruded by con-
siderable volumes of acidic to intermediate igneous
material that appears to range in age from Early
Cretaceous to Miocene. There is a shortage of reliable
radiometric dating within Borneo as work done to
date has relied almost exclusively on the K-Ar tech-
nique.
2. Geological setting of the Kutai Basin
The Kutai Basin may divided into two (sub-) basins;
a western Inner or Upper Kutai (sub-) Basin, and an
eastern Outer or Lower Kutai (sub-) Basin. Today the
Upper Kutai Basin is an area of major tectonic uplift
as a result of Lower Miocene inversion of Paleogene
depocentres and the eects of subsequent erosion. The
boundaries of the Upper Kutai Basin are hard to con-
strain, as it is likely that extensional tectonics in
Eocene times resulted in a patchwork of connected
and unconnected graben and half-graben extending
across the eastern part of Borneo, and possibly right
across the island (Pieters et al. 1987). These discrete
depocentres are recognised from the Barito Basin in
the south through to the onshore Tarakan Basin in the
north. The Lower Kutai Basin as we know it today
was dened only during the Neogene, and overlies and
encompasses many of the Palaeogene depocentres of
the Upper Kutai Basin. The boundaries of the present
day Kutai Basin, or its Neogene equivalent, do not
correspond to the margins of any single Palaeogene
depocentre. Many of the Palaeogene rifts were inverted
and deeply eroded in the Neogene, further masking
their true extent. The deep Makassar Straits Basin on
the eastern side of the Kutai Basin (Figs. 1 and 2(a))
represents the oshore deep-water continuation of the
Kutai Basin, where the Neogene section thins onto
what appears to be a Palaeogene block faulted section.
The Makassar Straits Basin formed during the same
Eocene extensional phase that gave rise to the in-
itiation of the Kutai Basin (Moss et al., 1997).
The Lower Kutai Basin is bounded by two north-
west-southeast trending fault zones; the Adang Fault
to the south and the Sangkulirang Fault to the north.
These fault zones and related osets extend both
onshore and oshore (Cloke et al., 1997). South of the
Sangkulirang Fault, within the Kutai Basin, is the
Bungalun lineament (Fig. 2(b)), which together with
the Adang Fault denes the northern and southern
boundaries of the Lower Kutai Basin. The Bungalun
lineament has not previously been dened in the litera-
ture but is a NWSE trending lineament bordering the
northern Lower Kutai Basin, controlling the path of
the Bungalun River, and marking a rapid northsouth
159
change from thin to thick Neogene sequences within
the Lower Kutai sub-basin. The onshore Neogene sec-
tion rapidly deepens between the Bungalun and Adang
faults. These hinge zones, or down-to-the-basin normal
faults, were active during the Late Oligocene to
Miocene, and are probably sited upon older pre-exist-
ing fault lines (Cloke et al., 1997). Similar parallel lin-
ear features are present north of the Mangkalihat
Peninsula and within the Kutai Basin.
The Muller Mountains form the western margin of
the Upper Kutai Basin and comprise predominantly
Cretaceous turbidites of the Rajang and Embaluh
Groups. Similar Cretaceous turbidites crop out along
the northern basin margin with, in places, more
severely deformed JurassicLower Cretaceous ophioli-
tic rocks (Moss, 1998). A broadly arcuate feature,
referred to as the `Muyup Hinge' (Fig. 4; Wain and
Berod, 1989), trends roughly NESW across the Kutai
Basin and appears to control the western margin of
the Lower Kutai Basin. Interestingly this feature paral-
lels the broad arcuate outcrops of the Embaluh Group
turbidites. The Muyup Hinge may be related to the
underlying geometry of Cretaceous basement metasedi-
ments and acted as a zone of weakness during Tertiary
deposition.
The Tertiary history of the Kutai Basin includes a
Middle to Late Eocene syn-rift phase, a Late Eocene
to Oligocene sag phase and a renewed phase of tec-
tonic activity and subsidence in the Late Oligocene to
Miocene. Basin inversion, beginning at least as early as
the end of the Lower Miocene, resulted in reworking
of earlier sediments and ongoing deposition of `syn-
inversion' deltaic packages. Continuing erosion from
the hinterland, and from the Tertiary section, in re-
sponse to Miocene and Pliocene tectonic activity,
resulted in eastward prograding deltaic deposition
(Chambers and Daley, 1995, Moss et al., 1997). In this
paper we document the depositional environments,
their architecture and resultant facies of the dierent
phases of basin evolution from Eocene to present, as
well as presenting a discussion on the formation of the
underlying basement.
The Kutai Basin displays several gross geological
features repeated elsewhere in Southeast Asia, with a
Cenozoic basin ll overlying a thick Cretaceous turbi-
dite section. The Middle Miocene to Pliocene deltaic
section makes up the only proven economic petroleum
system, although hydrocarbons have been recovered
from Oligocene limestones, and to the south, in the
Barito Basin, Eocene syn-rift sands of the Tanjung
Formation are productive oil reservoirs. Within the
Kutai Basin production began at the Sanga-Sanga eld
in 1898, and to date in excess of three billion barrels
of oil and 30 TCF of gas have been recovered. A large
variety of petroleum systems can be expected in this
area and, because of extensive outcrop, this is an ideal
 160
S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181

Fig. 2. (a) Geographic map of the Kutai Basin showing areas mentioned in the text.
S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181 161

Fig. 2. (b) simplied geological map of the Kutai Basin.

162 S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181
place to study the elements of individual petroleum
systemsmany of them no doubt past their prime. This
paper however intends to describe the geology and
facies development in the area rather than the develop-
ment of the petroleum systems.
3. Basement
3.1. Regional basement development
The nature of the basement surrounding and under-
lying the Kutai Basin has attracted much discussion in
the literature (see Moss, 1998 for further discussion).
We propose a new, and somewhat dierent model for
crustal development in this area to those proposed by
previous workers, which we believe is consistent with
regional observations, both internal and external to
the island of Borneo. There is clearly an interplay
between continental and oceanic basement within
Borneo, with the southwest of the island made up of
the Palaeozoic to Mesozoic Schwaner Block of
Sundaland anity, while elsewhere, and on the mar-
gins of the Kutai Basin, variably deformed, low grade
metamorphosed Late CretaceousEarly Tertiary turbi-
dites of the Rajang and Embaluh Groups overlie older
basic/ultrabasic igneous rocks and chert. These older
basement rocks comprise peridotites, serpentinised
peridotites, layered gabbros, gabbros, basalts, chert
and siliceous metasediments of JurassicEarly
Cretaceous age (Moss, 1998). They are referred to as
ophiolitic assemblages, although extensive deformation
makes identication of some parts of a `typical' ophio-
lite sequence dicult. We believe these highly
deformed, dismembered ophiolitic assemblages rep-
resent Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age oceanic crust,
although it is not clear if this ocean crust originated in
a truly oceanic setting or in a back-arc ocean or mar-
ginal ocean basin.
Ophiolitic rocks of Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age
overlain by Late Cretaceous turbidites (now locally
metamorphosed) have also been described in the
Meratus Mountains (Sikumbang, 1990), in the base-
ment rocks on the northeastern and western margins
of the Kutai Basin (Moss, 1998), onshore Tarakan
Basin and Darval Bay in Sabah (Omang and Barber,
1996) (Fig. 1). A similar relationship has also been
described in Western Sulawesi (Bergman et al., 1996).
We propose that the regional occurrence of thick
Late CretaceousEarly Tertiary turbidites above
ophiolitic rocks, interpreted as JurassicEarly
Cretaceous oceanic crust, suggests that a very large
deep marine turbidite fan system extended across
Borneo during late Cretaceous times, perhaps similar
to the present-day Bay of Bengal Fan in setting and
dimensions (this is shown schematically in Fig. 3).
Such a fan system would be capable of depositing a
thick, areally extensive turbidite system. Moss (1998)
describes the Embaluh and Rajang Group turbidites of
Kalimantan and Sarawak in much greater detail and
suggest that these turbidites were deposited within a
remnant oceanic basin during the Late Cretaceous.
3.2. Kutai Basin basement development
The northern and western margins of the Kutai
Basin margins show thick low grade metamorphosed
turbidites overlying serpentinites and ultra-basic
igneous rocks and gabbros representing Jurassic to
Lower Cretaceous oceanic crust. To the south, where
the margins include the highly deformed Meratus
Mountains and the continental Schwaner Block, the
situation is more complex.
Mesozoic ophiolitic and `island arc rocks' of the
Meratus Mountains in the southeast corner of Borneo,
and overlying turbiditic material of Cretaceous age,
have been interpreted as forming a suture zone
between continental and oceanic/intermediate crustal
types (Sikumbang 1990). The true nature of the base-
ment rocks on either side of the Meratus Mountains,
and therefore on either side of this proposed suture
zone, are poorly known. Given that the basement
units of the northern margin of the Kutai Basin are
similar to the pre-Tertiary units of the Meratus
Mountains, and that Cretaceous meta-sediments were
encountered below the Tanjung eld (northern Barito
Basin west of the Meratus Mountains; Fig. 2(a)), the
Meratus Mountains may also be uplifted oceanic base-
ment with overlying Cretaceous metasediments. We
suggest that the Meratus Mountains, and their north-
ward plunging continuation, represent a major inver-
sion axis throughout East Kalimantan, and that these
mountains once formed the basement of a major
Eocene graben system which was exhumed during the
Early Miocene inversion event.
A NNESSW trending gravity high, the Kutai
Lakes Gravity High (Wain and Berod, 1989, Fig. 2(b)),
extends north from the Meratus Mountains in the
south, to the Gongnyay area in the north. The Kutai
Lakes Gravity High is oset along NWSE lineaments
which parallel the trends of the Adang, Sankulirang
and Bungalun lineaments (Wain and Berod, 1989;
Chambers and Daley, 1995; Cloke et al., 1997). We
would therefore link the Meratus Mountains and the
Gongnyay area as major inversion features, where dee-
ply buried Paleogene rift sediments, overlying
Cretaceous metasediments and older ophiolitic ma-
terial, have been uplifted during the Miocene. In the
case of the Meratus Mountains, inversion has been re-
sponsible for bringing basement to the surface, but at
Gongnyay, surface exposures comprise compacted
Palaeogene sediments. Within the Lower Kutai Basin,
 S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181 163

Fig. 3. Reconstruction based on Hall (1996) showing Late CretaceousEarly Tertiary `Borneo fan' with Oligocene to Miocene South China Sea
spreading removed and West Sulawesi closer to Borneo prior to the opening of the Makassar Straits. An inferred palaeo-Mekong river sediment
supply system from Vietnam to Borneo is shown. The present-day Bengal Fan is shown on the same scale for comparison.

the Kutai Lakes Gravity High has been explained as
due to the uplift of a thick, well compacted Paleogene
section overlying a metasedimentary and ophiolitic
basement but which still lies at considerable depth
(Chambers and Daley, 1995).
Although the nature of the Lower Kutai Basin base-
ment is not known, judging by the large accommo-
dation space generated during the Tertiary, a much
thinner (due to Cenozoic extension) and therefore
weaker crust, equivalent to that exposed around the
northern margins of the Kutai Basin and within the
Meratus Mountains, is likely. The nature of the base-
ment in the Lower Kutai Basin will probably always
remain speculative, due to its depth and the limitations
of drilling.
In summary, the Schwaner Block represents true
continental crust, but elsewhere throughout East
Kalimantan (and probably as far as South Sulawesi
and beyond) the crust appears to have been originally
oceanic in nature, overlain by a thick turbidite basin
during the Cretaceous. This Cretaceous ocean basin
was subsequently deformed, thickened through crustal
shortening, metamorphosed, possibly intruded by
granites and eroded, prior to the beginning of Tertiary
deposition in the MidLate Eocene. The basement,
although it originated as oceanic basement, has a mix-
ture of continental and oceanic properties. The
CretaceousPaleocene history of Borneo is explored
more fully in Moss (1998).
Basement bordering the northwest Kutai Basin has
been intruded locally by granites and diorites of Late
Cretaceous age (Pieters and Supriatna, 1990) but, as
stated earlier, these granites have been dated using
only the K-Ar technique. As similar granites are found
cross-cutting stratigraphic units as young as Miocene
in age, there is doubt as to the true age of many of
these intrusives.
Past workers have relied heavily upon remote sen-
sing data to determine depth to basement in the Kutai
Basin Area. In terms of petroleum exploration, `base-
ment' is dened as the top of the Cretaceous
Paleocene meta-sediments. In practice, both gravi-
metric and magnetic techniques will interpret much of
the Cretaceous section as part of the Tertiary sedimen-
tary section, as the `basement' has many similar prop-
erties to the compacted sand-rich Paleogene syn-rift
section. Even using seismic methods there is diculty
in resolving the basement contact, as the acoustic
impedence of Cretaceous metasediments and com-
pacted sand-rich Paleogene section is remarkably simi-
lar. Fig. 4 shows a thinner Tertiary section than was
proposed previously by Wain and Berod (1989). On
the Wain and Berod (1989) map `depth to basement'
of up to 5 km is shown at locations where we have
164 S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181
Fig. 4. Isopach map for the Kutai Basin.
found Cretaceous metasediments outcropping at the
surface. Our depth to basement map has been made
using existing gravity and magnetic data, as used by
Wain and Berod (1989) but constrained by obser-
vations of basement gravity and magnetic response
and basement outcrops.
4. Eocene syn-rift facies and depositional architecture
Numerous stratigraphic terms have already been
dened to identify Eocene and younger units within
the Kutai Basin (summarised in Rose and Hartono,
1978; Wain and Berod 1989; Pieters et al., 1987, 1993).
The existing lithostratigraphic terminology for the
basin has been strongly inuenced, unavoidably, by
the specic areas in which individuals or companies
have worked. The consequence is a somewhat paro-
chial lithostratigraphic terminology with a confusing
number of dierent formation names, which have
often been applied to identical or similar units. We
propose a model that relates existing formations to
specic time frames during the development of the
basin. Initially, in the Eocene, rapid facies variations
were a response to the development of high relief and
the formation of local depocentres within individual
rift half-grabens. A more regional depocentre, devel-
oped in response to regional subsidence in the post-rift
phase towards the end of the Late Eocene, resulted in
a more continuous facies distribution which has con-
tinued to the present day. Initial Eocene depocentres
may have been as small as 20 km in width and con-
tained a variety of facies ranging from proximal allu-
vial fan to distal restricted deep marine. Our proposed
lithostratigraphy is shown in Fig. 5.
Fig. 6 schematically illustrates the development of a
typical Middle Eocene half-graben within the Kutai
Basin. Initial and proximal graben ll is coarse, poorly
sorted material derived directly from basement. In the
case of the Kutai Basin this material is likely to be
sourced from low grade metamorphic turbidites of
Late CretaceousEarly Tertiary age and underlying
Early Cretaceous to Jurassic ophiolitic crust.
In East Kalimantan it is possible to demonstrate
that there are both terrestrial and marine initial graben
lls, generally with the more western depocentres being
terrestrial-dominated, and the eastern depocentres (clo-
ser to the Makassar Strait) being more marine-domi-
nated (i.e. below sea-level). These initial graben lls
probably include alluvial fan deposits within western,
S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181 165

Fig. 5. Lithostratigraphy of the Kutai Basin.

 166
S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181

Fig. 6. Schematic model for the initial syn-rift phase of sedimentation, Late Eocene reconstruction. See text for description.
 S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181
interior rifts but may be entirely marine in the eastern
rifts (Fig. 6). Polarity of half-graben bounding faults
strongly aects facies stacking patterns, and there is
good evidence to suggest that during Eocene rift for-
mation a complex series of opposing polarity half-gra-
bens developed, oset along rift-related transform
faults (Cloke et al., 1997).
With progressive rifting, marine transgression or re-
gional subsidence, there was an overall change in the
depositional environment from non-marine progress-
ively through to shallow marine/coastal to shelf, and
eventually bathyal marine environments, within the
western rifts. In a relatively small graben depocentre it
may be possible to view progressively almost all facies
associations along one time line, within a distance of
20 km (Fig. 6). Within the eastern rifts, more directly
inuenced by marine conditions from the onset of rift-
ing, bathyal marine environments were more quickly
established. Factors controlling facies include: sedi-
ment source and abundance, climate, rate of fault
movement and subsidence, and overall architecture of
the graben system. In shallow marine areas, removed
from sediment input, carbonate platforms developed.
Deeper marine basins, with only small amounts of
coarse sediment input, developed thick shale sections.
Sand-rich graben lls occur in depocentres linked
directly to eroding basement.
Given that during the Eocene a patchwork of rift
basins were formed across the East Kalimantan area
in response to regional extension, lithostratigraphic ter-
minology must be used with extreme caution and it
must be recognised that lithostratigraphic terms can
only be used to group similar facies groups that may
or may not be time or genetically equivalent. Detailed
below are the standard lithostratigraphic terms for the
Upper Kutai Basin, the facies described for these for-
mations and their interpreted relationship to Eocene
rift systems (Fig. 6). We have sub-divided the period
of basin evolution into distinct time slices and have il-
lustrated the range of depositional environments and
resultant facies, which we have termed facies tracts.
We have attempted to list all previously used lithostra-
tigraphic names for these sediments.
4.1. Non Marine Syn-rift Facies Tract (FluvialAlluvial
Fan Coarse Conglomerate and Sandstone FaciesLower
Kiham Haloq Sandstone Formation; Tanjung
Formation, Kuaro Formation)
In the northwest corner of the Kutai Basin, the
basal contact of the Tertiary sequence is well exposed
in several river sections. The basal sections of the
Kiham Haloq Sandstone Formation type-section con-
sist of channel bodies (Fig. 7(a)), and epsilon cross-
bedding within channels indicates lateral migration of
accretion surfaces. Coarse conglomerate basal lags,
167
and ning-up beds are present and suggestive of uvial
deposition processes (Pieters et al., 1993; Wain and
Berod, 1989; Moss et al., 1997). Alluvial fan sands and
conglomerates, similar to those of the Kiham Haloq
Sandstone Formation, have not been observed in the
northeast part of the Kutai Basin. It is possible that,
since this section occupies the deepest part of graben,
it has not been brought to the surface through inver-
sion and hence is not exposed in most areas.
Alternatively, fan deltaic deposits of the Beriun
Formation may be the time equivalent deposits in gra-
ben systems more distal and marine with respect to
eroding basement.
Middle Eocene deposition along the southern mar-
gins of the Kutai Basin and within the Barito Basin
also initially included non-marine sands, coals and
conglomerates of the Kuaro and Lower Tanjung
Formations (Fig. 5; van de Weerd et al., 1987). The
presence of coarse conglomerates within the Tanjung
Formation led to the interpretation of extensional
faulting aecting this area of the basin (van de Weerd
and Armin, 1992), although the Eocene structural style
is poorly resolved on available seismic data. The
Lower Tanjung Formation comprises a braided stream
facies, passing up into a sandy uvial facies (van de
Weerd et al., 1987). These in turn pass laterally and
vertically into the deltaic and shallow marine facies
described below.
4.2. Deltaic Syn-rift Facies Tract (Sandstones,
Conglomerates, Coals, Shales of the Beriun Formation,
Batu Ayau Formation, Lower Tanjung Formation,
Sembakung Formation, Kayanuit Formation)
The Beriun Formation is a sand-rich delta system
which crops out within inverted graben structures in
the northern part of the basin, (Sunaryo et al., 1988;
Satyana and Biantoro, 1995; van de Weerd and
Armin, 1992). Lithologies comprise continental sand-
stones, shales and coals, as well as uvio-deltaic and
marine sandstones and shales, with rare limestones.
Conglomerates associated with coals and shallow mar-
ine sediments of the Beriun Formation are time equiv-
alent to the non-marine facies tract of the rift phase.
Sunaryo et al. (1988) described 600700 m of conglom-
erates interbedded with sandstones in the Beriun
Formation. Fluvio-deltaic sedimentary features such as
thick cross-bedded channel sands with scoured con-
glomeratic bases, and thick carbonaceous shales and
coals, are common, together with immature conglom-
erates containing abundant basement fragments.
Typical delta mouth bar facies, marine bioturbated
intervals and occasional limestones conrm that this is
a marine, and not a lacustrine system. Benthonic fora-
minifera, when found, frequently indicate bathyal
depositional environments, suggesting a steep basin
168 S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181

slope into a slightly restricted sub-basin during Eocene
times. Time-structure maps presented by Satyana and
Biantoro (1995) clearly show sediment thicknesses
within the Beriun Formation controlled by extensional
faults, and demonstrate that faulting occurred during
deposition by the growth of section from the upthrown
to the downthrown side of the fault block. All of these
features are consistent with deltaic deposition during
localised subsidence along extensional faults, such as
the Gongnyay Fault, and rapid syn-rift deposition.

Fig. 7. (a) Field photo of a uvial channel incised into an earlier channel within the early syn-rift facies of the Middle Eocene Kiham Haloq
Sandstone Formation. Upstream from Long Bangun. Ian Cloke for scale; (b) eld photo of upward bundling wave ripple above planar laminated
sands within Middle to Late Eocene marine syn-rift facies. Belayan River upstream from Tabang. Coin for scale; (c) eld photo, looking south,
of folded distal turbidites of the Batu Kelau Formation part of the marine shale and turbidite syn-rift facies. Wahau river upstream from Muara
Wahau. The east vergent fold is located in the hanging-wall of a thrust, formed in response to Early Miocene inversion; (d) eld photo of re-
deposited limestone conglomerate composed of siliciclastic clasts (cherts and dark metasediments) and clasts of re-deposited shallow water car-
bonates including corals. Part of the Late Oligocene platform carbonate facies. North of Muara Wahau.
 S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181 169

Fig. 7continued

From a seismic stratigraphic study Satyana and
Biantoro (1995) proposed a syn-rift fan delta facies
model for the Beriun Formation. This model is sup-
ported here.
In the northwestern part of the Kutai Basin, sands,
shales, mudstones and coals of the Batu Ayau
Formation are equivalent in age to the Kiham Haloq
Sandstone and Batu Kelau Formation. The Batu Ayau
Formation comprises ne to medium quartzose sands,
thin coals, muds, shales and carbonaceous shales.
Mudstones and shales are often heavily bioturbated.
Wain and Berod (1989) recognised three subdivisions
of the Batu Ayau. A uvial lower part and two upper
marine divisions reect regression and continental style
deposition, followed by transgression and a return to
marine deposition on an open, low energy shelf with
low clastic input. These sediments are analogous to the
Lower Berai Formation of the southern part of the
basin (van de Weerd et al., 1987) and the Beriun
Formation, but were deposited within dierent discrete
170 S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181
depocentres. The Lower Tanjung Formation, of the
southwestern part of the Kutai Basin or the northern
Barito Basin, similarly contains a paralic-deltaic facies
(van de Weerd et al., 1987).
4.3. Shallow Marine Syn-rift Facies Tract (Mature
Sandstones and Carbonates of Upper Kiham Haloq
Sandstone Formation, Ritan Limestone Member of
Upper Kiham Haloq Sandstone Formation, Parts of
Batu Ayau Formation, Lower Tanjung Formation, Parts
of the Batu Kelau Formation)
Within the northwest corner of the basin, exposures
of non-marine, deltaic, syn-rift facies tracts pass verti-
cally and laterally into well-sorted, medium- to coarse-
grained sandstones of the Batu Kelau Formation.
These sandstones contain hummocky cross stratica-
tion, swaley cross stratication, large trough cross-bed-
ding, megaripples, planar laminations and wave ripples
(Fig. 7(b)), as well as trace fossils of the Skolithus and
Cruziana ichnofacies. Metre-scale lenses of foraminif-
eral packstones and grainstones dominated by larger
foraminifera such as Nummulites and Discocyclinids
are intercalated with these sands. These carbonates,
include the Ritan Limestone member of the Kiham
Haloq Sandstone Formation, formed within a high
energy, occasionally storm- or ood-dominated shal-
low marine shelfal setting. The presence locally of her-
ring-bone cross-stratication and reactivation surfaces
within mature, medium-grained quartz sandstones in-
dicate tidal conditions were present at times.
The Lower Tanjung Formation in the southwest
corner of the basin contains shallow marine clastic
sediments that overlie and are probably laterally equiv-
alent to deltaic and alluvial facies of the same for-
mation (described above, van de Weerd et al., 1987).
Thus the northern and southern margins of the basin
show remarkably similar successions of sediment,
although individual depocentres are unlikely to have
been continuous throughout the basin.
4.4. Marine Shale and Turbidite Syn-rift Facies Tract.
(Thin Turbidite Sands and Shales, Restricted Marine
(?)Bathyal, Middle to Upper EoceneMangkupa
Formation, Marah Formation, Parts of the Batu Kelau
Formation, Bongan Formation, Lower Ujoh Bilang
Formation, Atan Formation, Boh Formation)
The Mangkupa Formation (Sunaryo et al., 1988) is
a shale-rich, deep marine facies that has been inter-
sected in wells at least 80 km east of the present base-
ment outcrop (Fig. 2(a)), and also occurs in outcrop in
the northeastern part of the Kutai Basin. It is notice-
ably dierent from the sand-rich Beriun Formation
(described above) that inlls the Gongnyay Graben
(Fig. 2(a)), and may be the distal marine equivalent or
the product of sand-starved extensional depositional
settings. Recent revisions in palaeontological environ-
mental interpretation suggest that the section is poss-
ibly not entirely deep marine (bathyal to abyssal) as
previously supposed, but may in part restricted marine
and isolated intra-shelf basins (A. Wonders, pers.
comm. 1996).
The Batu Kelau Formation occurs in the northwest
corner of the basin, and comprises dark shales inter-
bedded with siltstones and ne sandstones (Fig. 7(c)).
Sandstone beds range in thickness from four to twelve
centimetres, may show grading and partial Bouma
sequences, and often show load casts and groove casts.
Trace fossils, although common in some beds, have
minimal diversity and comprise simple feeding and
grazing trails belonging to the Zoophycos ichnofacies.
The formation contains a rich and biostratigraphically
useful nannofossil fauna along the upper reaches of
the Belayan River, dating the formation as Late
Eocene (P14P15; Moss and Finch, 1998). The abun-
dance of nannoplankton within these sediments, and
the ichnofacies, suggest a deep marine, low-energy en-
vironment. Collectively the data indicate a deep water,
open marine environment, aected occasionally by tur-
bidity currents. Other workers have suggested an inter-
tidal to shallow sub-tidal (Wain and Berod, 1989) or
estuarine (Pieters et al., 1993) setting. We consider that
a deeper marine environment, analogous to the
Bongan Formation in the southern part of the basin
(van de Weerd et al., 1987) is more appropriate.
Proximal and distal slope and basinal facies are recog-
nised within the Bongan Formation (Fig. 6).
4.5. Carbonate Platform Syn-rift Facies Tract (Lower
Berai, Ritan Limestone Member of Keham Haloq
Sandstone Formation)
A variety of Eocene carbonate occurrences have
been documented within the basin. Near to the north-
ern margin, carbonates appear to have formed low
relief shoals, bound by algae, but with a high shale
content, suggesting proximity to a muddy, uvial dis-
charge system. Isolated smaller bodies of limestone are
also found associated with deltaic sediments in the
Gunung Gongnyay area (Fig. 2(a)) and probably rep-
resent a minor facies within the delta fairway that
developed in areas of low clastic input. Some of these
carbonates may have developed in shallow shelf sedi-
ment-starved settings and formed as patch reefs or
shoals. These probably developed on basement highs
adjacent to rift depocentres. Larger carbonate build-
ups and isolated platforms of Eocene age are visible at
outcrop, for example along the Bungalun River
(Fig. 2(a)) and the large limestone outlier of Gunung
Khombeng (near Muara Wahau, Fig. 2) within the
northeast of the basin. Isolated buildups such as
 S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181
Gunung Khombeng appear to have nucleated upon
the uplifted crest of footwall blocks (Fig. 6). During
the Late Eocene, on both the northern and southern
margins of the basin, extensive carbonate platforms
were developed. For example Upper Eocene argillac-
eous limestones with larger foraminifera occur below
Oligocene carbonates in the Panain-Gunung Anga and
Kerenden areas of the southern margin of the basin
(Saller et al., 1992, 1993) as well as in the Bungalun
River Area (Wilson et al., 1998).
5. Upper Eocene to Oligocene sag phase facies and
depositional architecture
By the end of the Eocene, extension in the Makassar
Strait and associated forces within East Kalimantan
appear to have ceased and regional subsidence
occurred throughout East Kalimantan (Moss et al.,
1997). Instead of local depocentres, as observed within
the syn-rift half-grabens, a more regional depocentre
developed as a result of marine inundation of much of
the area (Fig. 8). On isolated high areas, and on mar-
gins of the basin, carbonates continued to accumulate,
but within the basinal area a regional marine shale
was deposited. It seems likely that by this time much
of the topographic relief created during the Mid-
Eocene had been removed, as input of coarse clastic
sediment into the basin became very limited. The sag
Fig. 8. Schematic model for the Early to Late Oligocene. See text for description.
171
phase of sedimentation continued into the Late
Oligocene, when East Kalimantan was once again dis-
rupted by a major extensional tectonic event.
5.1. Basinal Shale Sag Phase Facies Tract
(Monotonous Shales with Thin Turbiditic Sands, Ujoh
Bilang Formation, Bongan Formation, Atan Formation,
Wahau Formation, Marah Formation)
A monotonous, marine shale-prone unit, conform-
able and transitional with the underlying rift-related
formations, is described as the Ujoh Bilang Formation
within the Upper Kutai Basin, and as the Bongan
Formation in the southern part of the basin. It is not
possible to distinguish this formation from the under-
lying marine syn-rift formations such as the
Mangkupa, Marah or Batu Kelau Formations, with
which it is transitional. The major part of the Ujoh
Bilang Formation comprises uniform, monotonous
shales and clays, with rare sandstones, deposited in an
outer shelf to bathyal environment. Sporadic depo-
sition from distal turbiditic currents is evidenced by
the presence of thin sandstones with full and partial
Bouma sequences. Similarly, the Wahau Formation
from the Muara Wahau area is described as consisting
of claystones and thin quartz sandstones by Supriatna
(1990), deposited in an open marine, outer shelf setting
(Pieters et al., 1993; Moss et al., 1997).
172 S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181
Within the Tanjung eld in the northern part of the
Barito Basin, the Lower Oligocene Bongan Formation
contains interbedded lithoclasticbioclastic conglomer-
ates, limestone olistoliths and carbonate and volcani-
clastic turbidite beds (van de Weerd et al., 1987),
suggested to represent distal slope to basinal facies.
According to Wain and Berod (1989) and van de
Weerd and Armin (1992), the Lower Ujoh Bilang
Formation also contains volcanogenic rich sandstones
of the Len Muring Sandstone member, with volcani-
clastic, quartz and bioclastic grains, deposited as debris
and mass ows in a deep marine environment.
Shale of this facies tract has been demonstrated to
lie directly upon basement, indicating that this
sequence was a response to transgression that covered
both syn-rift sediments and surrounding basement
areas. The Ujoh Bilang Formation represents a re-
gional shale `blanket' over the syn-rift lithologies and
signies the establishment of deep marine sag phase
environments in the Lower Oligocene (Fig. 8).
5.2. Carbonate Sag Phase Facies Tract (Thick Shallow
Marine Carbonates Batu Belah Limestone Member,
Berai Formation, Taballar Formation, Batu Hidup
Formation, Kedango Limestone)
In parts of the basin, carbonate deposition was con-
tinuous from the Late Eocene to the Late Oligocene
sag phase, but restricted to basement high areas such
as the Bungalun River and Kerenden, and to basin
margin areas (van de Weerd et al., 1987; Saller et al.,
1992, 1993; Moss et al., 1997). Carbonates on the
northern side of the basin are less well-known (see
Wilson et al., 1998) but are analogous in age and
facies to the Berai Limestone of the Upper Berai
Formation on the southern basin margin (van de
Weerd et al., 1987; Saller et al., 1992, 1993). The lo-
cation of antecedent topography, such as basement
highs and crests of fault blocks, still clearly inuenced
the development of this facies within the basin (Fig. 8).
The Batu Baleh Limestone Member of the Ujoh
Bilang is a land-detached, isolated buildup within the
north west part of the basin. Previous work, primarily
based on benthic foraminifera, suggested that these
carbonates were of Lower Oligocene age (Pieters et al.,
1993; Wain and Berod, 1989). However, more recent
work (Moss and Finch, 1998), based primarily upon a
well-preserved nannofossil fauna, clearly shows these
limestones to be of Upper Oligocene age (NP2425).
These carbonates may have developed on an intra-
basin basement high associated with an intra-basin
positive gravity anomaly (Moss et al., 1997).
6. Late Oligocene events in the Kutai Basin and Borneo
An important unconformity occurs within the
Upper Oligocene sediments of the Kutai Basin, appar-
ently related to a renewed pulse of extension and uplift
of central Kalimantan. Oligocene extensional faults
developed orthogonal to Eocene extensional faults,
suggesting a dierent stress regime. It seems likely that
Oligocene faulting follows pre-existing crustal planes
of weakness, particularly northwest-southeast trending
transform faults that separated Eocene graben systems.
An attempt has been made to show this relationship in
Fig. 9. The present Kutai Basin, as we presently recog-
nise it, formed at this time, with the Sangkulirang and
Bungalun faults in the north and the Adang Fault
zone in the south as the principal hinge zones. These
faults acted as down-to-the-basin hinge zones from the
Late Oligocene to early Miocene.
Moss et al. (1998) detailed the evidence for late
Oligocene cooling of the late CretaceousPaleocene
metasedimentary basement along the northwestern
margin of the Kutai Basin. From apatite ssion-track
data they suggested a tectonic cause for the cooling
and likely uplift of the area. Apatite central ages span
a range between 40 and 20 Ma, clustering between 20
25 Ma. The data are interpreted as indicating that the
samples began cooling, and hence probably began to
be eroded, from 025 Ma onwards, and that the
uplifted Cretaceous Embaluh Group provided sedi-
ment for Early Miocene deposition in eastern parts of
the basin from 025 Ma onwards. This sediment source
is consistent with petrographic data from Miocene
reservoirs of the Sanga Sanga PSC near the eastern
margin of the basin (Tanean et al., 1996).
6.1. Post 025 Ma Basinal Sag Phase Facies Tract
(Upper Ujoh Bilang Formation, Marah Formation,
Pamaluan Formation)
In basinal areas deposition was continuous (but
probably in a more distal deeper-water environment)
from the underlying sag phase. The Lower Ujoh
Bilang Formation is transitional with the Upper Ujoh
Bilang Formation or Marah Formation. Rare turbidi-
tic sands and limestones occur within the shale
sequence (Fig. 9). In the northwest of the basin the
Upper Ujoh Bilang Formation contains a minor volca-
nic presence in the form of the Ujoh Bilang Volcanic
Series (Wain and Berod, 1989). Volcanic debris-rich
sandstones of the Len Muring Sandstone Member
have been described previously (in this paper) and
possibly also belong to this suite. This tectonic event
in the Late Oligocene was responsible for a radical
change in basin architecture and hence disrupted the
stable sag phase architecture by introducing sharp
topographic changes and a new and abundant sedi-
S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181 173

Fig. 9. Schematic model for the Late Oligocene. See text for description.
174 S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181
ment source from both uplifted hinterland and active
volcanoes.
6.2. Upper Oligocene to Lower Miocene (N3N5)
Platform Carbonates Facies Tract (Batu Hidup
Formation, Taballar Formation, Berai Limestone
Formation)
Large carbonate platforms, variably referred to as
the Batu Hidup Formation or Berai Formation, began
to develop during the Late Oligocene (Fig. 9) but were
frequently established on pre-existing carbonate plat-
forms. In the northern part of the basin, initially, a
thin shelf limestone, sometimes referred to as the
Kedango Limestone, was deposited across much of the
area in response to shallowing of the depositional en-
vironment during the early part of the Late Oligocene
tectonic event. The Kedango Limestone acts as a re-
gional marker horizon, clearly visible on both SAR
images and seismic data, eventually disappearing
basinward to the south, as the facies changes to bath-
yal shale. The Batu Hidup Limestone developed above
the Kedango Limestone, in areas of suitable water
depth and presumably low clastic input. The Batu
Hidup Limestone consists of reef and platform carbon-
ates up to 1000 m thick that form large karstied areas
at outcrop. The limestones contain identiable coral
Fig. 10. Representative lithological columns for four common redeposited limestones lithofacies found in Late Oligocene to Early Miocene peri-
platform deposits.
material in a generally foraminiferal wackestone to
packstone matrix. Surrounding these areas of lime-
stone, coeval basinal sediments contain numerous beds
of calci-turbidites and carbonate-rich debris ow con-
glomerates (Fig. 7(d)). Four lithofacies recognised
within these redeposited limestones are shown in
Fig. 10. These units contain numerous clasts of shal-
low marine carbonate (such as corals and blocks of
lithied wackestone and packstone) as well as litho-
clastic fragments (such as chert and sandstone). These
turbidites and redeposited limestones may be the pro-
duct of highstand shedding and progradation of the
platforms as described from the Berai Limestone on
the southern margin of the basin (Saller et al., 1992,
1993) and many other carbonate platforms (cf.
Droxler and Schlager, 1985; Davies et al., 1989; Emery
and Meyers, 1996). Alternatively, some may have been
derived from an uplifted footwall crest, analogous to
Eocene to Miocene redeposited limestones of SW
Sulawesi (Wilson and Bosence, 1996) although a more
detailed study is required. Along the southern basin
margin a similar facies succession has been described
with the Berai Limestone, forming on the stable plat-
form south of the Adang Fault Zone. Isolated plat-
form areas such as Kerenden have been described
basinward of the Adang Fault Zone (van de Weerd
and Armin, 1992).
 S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181
7. Lower Miocene facies and depositional architecture
The Early Miocene was a period of overall re-
gression and basin lling with the beginning of progra-
dation of the proto-Mahakam River and associated
deltaic sediments. Sediment continued to be sourced
from Mesozoic cherts and turbidites that were uplifted
during the Late Oligocene tectonic event. Further sedi-
ment sources were provided by uplifted Paleogene sedi-
ments in western parts of the basin and volcanic
material from the volcanoes of the Sintang extrusives
that were active at this time.
7.1. Lower Miocene Deep Marine Post-second Rift
Event Facies Tract (Sandstones and Shales of the
Wahau Formation, Lawa Formation, Ritan Formation,
Pamaluan Formation, Loa Duri Formation)
Extensive outcrops of Lower Miocene (N4N6 Blow
Zone) interbedded sandstones and shales of the
Wahau Formation outcrop to the southeast of Muara
Wahau (the Bungalun to Khombeng road section,
Hainim and Chambers, 1994). These sandstones and
shales show partial Bouma sequences, sandstone bed
amalgamation, current ripple lamination, dish struc-
tures, metre-thick, generally massive sandstone beds,
ning-up sandstone beds and coarsening-upward deci-
metre cycles or parasequences. Sole structures in the
form of groove and load casts and prod marks are
common, as are large syn-sedimentary slumps and
sandstone dykes. A transport direction to the south-
east is suggested from the sole structures. There was a
pronounced increase in the proportion of sand being
deposited during N4N6 times, most likely in response
to the changing basin topography initiated during the
latest Oligocene (0N3 times) tectonic event (Fig. 9).
The presence of bathyal foraminifera in adjacent shales
indicate that these are probably slope mass-ow depos-
its, part of an extensive pro-delta turbidite submarine-
fan system that was established across this area in re-
sponse to movement on the Bungalun to Khombeng
Fault and a sudden deepening of the basin southward.
Sands are rich in volcanic fragments derived from the
Sintang volcanoes, active during the Late Oligocene
and Early Miocene (see below). Some intervals also
show debris ows of coarse carbonate material derived
from the adjacent carbonate shelf areas.
To the west within the Tinjau (Fig. 2(a)) and Upper
Mahakam areas the same stratigraphic interval is more
proximal and coarser grained with conglomerates pre-
sent in the Ritan Formation. Closer to the southern
basin margin a similar facies style is apparent in the
depocentre formed adjacent to the Adang Fault Zone
and is lled with a type of turbidite sediments similar
in nature to those described near the northern basin
175
margin. This is referred to as the Pamaluan
Formation.
7.2. Lower Miocene (N6N8 Blow Zone) Deltaic
Facies Tract (Shallow Marine to Terrestrial
Sandstones, Claystones and Coals of the Lower
Balikpapan Beds, Pamaluan Formation, Wahau
Formation. Shallow Marine Carbonates of the Lower
Miocene (N6N8)Pulau Balang Formation, Loa Kulu
Formation, Bebulu Formation)
Deltaic progradation in the Kutai Basin began
during N5/6 times (van de Weerd and Armin, 1992)
(Fig. 11) and is apparently transitional with the thick
turbidite and bathyal shale sequence described in the
previous section, thus representing an overall continu-
ing regressive sequence, as sediment supply outstripped
accommodation. In the Samarinda area deltaic sedi-
mentation was not established until N8 time.
Lithofacies terminology for the Neogene deltaic stra-
tigraphy in the Kutai Basin has become increasingly
confused, largely through misunderstandings of the
nature of cyclic deltaic stratigraphy, and a widespread
misunderstanding of the nature and timing of tectonic
inversion events and their eects on the style and rates
of sedimentation within the basin. An original lithos-
tratigraphic framework was proposed by Leupold and
van der Vlerk (1931) based on long range shallow mar-
ine foraminifera and the lithological succession seen in
the Balikpapan Bay to Sanga Sanga Area. This system
was slightly modied by Marks et al. (1982). An
alternative system was proposed by Land and Jones
(1987) as a result of regional coal exploration work in
the Samarinda Area. Although Land and Jones (1987)
based their study on extensive coal drilling results they
failed to recognise the stratigraphic inter-relationship
of the three units; Loa Kulu Formation, Batuputih
Limestone and Loa Duri Formation.
Chambers et al. (1992) demonstrated a more consist-
ent stratigraphic relationship for the units proposed by
Land and Jones (1987) based on extensive eld work
carried out by LASMO Runtu Limited. In this later
stratigraphic nomenclature the Batuputih Limestone
(equivalent to the Bebulu Formation) is interpreted as
a transitional shelf deposit between the deep marine
Loa Duri Formation (elsewhere referred to as the
Pamaluan or Pulau Balang beds) and the deltaic Loa
Kulu Formation (elsewhere referred to as the Lower
Balikpapan or Pulau Balang beds). A less confusing
way to view the stratigraphic succession in the
Samarinda area was presented by Chambers and
Daley (1995, Fig. 12). In this stratigraphic column
which is specic for the Samarinda Area, a single del-
taic progradation is shown over an extensive syn-rift
and sag phase basinal shale section. The Middle
Miocene section was not deposited in this area but
176 S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181

Fig. 11. Schematic model for the Early Miocene. See text for description.
 S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181
Fig. 12. Stratigraphic scheme for the Middle to Upper Miocene of the Samarinda area (from Siemers et al., 1994).
exists as a thick wedge to the east, as discussed in the
following section.
Fig. 12 summarises Neogene stratigraphic concepts
developed by Chambers et al. (1992) using the lithos-
tratigraphic terminology of Land and Jones (1987) and
shows the time transgressive nature of the Batuputih
Limestone which is really a patch-reef type of coral-
dominated carbonate build-up that developed on the
shelf in areas where clastic sedimentation was not
active. Netherwood and Wight (1992) have described
similar delta front carbonates in the Tarakan Basin.
8. Middle Miocene to Recent deltaic progradation (N9
Present) post-inversion facies tract
8.1. Sandstones, Shales, Shallow Marine Carbonates,
Coals of the Balikpapan Formation, Prangat Formation,
Samboja Formation, Kampung Baru Formation and
Kelinjau Formation, Kutai Lakes Formation
Following the inversion tectonic event at the end of
the Early Miocene a ood of deltaic sediments pro-
graded eastward from the newly formed Samarinda
anticlinorium and into the Makassar Strait, where
crustal accommodation appears to have matched sedi-
ment input up to the present day, to form the pre-
sently active Mahakam Delta. This sediment package
is variably referred to as the Prangat and Samboja
Formations or Upper Balikpapan and Kampung Baru
Formations (Fig. 13). Workers in the Total Mahakam
PSC describe a delta to shelf and slope sequence simi-
lar to that documented in the Lower Miocene succes-
sion (Duval et al., 1992).
177
This sequence is the subject of an extensive literature
as it forms the present actively exploited petroleum
system in the Kutai Basin, with proven reserves in
excess of three billion barrels of oil, and gas reserves
in excess of 30 TCF. For further details readers are
referred to Paterson et al. (1997) and Duval et al.
(1992). Inland of the Samarinda anticlinorium a lacus-
trine basin developed in response to the end Early
Miocene tectonic event and lacustrine sediments and
thick peat beds were deposited referred to variably as
the Kutai Lakes Formation and the Kelinjau
Formation.
9. Volcanism in East Kalimantan
Field and petrographical studies have conrmed
three groupings of Tertiary igneous rocks in the Kutai
Basin. These are the Mid to Upper Eocene Nyaan vol-
canics, Upper Oligocene to Lower Miocene Sintang
intrusives and volcanics and Pliocene Metulang volca-
nics. A summary of the available data and new work
was presented in Moss et al. (1997, 1998).
The Sintang intrusive and volcanic rocks comprise
shallow level intrusives and extrusives consisting of
diorites, microdiorites, dacite, microgranites and ande-
sites which are widely distributed across Borneo (Moss
et al., 1997, 1998). Rocks of this suite are the most
geographically widespread and volumetrically the most
important. Volcanics of the Sintang Suite have been
found to range in age from 408 Ma, although most
of the ages cluster in the Late Oligocene to Early
Miocene time interval (all K-Ar dates; Pieters and
Supriatna, 1990; Doutch, 1992, van Leeuwen et al.,
178 S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181

Fig. 13. Schematic model for the Late Miocene. See text for description.
 S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181
1990; Moss et al., 1997, 1998). This large range may
be a reection of analytical problems with the K-Ar
method and more precise Ar-Ar study of this suite is
required. Volcaniclastic clasts in the Lower and Upper
Ujoh Bilang Formation and Bongan Formation may
well have been derived from an early phase of Sintang
igneous activity, whereas K-Ar dating of the Sintang
Volcanics along the Telen River centre, west of Muara
Wahau provides a more constrained 2318 Ma age
range (Moss et al., 1998). Sintang volcanism was also
responsible for widespread distribution of volcanilithic
sands in the Sanga Sanga area during the Early
Miocene (Tanean et al., 1996). It is also likely that
there was more than one volcanic phase which pro-
duced rocks ascribed to the Sintang igneous activity
across the island of Borneo. The sedimentary record
from Sanga Sanga PSC suggests a fairly discrete and
short lived episode (Tanean et al., 1996) as opposed to
the long time range suggested from radiometric dating
of rocks ascribed to the Sintang Suite.
PliocenePleistocene volcanics of the Metulang (or
Plateau) suite are common throughout the centre of
Kalimantan. The suite comprises Upper Miocene to
Pliocene andesitic stratovolcanoes and Pliocene to
Pleistocene basaltic lava ows which form a series of
high plateaux. The rocks belong to a medium to high
K calc-alkaline suite with compositions ranging from
basalt, high-K trachyandesite to andesite. These volca-
nic centres account for many of the high plateau areas
of central Borneo. Pieters et al. (1993) argue that the
Metulang volcanics were formed in response to uplift
and extensional tectonism following isostatic compen-
sation of overthickened crust which developed during
convergent tectonics in the Late Cretaceous to Early
Tertiary. They may in part be a late stage development
of the more andesitic Sintang Intrusive suite. More
detailed geochemical and radiometric dating is
required before we fully understand this phase of vol-
canism which aected large areas of Borneo's interior.
Eocene acidic volcanics appear to be intimately as-
sociated with rifting, but the cause of the younger vol-
canism remains controversial. Oligocene to Lower
Miocene (Sintang) and the Pliocene volcanics
(Metulang) are calc-alkaline in nature and have been
described as subduction type products. This is dicult
to accept given that the trench to magmatic arc gap
would have to be greater than 500 km. An alternative
hypothesis suggested by Tanean et al. (1996) is that
these volcanics are related to the melting of a
thickened and shortened orogenic root. This supported
somewhat by the limited geochemical data presented in
Moss et al. (1998).
179
10. Discussion and conclusions
Parochial lithostratigraphical nomenclature has
obscured the lateral variability and diachronism of
facies expected within rift basins such as the Kutai
Basin. For the Kutai Basin, where localised studies,
through their very nature, have unavoidably failed to
recognise the true arrangement of facies within the
basin and the separate phases of basin evolution with
which these facies are associated. In the Kutai Basin
this is particularly important for the understanding of
the Eocene syn-rift sequences. Typically potential
reservoir horizons in the Eocene, such as the Beriun
Formation, have been dicult to trace regionally and
in the subsurface (e.g. Satyana and Biantoro, 1995).
This is due to the restricted nature of Eocene depo-
sition in discrete graben. Stratigraphically the Beriun
Formation, for example, will pass down-dip into lower
energy, shale-dominated facies, previously regarded as
separate formations (such as the Mangkupa or Batu
Kelau Formations) and thought to be of dierent
ages.
The origin of the Kutai Basin has for sometime
been poorly understood and various origins have been
suggested. An origin as a peripheral foreland basin
was suggested by Pieters et al. (1993), for example. It
is hoped that by detailing the geometry and architec-
ture of facies and highlighting the distinct phases in
the evolution of the Kutai Basin we have rmly estab-
lished the origin of the Kutai Basin as an extensional
basin. The basin formed through the establishment of
initially discrete and unconnected half-graben and gra-
ben depocentres over a wide area of East Kalimantan.
This is quite dierent from other extensional areas,
such as the East Africa Rift System where extension is
concentrated along one axis forming a single rift val-
ley. A tectonic event at the end of the Early Miocene
changed the tectonic style by inverting some of the
Tertiary depocentres and in places brought basement
to the surface. Rapid deltaic progradation into the
Makassar Strait followed, but deposition was accom-
modated by extended crust in the Makassar Strait, so
that in excess of 5000 m of deltaic section has been
deposited in the Mahakam delta depocentre from Mid
Miocene to the present day. Deformation events in the
Upper Miocene and Pliocene aected the area and are
responsible for renewed uplift of the hinterland, with
periodic pulses of clastic material.
Acknowledgements
SJM recognises the nancial support of the SE Asia
Consortium of Companies (ARCO, LASMO, Can
Oxy, Exxon, Union Texas, Mobil). Dr Irwan Bahar,
the former Director of GRDC, is acknowledged for
180 S.J. Moss, J.L.C. Chambers / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 17 (1999) 157181
help in arranging eldwork. Dharma Satria Nas and
Ian Cloke are thanked for their help and friendship in
the eld. JLCC recognises the assistance of LASMO
Runtu co-workers, particularly Ian Carter, Tim Daley
and Je Towart as well as all who helped in the
LASMO Samarinda Oce from 1991-5 during which
eld work was undertaken. E-mail contact address:
stevem@robres.com.au
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