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Review Papers | Geology | India | Volume 14 Issue 3, March 2025 | Popularity: 5.3 / 10
Returning Exploration to Kerala-Konkan Basin: Invoking Paradigm Shift in Exploration Model
Pratap V. Nair
Abstract: Petroleum exploration in the Kerala-Konkan Basin has been ongoing for the last four decades through several waves of limited exploration, but success has eluded explorers. The exploration model in vogue perceived the basin to be an extension of the Mumbai offshore oil province, and fourteen exploration wells have been drilled to date. The thick Deccan basalts posed a serious challenge in imaging the sub-basalt stratigraphy. However, long-spaced seismic data acquired in 2008-09, when interpreted, integrating plate tectonic reconstruction and paleogeography linking with the hydrocarbon finds in Mannar Basin and leads obtained in Madagascar, has given a new lease of life to this vast expanse of offshore sedimentary tract. The lack of significant west-flowing rivers on India's west coast, in contrast to those on the east coast of India, accentuates the necessity of understanding the geological history of the basin and positioning it in the correct perspective. The amalgamation and break-up of the Gondwana landmass at different geological times resulted in sediment deposition within the basin, creating a favourable anoxic environment with a source rock proclivity for hydrocarbon generation, considering the heat flow. Analyzing the overall context of those geological periods and specifically applying it to the Kerala Basin while utilizing publicly available geoscientific data has revealed significant potential for oil and gas exploration in the region. Reviving exploration in the Kerala-Konkan Basin necessitates a diametric shift in the exploration model to target Mesozoic stratigraphy. Skepticism plays a critical role in oil and gas exploration, as one cannot establish a law of nature until the concept has withstood the scrutiny of exploration drilling. To achieve this, it is essential to commence drilling at promising locations as soon as possible to test the new exploration model conceived. Further, a time-bound initiative by the government involving the industry, regulators, and academicians must be swiftly pressed into action to work on an improved understanding of the subsurface and its evolution to fathom the hidden potential of the Kerala-Konkan Basin.
Keywords: Kerala Konkan Basin, Long spaced seismic, Madagascar, Mannar Basin, Comorin Depression, Alleppey Trivandrum Terrace, Kerala Deepwater Basin
Edition: Volume 14 Issue 3, March 2025
Pages: 1589 - 1599
DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.21275/SR25328085955
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