SANDAKAN BASIN' PROSPECTS RISE FOLLOWING MODERN REAPPRAISAL

Terry Walker WMC Petroleum (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. Kuala Lumpur Borneo is fringed by six large Neogene deltaic basins, all but one producing substantial hydrocarbons. The Sandakan basin off Northeast Borneo is the exception, but the latest exploration results suggest that it will not remain so (Fig. 1a). The Sandakan basin lies in the southwestern Sulu Sea straddling the Philippines/Malaysia maritime border (Fig. lb). The 40,000 sq km basin contains as much as 8,000 m of Neogene deltaic