POTENTIAL PETROLEUM SYSTEM ASSESSMENT IN MALAWI: CASE STUDY OF THE THIRD BLOCK OF THE HYDROCARBON POTENTIAL AREA

The assessment of a petroleum system is a crucial step in petroleum exploration, since it helps to determine the petroleum potential of an area. It facilitates key decision on whether further stages of exploration can be carried out. This paper has described the assessment of the potential petroleum system in malawi, which was carried out on the third hydrocarbon block of the hydrocarbon potential areas. The study’s methodology included the use of geographical Information system, TOC and rock Eval pyrolysis analysis and literature review to conduct the geological and geochemical analysis of the area. It was discovered that the potential petroleum system is located in the quaternary and tertiary deposits, the characterization of the source rock revealed that the source rock is in an immature stage of thermal maturity but has a good generative potential of 6.21mgHCg-1 and capable of generating a mixture of oil and gas that is predominately composed of gas. Lastly, the results indicate that the region with the highest petroleum potential is located at the central part of the third block which is also deepest section in the Lake Malawi. This research will minimize exploration problems such as drilling in dry holes and help in understanding the nature of the petroleum system. The gathering of petro physical data to evaluate the petroleum system in terms of the reservoir, seal, and trap is one of the recommendations for future study, along with more investigations must be carried out to identify the many petroleum systems that exist in the hydrocarbon block.

The study’s methodology included the use of geographical Information system, TOC and rock Eval pyrolysis analysis and literature review to conduct the geological and geochemical analysis of the area. It was discovered that the potential petroleum system is located in the quaternary and tertiary deposits, the characterization of the source rock revealed that the source rock is in an immature stage of thermal maturity but has a good generative potential of 6.21mgHCg-1 and capable of generating a mixture of oil and gas that is predominately composed of gas. Lastly, the results indicate that the region with the highest petroleum potential is located at the central part of the third block which is also deepest section in the Lake Malawi. The gathering of petro physical data to evaluate the petroleum system in terms of the reservoir, seal, and trap is one of the recommendations for future study, along with more investigations must be carried out to identify the many petroleum systems that exist in the hydrocarbon block.

The study was carried out on lake Malawi central, the third block of the hydrocarbon potential areas in Malawi. The third block covers an area of about 10,677km2 (Chisenga, 2012) along the Nkhotakota and Nkhatabay area. The area was chosen because of the presence of the Usisya-Mbamba basin and Dwangwa delta which are modern lacustrine depositional environments (Ellis et al., 2015). Such deposition environments are vital for the formation of the geological elements that make up a petroleum system. lacustrine deposition environments are also responsible for significant hydrocarbon resources. This area was also chosen because of the airborne magnetic survey which suggested that the thickest sedimentary sequence is allocated in central part of lake Malawi basin which is along the third block (Mattick, 1984). Lastly, since it is also along the deepest part of the basin this may provide a conducive environment to preserve the sediments and lead to the formation of the source rock.

District: Nkhotakota

Coordinates: -12.83385, 34.15165