Philippines Marine Seismic Survey 1992: Seismic, Sniffer, and Geophysical Data

From March to May 1992, the Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources and the Philippine Office of Energy Affairs conducted a joint marine survey in four offshore basins. The project collected 2,750 km of 192-channel seismic data, plus geochemical sniffer, gravity, magnetic, and bathymetric data across the NE Palawan Shelf, Cuyo Platform, Tayabas Bay, and Ragay Gulf. The data were acquired using the research vessel Rig Seismic and are intended for petroleum potential analysis.

Use Cases

• Mapping subsurface structures based on 2,750 km of seismic data.
• Identifying hydrocarbon seepage sources based on geochemical sniffer anomalies and gas samples.
• Analyzing basin geology and depocentres using integrated gravity, magnetic, and bathymetric data.
• Correlating geochemical anomaly types (thermogenic vs. dry gas) with specific geological features like faults and diapirs.

Strengths

• Multimodal data collection includes 2,750 km of seismic, plus sniffer, gravity, magnetic, and bathymetric data.
• Survey covered four distinct offshore basins (NE Palawan Shelf, Cuyo Platform, Tayabas Bay, Ragay Gulf) for regional comparison.
• Report notes calm weather during acquisition, which likely contributed to low-noise data quality.

Limitations

• Seismic data acquisition was halted at night in some areas due to fishing activities, potentially creating gaps.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data freshness should be verified; the underlying survey is from 1992.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data, originating from a joint project by the Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources and the Philippine Office of Energy Affairs.

Collection Method

Acquired via marine survey using the research vessel Rig Seismic, employing 192-channel seismic equipment and geochemical sniffer, gravity, magnetic, and bathymetric sensors.

Time Range

March to May 1992

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-20 02:33:55.435610; freshness should be verified

Geography

Four Philippine offshore sedimentary basins: NE Palawan Shelf, Cuyo Platform, Tayabas Bay, and Ragay Gulf.