Philippines Marine Seismic Survey: 1992 Geophysical Data from Four Basins

A 1992 joint Australian-Philippine marine survey collected 2,750 km of 192-channel seismic data plus geochemical sniffer, gravity, magnetic, and bathymetric data across four offshore sedimentary basins. The project was conducted by the Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources and the Philippine Office of Energy Affairs using the research vessel Rig Seismic. The data, intended to assess petroleum potential, includes seismic sections showing deep depocentres and geochemical anomalies indicating thermogenic gas.

Use Cases

• Mapping subsurface geological structures based on 2,750 km of seismic reflection data.
• Identifying hydrocarbon seepage anomalies based on geochemical sniffer data showing methane, ethane, and propane concentrations.
• Assessing basin-scale petroleum potential by integrating seismic, gravity, magnetic, and bathymetric datasets.
• Correlating geochemical anomaly types (dry vs. wet thermogenic gas) with specific faults or diapir structures mentioned in the report.

Strengths

• Data collection occurred during very calm weather, which the report states was conducive to collecting low-noise data.
• Survey covers four distinct geographic areas with specified line-kilometers: 580 km in NE Palawan Shelf, 730 km over Cuyo Platform, 490 km in Tayabas Bay, and 950 km in Ragay Gulf.
• Includes multiple complementary data types: seismic, geochemical sniffer, gravity, magnetic, and bathymetry.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, originating from a joint project between the Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources and the Philippine Office of Energy Affairs.

Collection Method

Marine survey conducted using the geoscience research vessel Rig Seismic.

Time Range

March to May 1992.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-23 01:57:17.808940; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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