Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 25 (2005) 419429

www.elsevier.com/locate/jaes

Influence of overpressure on formation velocity evaluation of Neogene

strata from the eastern Bengal Basin, Bangladesh
Khandaker M. Zahid, Ashraf Uddin*
Department of Geology and Geography, Auburn University, 210 Petrie Hall, Auburn, AL 36844-4885, USA
Received 9 June 2003; revised 7 April 2004; accepted 14 April 2004

Abstract
Interpretation of sonic log data of anticlinal structures from eastern Bangladesh reveals significant variations of acoustic velocity of
subsurface strata. The amount of variation in velocity is 32% from Miocene to Pliocene stratigraphic units in Titas and Bakhrabad structure,
whereas 21% in Rashidpur structure. Velocity fluctuations are influenced by the presence of gas-bearing horizons, with velocities of gasproducing strata 37% lower than laterally equivalent strata at similar depth. Average velocities of Miocene Boka Bil and Bhuban formations
are, respectively, 2630 and 3480 m/s at Titas structure; 2820 and 3750 m/s at Bakhrabad; and 3430 and 3843 m/s at the Rashidpur structure.
From the overall velocitydepth distribution for a common depth range of 9153000 m, the Titas, Bakhrabad and Rashidpur structures show
a gradual increase in velocity with depth. In contrast, the Sitakund anticline in SE Bangladesh reveals a decrease in velocity with depth from
3000 to 4000 m, probably due to the presence of overpressured mudrocks of the Bhuban Formation. Tectonic compression, associated with
the Indo-Burmese plate convergence likely contributed the most toward formation of subsurface overpressure in the Sitakund structure
situated in the ChittagongTripura Fold Belt of the eastern Bengal basin, Bangladesh.
q 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Formation velocity; Overpressure; Sonic log; Bangladesh; Neogene strata; Bengal basin

1. Introduction
It has long been recognized that seismic wave characteristics measured at the earth surface can provide
information not only about the attitude and distribution of
lithologic interfaces within the earth but also physical
properties of subsurface rocks. In fact, much of the
knowledge about the interval constitution of subsurface
rock has been derived from seismic velocity information. In
this study, interval transit time and acoustic velocities are
calculated from the sonic logs and are compared with
velocity information obtained during seismic exploration in
order to predict factors that might be responsible for
changes in velocity of subsurface units. In this work, the
consideration of normal pressure and overpressure has been
taken from published and available literature where
abnormal pressure is thought to be 1.6 times greater than
* Corresponding author. Tel.: C1-334-844-4885; fax: C1-334-844-4486
E-mail address: uddinas@auburn.edu (A. Uddin).
1367-9120/$ - see front matter q 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jseaes.2004.04.003

the normal pressure (Bradley, 1975). Overpressures are

observed in subsurface strata worldwide (Hunt, 1990;
Powley, 1990; Osborne and Swarbrick, 1997) and overpressured zones have been frequently reported in exploratory wells drilled in eastern Bangladesh (Khan and Husain,
1980). Maps showing subsurface formation pressure and
temperature in the Bengal basin have been prepared from
the drilled well data. Finally, an attempt has been made to
understand the overpressure phenomenon by comparing
velocity data with temperature, depth, and lithologic
information from some wells.

2. Regional geology of the Bengal basin

The dynamic nature of the Bengal basin can be attributed
to the interaction of three plates; the Indian, Tibetan
(Eurasian), and Burma (West Burma) plates. The intensity
and pattern of plate-to-plate interaction varied with time,
modifying the basin architecture and sedimentation style

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K.M. Zahid, A. Uddin / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 25 (2005) 419429

throughout the basin. Basin development began in the late

Cretaceous (about 127 Ma) when the Indian plate was rifted
away from Antarctica along an inferred northeastsouthwest-trending ridge system (Sclater and Fisher, 1974). After
plate reorganization at about 90 Ma, the Indian plate began
migrating rapidly northward, leading to its collision with
Asia, probably initiated during the Eocene between 55 and
40 Ma (Curray et al., 1982; Molnar, 1984; Rowley, 1996).
Major uplift of Himalayas may not have begun until the
Miocene (Gansser, 1964; Uddin and Lundberg, 2004).
The Bengal basin has two broad tectonic provinces:
(1) the Indian platform, where thin sedimentary strata
overlie rocks of the Indian craton in the northwest; (2) and
the very thick basin-fill that overlies deeply subsided
basement of undetermined origin in the south and east
(Bakhtine, 1966; Khandoker, 1989). These two provinces
are separated by a northeast-trending hinge zone (Fig. 1).
The Bengal basin is asymmetric; thickness of sediments
increases toward the south and east to more than 16 km
(Curray and Moore, 1971; Murphy, 1988). Desikachar
(1974) proposed a plate tectonic model of the region where

he considered the Bengal basin as a pericratonic basin of the

Indian plate. In his view, the Burmese plate has moved
toward the Indian plate beginning in the Miocene and
overrode the Indian plate to form a subduction zone between
the two plates. Today most authors agree that convergence
between India and Burma has resulted in subduction of
oceanic crust beneath Burma, with the trailing margin of
India currently passing obliquely into the foreland of the
Indo-Burman ranges (Mukhopadhyay and Dasgupta, 1988;
Murphy, 1988; Alam et al., 2003). This convergent margin
has been complicated by generally northsouth trending
right-lateral strike-slip motion (e.g. Kaladan fault, Sagaing
fault), possibly throughout the history of the collision (Ni et
al., 1989).
The Sylhet trough is a sub-basin of the Bengal basin in
northeastern Bangladesh. It is characterized by a large,
closed, negative gravity anomaly as low as K84 mgal
(Ali and Raghava, 1985). The Sylhet trough has minimal
topography and is actively subsiding. Estimates of the
sediment thickness in the Sylhet trough range from about
12 to 16 km (Hiller and Elahi, 1984). The eastern part of the
Sylhet trough lies in the frontal zone of the Indo-Burman
ranges. The trough is bounded to the north by the Shillong
plateau, which is underlain by a basement complex of
Archean gneiss, greenstone and late Proterozoic granite.

3. Geology of the study area

Fig. 1. Location and regional tectonic map showing major tectonic elements
of the Bengal basin. Hinge zone separates the shallow Indian platform from
the deeper Bengal foredeep. The map shows location of wells for which
sonic logs have been studied and well completion reports have been
reviewed. Abbreviation: IC: Indian Craton (after Uddin and Lundberg,
1999).

The study area covers two important tectonic segments

of the Bengal basin: the Sylhet trough in the northeast and
the eastern fold belt (also known as ChittagongTripura
Fold Belt; CTFB) in the east and southeast (Fig. 1). This
research deals with four different anticlinal structures:
Rashidpur, Titas, Bakhrabad, and Sitakund. Three of those
are located in the eastern fold belt of Bangladesh (Fig. 1)
and Rashidpur is located at the southern fringe of the Sylhet
trough. All but the Sitakund structure has gas-producing
wells.
The Titas structure (studied well is Titas-11) lies along
the western margin of the eastern folded belt, showing a
dome-like structure with a peripheral closure of some
12.87!19.3 km2 at 960 m depth. It is asymmetric in shape
with a steeper eastern flank. The structure appears to be
undisturbed. There are several sand zones in the Boka Bil
reservoir, the hydrostatic pressure of which range from 4200
to 4500 psi (Khan and Husain, 1980). The net sand
thickness of Titas is 130 m; porosity ranges from 17 to
24% (average 20%) and gas saturation is 5570%. The
field was brought under production in 1968 (Khan and
Husain, 1980).
The Bakhrabad structure (studied well is Bakhrabad-9)
lies in the western continuation of the eastern folded belt
(Fig. 1). It is symmetrical in shape and is about 64 km long
and more than 6.5 km wide with a total area of 414 km2. The
axial trend of the structure is northsouth, curving to the east

K.M. Zahid, A. Uddin / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 25 (2005) 419429

at the northern end. The structure has four culminations and

contains four gas-bearing zones (18261854, 19512009,
20892131 and 21442228 m). The net thickness of gas
sand zones is 240 m; porosity range is 1625% (average
22.6%), whereas average gas saturation is 35%.
The Rashidpur (studied well is Rashidpur-4) structure is
situated in the eastern fold belt and is a narrow asymmetrical
anticline. The structure is about 40 km long and 4.8 km
wide, elongated in a northsouth direction. Medium-grained
sandstone is exposed in the axial part of the anticline and
alternating sandstone and mudstone crop out on the flanks.
The structure plunges both to the north and south, and its
eastern flank is steeper (22258 dip) than its western flank
(10128 dip). There are two main gas-bearing zones, at
depths of 13881462 and 27082762 m. The net sand
thickness for the shallower zone is 64.9 m and for the deeper
zone is 65.2 m. Porosity and gas saturation range from 20 to
30% and 55 to 70%, respectively (Khan and Husain, 1980).
The Sitakund anticline (studied well is Sitakund-1),
situated at the southeastern part of the Bengal basin, is
70 km long and 12 km wide. This structure is a doublyplunging and asymmetric anticline (Hossain, 1988). The
Sitakund anticline has an axial trend of NNWSSE and its
western flank is steeper than the eastern flank. One
prominent feature of this anticline is a major thrust fault
on its western flank that runs parallel to the axis of this
anticline.

4. Methods
In this research, sonic and lithologic logs are used to
interpret subsurface velocity profiles. Well-completion
reports have been compared with data obtained from the
sonic and lithologic logs. Selection of the four particular
wells of this study was based on availability of and
permission to use data from the data centre of the
Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (BOGMC).
Sonic logs available for the northern three wells (Rashidpur,
Titas, and Bakhrabad) include data from depths of
9153050 m. Within this depth range, different formations
are distinguished by information from BAPEX Corelab
Report (1996). Sonic log values are given in microseconds
(ms) per foot. The arithmetic sensitivity scale is used for the
log. For interpretative purposes, root mean square velocity
(VRMS) was determined for each formation at each well
using the transit times and thicknesses. These VRMS values
have been used to compare velocity across different wells
for every individual formation as well as formations within
a well. The gradual change of velocity with progressively
deeper formations has also been considered. Comparisons
were made with available formation temperature, pressure
data and maps from the repositories of BOGMC.

421

5. Stratigraphy and formation velocity

The stratigraphic framework of Bengal basin was
initially established by lithostratigraphic correlation to
type sections in the Assam basin, northeastern India
(Evans, 1964; Holtrop and Keizer, 1970; Khan and
Muminullah, 1980). Seismostratigraphic correlations have
subsequently refined the conventional stratigraphic framework for most parts of the Bengal basin, including the
Sylhet trough (Hiller and Elahi, 1984).
The Paleogene sediments in the Bengal basin are
exposed only in the northern margin of the Sylhet trough.
These are also sporadically drilled in northwest, northeast,
and southeast of the Bengal basin. The Paleocene and
Eocene strata consist of (1) the PaleoceneEocene Tura
Sandstone Formation (also known as Cherra Formation), (2)
the middle Eocene Sylhet Limestone, and (3) the overlying
upper Eocene mostly marine Kopili Shale (4090 m-thick;
Reimann, 1993). The Oligocene strata, informally referred
to as the Barail Group, are exposed along the northern fringe
of the Sylhet trough near the Dauki Fault area. The Barail
equivalent rocks, the Bogra Formation (Khan and Muminullah, 1980), in the Platform area are less than 200 m thick
The Miocene Surma Group has traditionally been
divided into two units; the lower Bhuban and the upper
Boka Bil formations (Holtrop and Keizer, 1970; Khan and
Muminullah, 1980; Hiller and Elahi, 1984; Uddin and
Lundberg, 2004) which extend throughout the Bengal basin.
Beginning in the early Miocene, large volumes of orogenic
sediment were funneled into the basin from the northeast,
building a major Mio-Pliocene delta complex (Uddin and
Lundberg, 1999), while a lesser influx of sediment from the
northwest formed several smaller deltas (Alam et al., 2003).
Miocene sedimentation was in fluvial, deltaic, and openshelf environments in shallower areas, and in submarine
fans in deeper parts of the basin (Alam et al., 2003). The
upper and middle part of the Bhuban Formation was
deposited in a near-shore depositional regime (Reimann,
1993), whereas the lower part is considered as shallow-todeep marine, exposing turbidite sequences (Alam et al.,
2003). The Boka Bil Formation was deposited in shallowmarine-to-marine setting; the top portion of the formation is
composed of shaly sequence, and was designated as the
Upper Marine Shale by Holtrop and Keizer (1970).
Deposition of the Bhuban and Boka Bil formations were
followed by mainly fluvial deposition of the Mio-Pliocene
Tipam Sandstone (Johnson and Nur Alam, 1991). In the
eastern part of the Bengal basin, major subsidence led to
deposition of fluviatile and deltaic sandstones and conglomerates in the Plio-Pleistocene, forming the Dupi Tila
Sandstone and Dihing Formation (Hiller and Elahi, 1984).
In the Titas-11 well, sonic and lithologic logs between
depths from about 915 to 3080 m were available for this
study. This depth range encountered two formations,
namely, Boka Bil and Bhuban (BAPEX Core lab, 1996).

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K.M. Zahid, A. Uddin / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 25 (2005) 419429

Table 1
Stratigraphic table showing lithology, velocity and formational depth ranges of the strata drilled at the Titas-11 well (BAPEX Corelab Report, 1996)
Formation

Lithological description

Depth range
(m)

Average velocity
(m/s)

Velocity range
(m/s)

Tipam Sandstone
(Upper Miocene to
Pliocene)

Medium- to coarse-grained sandstones with calcareous cement

interbedded with microcrystalline limestone. Also minor
mudstones that are hard to friable, with occasional siltstone

C539 to 842

Data not available

Boka Bil (Middle to

upper Miocene)
Bhuban (lower to
middle Miocene)

Siltstones are firm, hard to soft, thinly laminated; mudstones are

hard, blocky, and rarely laminated
Mudstones are firm, grading to and interlaminated with
siltstones. Sandstones are loose, disaggregated, fine to medium
grained, sub-angular and micaceous

842 to 1445

2630

21173278

1445 to 3189C

3480

27224355

Wavy line indicates an unconformity surface.

Table 2
Stratigraphic table showing lithology, velocity and formational depth ranges of the strata drilled at the Bakhrabad-9 well (BAPEX Corelab Report, 1996)
Formation

Lithological description

Depth range
(m)

Average velocity
(m/s)

Velocity range
(m/s)

Tipam Sandstone
(Upper Miocene to
Pliocene)

Medium- and fine-grained sandstones which are angular to subangular with occasional lithoclasts, commonly micaceous and
argillaceous. Mudstones are firm to hard, fissile, non-calcareous
hydrophilic and sometimes blocky

Near surface to 800

Data not available

Boka Bil (Middle to

upper Miocene)

Soft to firm, micro-micaceous siltstone grading to mudstone.

Sandstone as above but more abundantly micaceous and with
laminations of sandstone and siltstone
Mudstones are accompanied by very fine-to-fine-grained
sandstones with laminations of mudstone and silt

8001890

2820

22923350

1890 to 3038C

3750

31434690

Bhuban (Lower to
middle Miocene)

Wavy line indicates an unconformity surface.

Stratigraphic subdivision of Titas-11 well along with their

average velocities is given in Table 1.
Likewise in the Bakhrabad-9 well, sonic and master logs
were available from a depth range of about 9153050 m.
Two distinguishable formations are identified in Bakhrabad
(BAPEX Core lab, 1996; Table 2).
For the Rashidpur-4 well, sonic and master logs were
available from a depth range between 915 and 2866 m. The
stratigraphic units in this depth range are the Tipam, Boka
Bil and Bhuban formations (BAPEX Core lab, 1996).

Stratigraphic subdivisions from the Rashidpur-4 well along

with their average velocities are given in Table 3.
The Sitakund-1 well in the Chittagong folded belts was
chosen for this study where geophysical logging was
done back in April 1986. A total depth of about 1400 m
(26004000 m) was available during the logging. This
coverage is low compared to the wells of other three
structures. Although the logged portion has not been further
subdivided, data from BAPEX Corelab (1996) suggest that
this portion may belong to the lower to middle Miocene

Table 3
Stratigraphic table showing lithology, velocity and formational depth ranges of the strata drilled at the Rashidpur-4 well (BAPEX Corelab Report, 1996)
Formation

Lithological description

Depth range
(m)

Average velocity
(m/s)

Velocity range
(m/s)

Tipam Sandstone
(Upper Miocene to
Pliocene)

Fine-grained sandstones which are angular to sub-angular with

occasional lithoclasts, commonly micaceous and argillaceous.
Mudstones are firm to hard and fissile, often containing micas

From surface to 1127

2630

24003049

Boka Bil (Middle to

upper Miocene)

Loosely to moderately consolidated, medium to very finegrained, angular to sub-rounded, calcareous to locally
argillaceous cemented sandstone. Soft, blocky, sub fissile,
moderately calcareous shale. Interbeds of loosely consolidated,
argillaceous to moderately calcareous sandstone
Grey to white, hard, fine to very fine- grained, locally
calcareous sandstone with intercalation of shale and siltstone

1127 to 1968(?)

3430

19935081

1986(?) to 2868C

3843

31114550

Bhuban (Lower to
middle Miocene)

Wavy line indicates an unconformity surface.

K.M. Zahid, A. Uddin / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 25 (2005) 419429

Bhuban Formation. Detailed velocity analysis is not

possible for the Sitakund-1 well with such limited data;
this well has been included only to compare the calculated
velocity of this structure with those of other three structures
with the fact that the other three wells are gas-producing but
the Sitakund-1 did not have any extractable hydrocarbon.

6. Interpretation of velocity data

Sonic logs available for this study encounter three
formations in Rashidpur structure (Table 3), two formations
in Titas and Bakhrabad structures (Tables 1 and 2) and one
formation (?) for the Sitakund structure. The amount of
variation in velocity is 32% from Miocene to Pliocene
stratigraphic units in Titas and Bakhrabad structure,
whereas 21% in Rashidpur structure. Average velocities of
the Miocene Boka Bil and Bhuban formations are,
respectively, 2630 and 3480 m/s at the Titas structure;
2820 and 3750 m/s at Bakhrabad; and 3430 and 3843 m/s at
the Rashidpur structure. According to velocitydepth
distribution (Fig. 2), the Titas-11, Bakhrabad-9 and
Rashidpur-4 wells show a gradual increase of velocity
with depth, reflecting a normal trend of velocity increment
due to increasing compaction. This is resulting from the fact
that the Tipam Sandstone is relatively thin and shallowly
buried. This is also because of the variations in compaction,

423

porosity and lithological parameters of the stratigraphic

units. The Tipam Sandstone is composed of medium to fine
grained massive sandstones with some shale and siltstone,
whereas the Boka Bil and Bhuban formations are composed
of alternation of sandstone, mudstone and some siltstone.
However, from velocity data of the four wells used in this
study, no sharp velocity contrast at the formation boundaries
can be observed for all the four wells. Intraformational
velocity fluctuations are related to lithological and porosity
variations within the formation, and the presence of gasbearing zones. Presence of hydrocarbon in an interval has
also a significant effect on velocity. Gas-bearing zones in the
Boka Bil and Bhuban formations in three wells show lower
velocity relative to the average formation velocity by as
much as 37%. In the Sitakund structure, however, the
velocitydepth distribution shows a short interval of initial
increase followed by a decrease in velocity with increasing
depth (Fig. 2), indicating the probable presence of overpressured and undercompacted shale in the depth range of
about 30004000 m.
Lithology log indicates that the Sitakund-1 well is mainly
composed of a thick mass of shale with some sandstones and
siltstones. This thick shale apparently does not provide
effective porosity and permeability to accumulate significant hydrocarbons. Moreover, the presence of such an
interval increases the possibility of undercompaction and
reduces the density of shale. This will ultimately produce

Fig. 2. Velocitydepth curves in four studied wells. Note that unlike the other three wells, a decrease in sonic velocity with depth has been observed in
Sitakund-1 well.

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K.M. Zahid, A. Uddin / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 25 (2005) 419429

a reverse velocitydepth situation, which is in fact justified

by the velocitydepth curve of the Sitakund-1 well, in which
velocity decreases with increasing depth, progressively at a
relatively constant rate within the depth range of about
30004000 m (Fig. 2).

7. Overpressure in sitakund
Occurrence of overpressure has frequently been
reported in several exploratory wells in Bangladesh
(Khan and Husain, 1980; Uddin, 1987). One overpressured zone in the Sitakund structure occurs at a
depth of 1100 m and the other zone starts around 1600 m
(Ahmed, 1985). Fig. 3 shows a relatively high temperature
gradient (4 8C/100 m) in the proximity of the more
compressed and uplifted eastern fold belt where all of
the study wells are located. Many of the petroleum
producing wells in Bangladesh are located along this
temperature gradient adjacent to the fold belt (Khan,
1991). On the other hand, the rapidly subsiding Sylhet
trough shows a low temperature gradient (!2.22 8C/
100 m) toward the center of the basin. Geothermal
information from the northwest Platform area show a
temperature gradient of 2.85 8C/100 m, which tends to
increase towards the northwest, as basement rocks shallow
towards the same directions (to as close to the surface as
136 m).

Fig. 3. Formation temperature gradient in Bangladesh. All the wells

analyzed for this work are from a belt with relatively higher temperature
gradient (After Anwar and Husain, 1980).

Fig. 4. Distribution of overpressure zone in Bangladesh. Zone A: normally

pressured, Zone B: abnormal pressure at depth of 30006000 m, and Zone
C: abnormal pressure at depth of 10003000 m. Note that overpressure at
Sitakund-1 well should not be expected above 4 km depth according to the
regional trend of the occurrence of overpressure (after Matin et al., 1986).
However, an anomaly of this trend has been observed in the Sitakund
structure (overpressure at 1100 m).

Fig. 4 shows the distribution of depths of abnormal

pressure zones, which corresponds closely with the pattern
of geothermal gradients presented in Fig. 3. These data
show that abnormal pressure occurs at relatively shallower
depth in the more compressed and uplifted strata of the
eastern fold belt of the Bengal basin.
On the basis of distributions of pressure and temperature,
three zones have been separated: Zone A: where there is no
abnormal pressure, temperature gradient is !2.5 8C/100 m;
Zone B: abnormal pressure occurs at a depth from 3 to 6 km,
temperature gradient is 2.58 to 3.33 8C/100 m; Zone C:
abnormal pressure occurs at depth from 1 to 3 km,
temperature gradient is O3.33 8C/100 m. The four wells
analyzed in this study are located within or in the vicinity of
Zone C of Fig. 4. Table 4 shows the depth of overpressured
zones in studied wells in Bangladesh.
The Sitakund structure is located close to the eastern
margin of Zone B (corresponding to a 4 km depth of
overpressured strata; Fig. 4); however, sonic, resistivity and
chloride ion concentration data show the presence of
overpressured strata at a much shallower depth (1100 m;
Ahmed, 1985). The Platform area at the northwestern

K.M. Zahid, A. Uddin / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 25 (2005) 419429

Table 4
Depth to the top of overpressured zone in the four studied wells (from
Ahmed, 1985 and BOGMC)
Tectonic framework

Well

Top of overpressure
zone (m)

Eastern fold belt

Rashidpur-4
Titas-11
Bakhrabad-9
Sitakund-1

3680
4140
1100
3100

Bengal basin is a region where sediment thickness is very

shallow, is floored by continental crust, and is far from the
zone of structural convergence (Fig. 1). These facts and the
subsurface data obtained from the data center of BOGMC
suggest that structures in the Platform and the Hinge zone
are devoid of overpressured strata. The studied structures in
the eastern folded belt however show overpressure zones
(Fig. 4). The Indo-Burman ranges are in close proximity to
this area and eastwest shortening has been active since the
late Oligocene (Brunnschweiller, 1966). Considering the
structural patterns and tectonic relationship with overpressure, it is evident that the development of overpressures
is closely related to the intensity of folding and variations in
depth to the top of the Bhuban Formation. The Sitakund
structure experienced greater uplift than the other three
structures studied, and the depth to the top of the Bhuban
Formation is therefore at a shallower depth here. Consequently, the overpressured zone is also shallower at
Sitakund-1 than at the other three wells.

8. Geological controls of overpressure in the Sitakund

anticline
Many sedimentary basins throughout the world exhibit
some degree of non-hydrostatic fluid pressure, particularly
overpressure (Hunt, 1990; Fertl et al., 1994; Neuzil, 1995;
McPherson and Garven, 1999; Xie et al., 2001). The
multivariate aspect of geological environment, the uniqueness of every field situation, and most importantly the
requirement for establishing a normal fluid pressure profile
are necessary to establish in order to identify high or
abnormal pressure (Bradley, 1975). Normal hydrostatic
pressure is a product of depth, gravitational factor and water
density. A seal is required for the development of abnormal
formation pressure without which fluid pressures would
equalize to hydrostatic pressure. Formation of high pressure
in the Sitakund structure at shallow depth may be controlled
by two factors (Ahmed, 1985; Uddin, 1987): (i) overall
structural regimes:overpressures are present within the
folded flank areas and (ii) lithology:overpressures are
preferentially developed in an over-thickened shale with
alternating sandstone.
Consideration of the above two points and the overall
geological setting suggest three possible explanations for

425

the development of overpressures in the Bengal basin strata:

rapid burial and incomplete dewatering of fine grained
sediments (McPherson and Garven, 1999), diagenesis of
clay minerals (Colton-Bradly, 1987), and tectonic compression associated with the Indo-Burman Ranges to the
east. The eastwest tectonic shortening has resulted in
tectonic compaction that is opposed to the vertical overburden stresses. Such tectonic compression might be
responsible for developing highly compacted shale at very
shallow depth, which could act as permanent barrier just
above an under compacted shale interval developing
overpressure. Overburden stress alone cannot cause abnormally high pressures at such a shallow depth (Bradley,
1975). Furthermore, such stresses cannot explain most of
the loss of porosity actually measured in rocks as their
depths increase.
Smectite (often called montmorillonite) is an important
expandable clay found in sedimentary basins (Colton-Bradly,
1987). Smectite is progressively converted into illite during
burial, in the process producing transitional mixed-layer
clays. The smectiteillite conversion, as discussed by Burst
(1969) and Powers (1967), is the main diagenetic change in
clay minerals that generates free pore water. Powers (1967)
theory was that the interlayer water is denser than the pore
water, which would result in an increase in fluid pressure as
the interlayer water expands during the clay-transformation
process. This hypothesis is still supported by others (Osborne
and Swarbrick, 1997).There is however, no current consensus
on this point, and an alternate scenario is proposed which does
not require a difference in fluid density between interlayer
water and pore water (Plumley, 1980). Colton-Bradly (1987)
calculated clay transformation from the viewpoint of
thermodynamic consideration and found that in highly
overpressured rock (effective stress approaching zero),
smectite is stable in two or three water-layer complexes at
temperature of less than 200 8C, but becomes unstable under
conditions of high effective stress. In condition of high
effective stress, one water layer is expelled at less than 60 8C;
loss of the second layer occurs at 67818C, and collapse of the
last layer requires a temperature of 172192 8C (Colton-Bradly, 1987). According to Burst (1969), dehydration
occurs at an average temperature of 105 8C. The onset of
overpressure in three of the four studied wells is below
3100 m (Table 4) and the temperature at this depth in those
wells is around 100 8C (Table 5), which is consistent with the
temperature cited by Burst (1969) as the average dehydration
temperature of these clay minerals.
In contrast to the other three wells, overpressured strata
at Sitakund-1 were first detected at around 1100 m (Fig. 5).
At this depth, the temperature recorded (62 8C) is not
optimal for the development of overpressure by clay
diagenesis (Burst, 1969; Bethke, 1986). A possible
explanation is that the Sitakund anticline has developed
adjacent to an orogenic belt, similar to the situation in the
California Coast Range, where tectonism plays a major role
in developing overpressure (Berry, 1973). This may have

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K.M. Zahid, A. Uddin / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 25 (2005) 419429

Table 5
Temperatures and temperature gradients at four wells analyzed (Ahmed, 1985)
Well

Temperature (8C) at depth

Temperature gradient (8C/100 m) at depth

1000 m

2000 m

3000 m

4000 m

10002000 m

20003000 m

30004000 m

Titas
Bakhrabad
Rashidpur
Sitakund

50
60
42
60

68
80
58
80

90
103

103

119
131

1.8
2.0
1.6
2.0

2.2
2.3

2.3

2.9
2.8

exacerbated high fluid pressures produced by probable rapid

deposition of the strata that have been folded into the
Sitakund anticline (Khan et al., 2002), similar to the
situation in the US Gulf Coast where rapid subsidence and
sedimentation play a major role in developing overpressure
(Dickinson, 1953; Bethke, 1986). Thus sharp uplift and
concomitant erosional unroofing might bring the overpressured strata close to the surface at Sitakund.
Strata of the Sitakund anticline contain abundant shaly
intervals, and intense folding may have added to development of high fluid pressures. Sitakund lies in the western
margin of the folded flank, where eastwest shortening
produced broad, flat structures like the Semutang, Patiya,

Fig. 5. Sonic velocity data showing top of overpressure zone (at 1100 m
depth) in the Sitakund structure (data from check shot, BOGMC).

and Jaldi structures located in the Chittagong hill tracts

(east of Sitakund; Fig. 6). The Sitakund anticline is a largeamplitude, complex and faulted structure in which the core
rocks have experienced significant uplift along an eastdipping thrust fault developed at the western flank of the
anticline. The anticline is marked by a relative gravity high
flanked by gravity minima (Fig. 6). A gravity maximum
(greater than K10 mgal) in the axial region of the Sitakund
anticline may be attributed to the anomalously shallow
occurrence of deeper, well-compacted strata (Bhuban
Formation) compared to younger sediments in the adjacent
rim synclines. Relative gravity lows are observed in the
Patiya and Jaldi anticlines (K30 to K20 mgal), suggesting
that these anticlines have lower elevation and are less
deformed than the Sitakund structure (Fig. 6). The
anticlines of this region of the eastern fold belt developed
as buckle folds over a regional detachment during the
initial stage of shortening (Sikder and Alam, 2003). Sharp
uplift of the Sitakund structure has been suggested to have

Fig. 6. Bouguer anomaly pattern at Sitakund anticline and adjacent

structures. Note that the Sitakund anticline shows a relatively higher gravity
value than other anticlines (after Ali and Raghava, 1985).

K.M. Zahid, A. Uddin / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 25 (2005) 419429

caused by Shale diapirism (Hoque, 1982; Kononov et al.,

1983). Shale flowage in the Sitakund structure reflects
occurrence of thick deep-water marine shale deposited in
distal portions of prograding Miocene and Oligocene deltas
(Hoque, 1982). Development of the Sitakund structure can
be divided into pre-faulting and a post-faulting stage (postDupi Tila). Faulting brought the eastern flank over the
western flank of the Sitakund anticline, initiated by
overthrusting from the east; uplift of the crestal region
was accentuated by shale diapirism. This combination
produced a high and narrow anticline (Fig. 6). Folding was
intensified in the hanging wall of the fault due to fault
propagation, and the thrust acted as a buttress to fold
development by limiting the internal flexural slip (Mitra,
1990; Sikder and Alam, 2003).
A series of landmark papers by research teams at the
Shell Petroleum Company, like Dickinson (1953), Hubbert
and Rubey (1959), and Hottman and Johnson (1965),
established that the primary cause of abnormally high fluid
pressures is the compaction of shale during progressive
burial. Their ideas have popularly been accepted. Overpressure in the US Gulf Coast is thought to be due to
disequilibrium compaction during very rapid sedimentation
in the Pleistocene and Holocene (Dickinson, 1953; Rochon,
1967; Jones, 1969), resulting in part from the dehydration of
smectite to illite. The depth of onset of this mineral
transformation coincides with the overpressured zones
(Schmidt, 1973; Freed and Peacor, 1989).
In contrast, fluid overpressure in strata of the California
Coast Ranges has been attributed principally to tectonic
compression (Berry, 1973). This phenomenon corresponds
closely to the situation observed in the Sitakund structure of
the southeastern Bengal basin. The Sacramento basin of
northern California is located in a transpressional tectonic
setting similar to that of the eastern Bengal basin (Alam et
al., 2003). Overpressure in the Sacramento basin is observed
over a regional scale in an area where sedimentary
compaction, geochemical diagenesis and aquathermal
pressuring have been considered less dominant over
tectonic compression (McPherson and Garven, 1999).
Factors that favor generation of overpressure by burial
processes over tectonic compaction include, high sedimentation rates, extremely low permeability of confining units,
and very high compressibility distribution (McPherson and
Garven, 1999). An inverse illitization trend has been
reported at Sitakund, which suggests that clay diagenesis
is not responsible for development of overpressure at
Sitakund (Sikder and Alam, 2003). We infer for the
Sitakund structure, tectonic compression has been the
dominant factor for overpressure generation. In contrast,
for the other three structures penetrated by wells analyzed in
our study, sedimentary compaction with subsequent clay
diagenesis is the most plausible cause for the high fluid
overpressures developed west of the advancing deformation
front of the eastern fold belt.

427

9. Conclusions
Formation velocity data of the four wells analyzed in this
study reveal the following observations of the Neogene
strata of the eastern Bengal basin:
1. Apparently no sharp velocity contrast at the formation
boundaries in any of the studied wells can be seen from
sonic log.
2. Fluctuations in intraformational velocity are strongly
related to lithological variations, porosity distribution
and compaction.
3. Presence of hydrocarbon in an interval has a significant
effect on velocity. Gas-bearing zones in the Miocene
strata in three wells show 37% lower than the average
formation velocity in these wells.
4. Velocitydepth distributions at the Titas-11, Bakhrabad-9
and Rashidpur-4 wells show a gradual increase of
velocity with depth, reflecting normal trend of velocity
increment with depth and compaction.
5. Velocitydepth distribution at the Sitakund structure
shows a short interval of initial increase in velocity,
followed by a constant decrease with depth, indicating
the presence of overpressured and undercompacted shale
in the depth range from 3000 to 4000 m.
Overpressure in the Sitakund structure may have been
caused by a combination of factors, including strong
horizontal deviatoric regional stresses and uplift produced
by fault propagation folding and concomitant shale diapirism. Compressive stresses associated with the IndoBurmese plate convergence to the east are inferred to have
contributed the most for the formation of overpressure.

Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral
Corporation and Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration Inc.,
for providing well logs and relevant data. Mir Moinul
Hoque and Anwara Haque are specially thanked. Discussions on overpressure mechanics with Ming-Kuo Lee
helped. This research is supported partly by NSF grant
(INT-0117405).

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