ABSTRACT The Papua New Guinea fold and thrust belt petroleum system is studied along a 200-km (124-mi)-long transect. The kinematic scenario includes the Jurassic rifting and passive margin, the erosion during the Upper Cretaceous related to the Coral Sea rifting and Pliocene–Pleistocene shortening, with an early growth of the Hedinia Anticline limiting lateral migration of oil in the adjacent Darai Plateau. Data from seven wells and two fields were used to calibrate section boundary conditions and properties. Apart from the high-pressure trend in the Kutubu/Moran structures, all data are well reproduced, and the modeled section appears quantitatively predictive. The modeling demonstrates three major pathways for water: (1) topographically driven flow from the onset of mountain building; (2) deep updip basinal flux, flowing along the tilted reservoirs; and (3) across fault escape from connected reservoir bodies. Type II or mixed type II/III is used to model the Triassic and Jurassic source rock. Maturation starts in the Middle Cretaceous and increases strongly during the late tectonic burial, with three main accumulations: (1) the deep part of the Mubi zone, with vertical migration along faults; (2) the Hedinia and Kutubu anticlines charged during Orubadi and Era deposition; and (3) the Darai Plateau.