THE HYDROCARBON POTENTIAL OF THE PALAEOZOIC BASINS OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

1993 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 123 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Warris

There are four main Palaeozoic Basins in Western Australia; the Perth Basin (Permian only), the Carnarvon Basin (Ordovician-Permian), the Canning Basin (Ordovician-Permian) and the Bonaparte Basin (Cambrian-Permian).The Perth Basin is a proven petroleum province with commercially producing gas reserves from Permian strata in the Dongara, Woodada and Beharra Springs gas fields.The Palaeozoic of the Carnarvon Basin occurs in three main sub-basins, the Ashburton, Merlinleigh and Gascoyne Sub-basins. No commercial petroleum discoveries ahve been made in these basins.The Canning Basin can be divided into the southern Ordovician-Devonian province of the Willara and Kidson sub-basins and Wallal Embayment and Anketell Shelf, and the northern Devonian-Permian province of the Fitzroy and Gregory sub-basins. Commercial production from the Permo-Carboniferous Sundown, Lloyd, West Terrace, Boundary oilfields and from the Devonian Blina oilfield is present only in the Fitzroy sub-basins.The Bonaparte Basin contains Palaeozoic strata of Cambrian-Permian age but only the Devonian-Permian is considered prospective. Significant but currently non-producing gas discoveries have been made in the Permian of the Petrel and Tern offshore gas fields.Based on the current limited well control, the Palaeozoic basins of Western Australia contain excellent marine and non marine clastic reservoirs together with potential Upper Devonian and Lower Carboniferous reefs. The dominantly marine nature of the Palaeozoic provides thick marine shale seals for these reservoirs. Source rock data is very sparse but indicates excellent gas prone source rocks in the Early Permian and excellent—good oil prone source rocks in the Early Ordovician, Late Devonian, Early Carboniferous and Late Permian.Many large structures are present in these Palaeozoic basins. However, most of the existing wells were drilled either off structure due to insufficient and poor quality seismic or on structures formed during the Mesozoic which postdated primary hydrocarbon migration from the Palaeozoic source rocks.With modern seismic acquisition and processing techniques together with a better understanding of the stratigraphy, structural development and hydrocarbon migration, the Palaeozoic basins of Western Australia provide the explorer with a variety of high risk, high potential plays without the intense bidding competition currently present along the North West Shelf of Australia.


2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 282 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Ameed R. Ghori

Petroleum geochemical analysis of samples from the Canning, Carnarvon, Officer and Perth basins identified several formations with source potential, the: • Triassic Locker Shale and Jurassic Dingo Claystone of the Northern Carnarvon Basin; • Permian Irwin River Coal Measures and Carynginia Formation, Triassic Kockatea Shale and Jurassic Cattamarra Coal Measures of the Perth Basin; • Ordovician Goldwyer and Bongabinni formations, Devonian Gogo Formation and Lower Carboniferous Laurel Formation of the Canning Basin; • Devonian Gneudna Formation of the Gascoyne Platform and the Lower Permian Wooramel and Byro groups of the Merlinleigh Sub-basin of the Southern Carnarvon Basin; and • Neoproterozoic Brown, Hussar, Kanpa and Steptoe formations of the Officer Basin. Burial history and geothermal basin modelling was undertaken using input parameters from geochemical analyses of rock samples, produced oil, organic petrology, apatite fission track analysis (AFTA), heat flows, subsurface temperatures and other exploration data compiled by the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA). Of these basins, the Canning, Carnarvon, and Perth basins are currently producing oil and gas, whereas the Southern Carnarvon and Officer basins have no commercial petroleum discovery yet, but they do have source, reservoir, seal and petroleum shows indicating the presence of petroleum systems. The Carnarvon Basin contains the richest identified petroleum source rocks, followed by the Perth and Canning basins. Production in the Carnarvon Basin is predominantly gas and oil, the Perth Basin is gas-condensate and the Canning Basin is oil dominated, demonstrating the variations in source rock type and maturity across the state. GSWA is continuously adding new data to assess petroleum systems and prospectivity of these and other basins in Western Australia.



2004 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 241 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.M. Lockwood ◽  
C. D’Ercole

The basement topography of the Gascoyne Platform and adjoining areas in the Southern Carnarvon Basin was investigated using satellite gravity and seismic data, assisted by a depth to crystalline basement map derived from modelling the isostatic residual gravity anomaly. The resulting enhanced view of the basement topography reveals that the Gascoyne Platform extends further westward than previously indicated, and is bounded by a northerly trending ridge of shallow basement, named the Bernier Ridge.The Bernier Ridge is a product of rift-flank uplift prior to the Valanginian breakup of Gondwana, and lies east of a series of small Mesozoic syn-rift sedimentary basins. Extensive magmatic underplating of the continental margin associated with this event, and a large igneous province is inferred west of the ridge from potential field and seismic data. Significant tectonic events that contributed to the present form of the Bernier Ridge include the creation of the basement material during the Proterozoic assembly of Rodinia, large-scale faulting during the ?Cambrian, uplift and associated glaciation during the early Carboniferous, and rifting of Gondwana during the Late Jurassic. The depositional history and maturity of the Gascoyne Platform and Bernier Ridge show that these terrains have been structurally elevated since the mid-Carboniferous.No wells have been drilled on the Bernier Ridge. The main source rocks within the sedimentary basins west of the Bernier Ridge are probably Jurassic, similar to those in the better-known Abrolhos–Houtman and Exmouth Sub-basins, where they are mostly early mature to mature and within the oil window respectively. Within the Bernier Ridge area, prospective plays for petroleum exploration in the Jurassic succession include truncation at the breakup unconformity sealed by post-breakup shale, and tilted fault blocks sealed by intraformational shale. Plays in the post-breakup succession include stratigraphic traps and minor rollover structures.



2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 427
Author(s):  
Julian Strand ◽  
Antoine Vaslin ◽  
Laurent Langhi

As part of a Geological Survey of Western Australia organised review of the Canning Basin involving UWA and CSIRO, the fault-seal potential for the northwest Canning Basin has been analysed. This study has two foci: firstly identifying potential for fault-bound hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Early Permian (Poole Sandstone and Upper Grant Group). Secondly, James Price Point, 55 km north of Broome, is the chosen location for an LNG facility to service the northern North West Shelf gas fields. As such, the study aims to highlight potential CO2 sequestration reservoir sequences occurring inside 200 km of James Price Point, the economically feasible distance for CO2 delivery to an injection site. Historically, hydrocarbon exploration drilling in the Fitzroy Trough targeted anticlinal structures, which proved unsuccessful due to localised, but significant, erosion of the Permian sequence including the Noonkanbah Formation top-seal on anticlinal crests. Given there is potential for untested, fault-bound traps to exist, which might provide an alternative to the anticlinal traps, it will be useful to identify the distribution of shale-rich, top-seal and fault-seal prone sequences, and where these occur at suitable reservoir depths. The study shows the Early Permian sequences on the flanking terraces of the Fitzroy Trough commonly have suitable top-seal and fault-seal prone sediments. In wells analysed in the Fitzroy Trough itself, the Early Permian sequence is poorly represented, but Permo-Carboniferous sediments observed indicate some sealing potential might exist there. Moving south onto the Broome Platform and into the Wiluna Sub-basin, the Early Permian sequences still display some sealing potential, but Ordovician units might provide more suitable targets for sequestration in these areas.



1986 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 261
Author(s):  
P.R. Lehmann

Current interpretations suggest the presence of five Devonian reef building cycles in EP 104 with a further two in the Ordovician, Nita, and Willara formations. The possible Devonian reefs occur in the NVorral, Lower and Upper Pillara, Virgin Hills, and Nullara carbonate cycles. Minor buildups may be present in the Fairfield and Laurel formations.The Upper Pillara reef complex was subaerially exposed and partly eroded for a period of 10 to 50 million years, following the Early Frasnian 'Tappers Inlet orogeny'. Large potential hydrocarbon reservoirs were created by the secondary mega-porosity formed during this period, and these were sealed by the regional Laurel transgression in the Early Carboniferous. This mode of porosity enhancement is applicable to all the potential reef cycles, as varying degrees of unconformity mark their upper boundaries, generally followed by onlap of sealing lithologies. The Upper Pillara cycle is considered the most prospective of the Devonian carbonate cycles which were the main targets in the first five wells.In response to the success of Home Energy Co. Ltd at Sundown, the last four wells in EP 104 have had Permo-Carboniferous objectives. This drilling resulted in the discovery in 1982 of the small Kora oilfield, believed to have been sourced from the Laurel Formation.The Black Rocks Prospect, in King Sound, is being considered for the first 1986 exploration well. This represents a return to Devonian Pillara reefs, the traditional primary targets in EP 104. As a bonus, drape, accentuated by late collapse of the reefal core, has localized multiple Permo-Carboniferous structural closures, coincident with reefal closure.By comparison with the highly productive Swan Hills and Rainbow-Keg River reefs in Canada the Pillara and Worral carbonate cycles in EP 104 must have considerable potential.



1989 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 466
Author(s):  
Barry A. Goldstein

The prospectivity of the Canning Basin is by no means exhausted. Furthermore, low product prices will offer those with the will and the wherewithal some relatively low cost opportunities to drill seismically well- defined, selected plays in selected acreage. There may never be a better time to invest in the Canning Basin.The Canning Basin rock record includes at least 16 distinct regional episodes of onlapping, quiet- water conditions that transgressed higher energy reservoir- type facies. These vertical successions often constitute correctable seismic sequences and represent apt horizons at which to map prospective, shale- capped trap configurations. All of these 16+ top- sealed reservoir levels are associated with oil and/or gas shows in some part of the Canning Basin. Indeed, the majority of Canning Basin wildcats are associated with reports of petroleum shows.There are seven separate petroleum discoveries (four developed) in the Canning Basin. These span seven different formations and three distinctive trap- types: draped bioherms, anticlinal culminations and tilted horsts. While the overall historical ratio of discoveries to wildcats is low (~1:19), the most successful joint venture in the Canning Basin can claim a 1 in 5.3 rate of discovery leading to development since its first wildcat (Blina 1) in 1980.The most effective oil source rocks in the Canning Basin are thought to be Arenigian to Llanvirnian (Ordovician) marine shales, the Givetian to Frasnian (Devonian) Gogo Formation and the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous Fairfield Group, in particular the Tournaisian Laurel Formation.The most consistently permeable reservoirs that are most frequently in favourable juxtaposition to source rocks and seals are the Permo- Carboniferous glacigenic quartzose sandstones of the Grant Group. Most other Palaeozoic reservoirs that are judged to have adequate top seals are less regularly porous. All significant porosity in carbonates in the Canning Basin is apparently diagenetic and irregularly distributed. Those carbonates most likely to be permeable are leached and/or dolomitised and/or fractured. Regressive carbonates, carbonates interfingering with permeable siliciclastics, carbonates adjacent to major faults, and carbonates that either lie above or are cut by unconformities are those apparently most frequently dolomitised. Fenestrate (especially algal) and oolitic fabrics provide excellent habitats for high levels of secondary dolomite and subsequently leached porosity. The Nita, Mellinjerie (lowermost Pillara), uppermost Nullara and Yellow Drum Formations are those units that most frequently exhibit these characteristics in the Canning Basin.Reefs, salt domes and anticlines have enticed, and will probably continue to attract, explorers to the Canning Basin. Traps including (1) intra- Grant Group palaeo- monadnocks, (2) Carribuddy salt pillows and salt evacuation- related turtle- backs, (3) low- stand submarine fan sandstone complexes in the Frasnian Gogo Formation and (4) tilted horsts at Ordovician levels are additional recognised play types that warrant continued interest and will probably be further explored, if product prices permit.



2015 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 452
Author(s):  
Joanna Wong ◽  
Mohammad Bahar

The recent shale gas developments in the US have encouraged exploration for shale gas resource in WA. In the largely unexplored Carnarvon Basin, the Merlinleigh Sub-basin is predominately of Permian strata and has been shown to contain high-quality gas-prone source rocks from geochemical data. Three main potential shale layers, the Gneudna Formation, Wooramel Group and the Byro Group, were identified based on the shale ranking parameters. Geochemical data was collected and analysed for the type of kerogen, total organic content (TOC), generation potential and thermal maturity. These parameters enabled a gas-in-place resource estimation to be made for each of the formations. The TOC data from various wells were validated by using petrophysical logs and the ΔlogR method. In comparison with the geochemical data, both values produced a good match, validating both sets of data. The three layers were ranked according to their geochemical parameters and any petrophysical or geomechanical characteristics. It was identified that the Wooramel Group contains the best quality source rocks, followed by the Byro Group. The Gneudna Formation was found to have poor quality source rocks. The Monte Carlo method by Crystal Ball was selected to estimate the probabilistic resources of these three layers. According to the P50 estimations, the Byro Group, Wooramel Group and the Gneudna Formation contained resources of 51.6 tcf, 40.1 tcf and 1.4 tcf, respectively.





1989 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 529 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.E. Cockbain

The region of the North West Shelf dealt with in this paper is underlain by three of the four basins which make up the Westralian Superbasin. The Bonaparte Basin lies outside the scope of this paper; the other basins are the Browse Basin, the offshore Canning Basin, here named the Western Canning Basin, and the offshore Carnarvon Basin, here called the Northern Carnarvon Basin. Sediments belonging to ten depositional sequences (Pz5, Mzl to Mz5, and Czl to Cz4) are present in the basins, the oldest being of Late Carboniferous and Permian age (Pz5).Deposition commenced in rift (interior fracture) basins under fluvial/deltaic conditions in the Late Permian/Early Triassic (Mzl), when the North West Shelf was part of Gondwana. Continental breakup took place in the Middle Jurassic (breakup unconformity between Mz2 and Mz3), and marine conditions prevailed over the Westralian Superbasin thereafter, with deposition taking place in a marginal sag setting. Siliciclastic sediments gave place to carbonates in the Late Cretaceous (Mz5) as the Indian Ocean grew larger.Parts of the area have been under permit since 1946, and to date some 227 exploration wells have been drilled. The most intensive exploration has taken place in the Northern Carnarvon Basin (191 wells), followed by the Browse Basin (20 wells), and Western Canning Basin (16 wells). Thirty- four economic and potentially economic discoveries have been made. The main target reservoirs are Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous, and the regional seals are Triassic and Cretaceous. The fields are of two types: pre- breakup unconformity (mainly tilted horst blocks), and post- breakup unconformity (usually four- way dip closures). Of the five producing fields, the North Rankin Gas Field is a pre- breakup field, while the four oil fields (Barrow, Harriet, South Pepper and North Herald) are all post- breakup.



1970 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 78 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Challinor

The Canning Basin is a major geological province of Western Australia and of the Australian continent. It constitutes a major crustal down-warp between the Precambrian Kimberley and Pilbara Blocks and extends offshore onto the wide Rowley Shelf. A large part of this shelf is held under petroleum exploration permit by a group of companies of which B.O.C. of Australia Limited is operator.To date no wells have been drilled in this offshore Canning Basin but extensive geophysical surveys have allowed an interpretive geological model to be presented. This model is based upon an interpretation of geophysical data by extrapolation from offshore data and well control in the Carnarvon Basin and onshore well, outcrop and geophysical data in the Canning Basin.The major Palaeozoic structural features of the Broome Swell and Fitzroy Graben which characterise the onshore Canning Basin extend offshore beneath Mesozoic and Tertiary cover. Thick Palaeozoic and Permo-Triassic sediments are thus expected offshore in the Fitzroy Graben extension and in a major sub-basin at the offshore margin of the Pilbara Block called the Bedout Sub-basin. This sub-basin is believed to have had continued development during the Mesozoic with the accumulation of large thicknesses of Jurassic-Cretaceous sediments. It is restricted further offshore by the structurally positive Rankin Platform, a feature reflected in a large positive gravity anomaly.Mesozoic deposition was associated with a westerly tilt of the Rowley Shelf and Mesozoic thickness consequently increases westwards. The tilt increased during the Tertiary with the development of a major Tertiary stratigraphic wedge locally reaching 8000-10,000 feet in thickness at the shelf edge.Sedimentary deposition was controlled throughout Phanerozoic time by periodic epeirogenic warping related to uplift of the two major blocks. These movements caused considerable structural fragmentation and initiated periods of exiensive erosion. Complex lithofacies variations are thus expected and multiple intra-sectional unconformities are evident.The area contains many fault induced fold features, some compressional folds and extensive stratigraphic trap potential. Coarse clastic units with high hydrocarbon reservoir potential are expected to occur in close association with postulated marine Mesozoic basinal shale sequences. Similar deposits in the Carnarvon Basin and its offshore extension have been proved to be hydrocarbon bearing and productive (Barrow Island). The hydrocarbon potential of the offshore Canning Basin is thus rated highly.



2000 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 119 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Cowley ◽  
G.W. O'Brien

An extensive volume of 3D seismic data over a number of oil and gas fields in Australia's North West Shelf and Gippsland Basin has been examined for evidence of the effects of hydrocarbon migration and/or leakage. For comparative purposes, 2D and 3D data have also been studied over a number of adjacent traps, including dry traps and partially to completely breached accumulations. Fields and traps investigated include Bayu-Undan, Jabiru, Skua, Swift and Tahbilk in the Bonaparte Basin, Cornea in the Browse Basin, North Rankin, Chinook, Macedon, Enfield and Zeewulf in the Carnarvon Basin, and Kingfish in the Gippsland Basin. The principal goal of the study is to provide representative case studies from known fields so that, in undrilled regions, the exploration uncertainties associated with the issues of hydrocarbon charge and trap integrity might be reduced.Direct indicators of hydrocarbon migration and/or leakage are relatively rare throughout the basins studied, though the discoveries themselves characteristically show seismic anomalies attributable to hydrocarbon leakage. The nature and intensity of these hydrocarbon-related seismic effects do, however, vary dramatically between the fields. Over traps such as Skua, Swift, Tahbilk and Macedon, they are intense, whereas over others, for example Chinook and North Rankin, they are quite subtle. Hydrocarbon-related diagenetic zones (HRDZs), which had been identified previously above the reservoir zones of leaky traps within the Bonaparte Basin, have also been recognised within the Browse, Carnarvon, Otway and Gippsland Basins. HRDZs are the most common leakage indicators found and are identified easily via a combination of high seismic amplitudes through the affected zone, time pull-up and degraded stack response of underlying reflectors. In some cases (the Skua and Macedon Fields), the HRDZs actually define the extent of the accumulations at depth.Anomalous, subtle to strong, seismic amplitude anomalies are associated with the majority of the major fields within the Carnarvon Basin. The strength and location of the anomalies are related to a complex interplay between trap type (in particular four-way dip-closed versus fault dependent), top seal capacity, fault seal integrity, and charge history. In some areas within the Carnarvon, Browse and Bonaparte Basins, shallow amplitude anomalies can be related directly to gas chimneys emanating from the reservoir zone itself. In other instances, the continuous migration of gas from the reservoir has produced an assortment of pockmarks, mounds and amplitude anomalies on the present day sea floor, which all provide evidence of hydrocarbon seepage. In the Browse Basin, strong evidence has been found that many of the modern carbonate banks and reefs in the region were initially located over hydrocarbon seeps on the palaeo-seafloor.The examples and processes presented demonstrate that the analysis of hydrocarbon leakage indicators on seismic data can help to better understand exploration risk and locate subtle hydrocarbon accumulations. In mature exploration provinces, this methodology may lead to the identification of subtle accumulations previously left undetected by more conventional methods. In frontier regions, it can help to identify the presence of a viable petroleum system, typically the principal exploration uncertainty in undrilled regions.



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