Structural and stratigraphic architecture of Australia's frontier onshore sedimentary basins: the Arckaringa, Officer, Amadeus, and Georgina basins

2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 703
Author(s):  
Lidena Carr ◽  
Russell Korsch ◽  
Wolfgang Preiss ◽  
Sandra Menpes ◽  
Josef Holzschuh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
Seismic Line ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
Petroleum Potential ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
The North ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
Southern Margin ◽  
Seismic Lines

The Onshore Energy Security Program—funded by the Australian Government and conducted by Geoscience Australia—has acquired deep seismic reflection data in conjunction with state and territory geological surveys, across several frontier sedimentary basins to stimulate petroleum exploration in onshore Australia. Here, we present data from two seismic lines collected in SA and NT. Seismic line 08GA-OM1 crossed the Arckaringa and Officer basins in SA and the southern-most Amadeus Basin in NT. Seismic line 09GA-GA1 crossed the northeastern part of the Amadeus Basin and the complete width of the southern Georgina Basin in NT. Structural and sequence stratigraphic interpretations of the seismic lines will be presented here, followed by an assessment of the petroleum potential of the basins. Seismic line 08GA-OM1 also crosses the Neoproterozoic to Devonian eastern Officer Basin. The basin is structurally complex in this area, being dominated by south-directed thrust faults and fault-related folds—providing potential for underthrust petroleum plays. The northern margin of the basin is overthrust to the south by the Mesoproterozoic Musgrave Province. To the north, the Moorilyanna Trough of the Officer Basin is a major depocentre of up to 7,000 m deep. Both seismic lines cross parts of the eastern Amadeus Basin. Seismic line 08GA-OM1 shows that the southern margin of the basin is overthrust to the north by the Musgrave Province with the main movement during the Petermann Orogeny. In the northeast, seismic line 09GA-GA1 crosses two parts of the basin separated by the Paleoproteroozic to Mesoproterozoic Casey Inlier (part of the Arunta Region). The northern margin of the basin is imaged seismically as a southward-verging, thinned-skinned thrust belt, showing considerable structural thickening of the stratigraphic succession. Seismic line 09GA-GA1 was positioned to cross that part of the southern Georgina Basin that was considered previously to be in the oil window. Here, the basin has a complex southern margin, with Neoproterozoic stratigraphy being thrust interleaved with basement rocks of the Arunta Region. The main part of the basin, containing a Neoproterozoic to Devonian succession, is asymmetric, thinning to the north where it overlies the Paleoproterozoic Davenport Province. The well, Phillip–2, drilled adjacent to the seismic line, intersected basement at a depth of 1,489 m, and has been used to map the stratigraphic sequences across the basin.

The role of deep seismic reflection data in understanding the architecture and petroleum potential of Australia's onshore sedimentary basins

2010 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lidena Carr ◽  
Russell Korsch ◽  
Leonie Jones ◽  
Josef Holzschuh
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Reflection ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
Seismic Line ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
Petroleum Potential ◽  
Deep Seismic Reflection ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
Stratigraphic Sequences

The onshore energy security program, funded by the Australian Government and conducted by Geoscience Australia, has acquired deep seismic reflection data across several frontier sedimentary basins to stimulate petroleum exploration in onshore Australia. Detailed interpretation of deep seismic reflection profiles from four onshore basins, focussing on overall basin geometry and internal sequence stratigraphy, will be presented here, with the aim of assessing the petroleum potential of the basins. At the southern end of the exposed part of the Mt Isa Province, northwest Queensland, a deep seismic line (06GA–M6) crosses the Burke River structural zone of the Georgina Basin. The basin here is >50 km wide, with a half graben geometry, and bounded in the west by a rift border fault. Given the overall architecture, this basin will be of interest for petroleum exploration. The Millungera Basin in northwest Queensland is completely covered by the thin Eromanga Basin and was unknown prior to being detected on two seismic lines (06GA–M4 and 06GA–M5) acquired in 2006. Following this, seismic line 07GA–IG1 imaged a 65 km wide section of the basin. The geometry of internal stratigraphic sequences and a post-depositional thrust margin indicate that the original succession was much thicker than preserved today and may have potential for a petroleum system. The Yathong Trough, in the southeast part of the Darling Basin in NSW, has been imaged in seismic line 08GA–RS2 and interpreted in detail using sequence stratigraphic principles, with several sequences being mapped. Previous studies indicate that the upper part of this basin consists of Devonian sedimentary rocks, with potential source rocks at depth. In eastern South Australia, seismic line 08GA–A1 crossed the Cambrian Arrowie Basin, which is underlain by a Neoproterozoic succession of the Adelaide Rift System. Stratigraphic sequences have been mapped and can be tied to recent drilling for mineral and geothermal exploration. Shallow drill holes from past petroleum exploration have aided the assessment of the petroleum potential of the Cambrian Hawker Group, which contains bitumen in the core, indicating the presence of source rocks in the basin system.

Structural and stratigraphic architecture of Australia's frontier onshore sedimentary basins: the Western Officer and Southern Carnarvon basins, Western Australia

2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 670
Author(s):  
Lidena Carr ◽  
Russell Korsch ◽  
Arthur Mory ◽  
Roger Hocking ◽  
Sarah Marshall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
Seismic Line ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
Sequence Stratigraphic ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
Half Graben ◽  
Seismic Lines ◽  
Carnarvon Basin

During the past five years, the Onshore Energy Security Program, funded by the Australian Government and conducted by Geoscience Australia, in conjunction with state and territory geological surveys, has acquired deep seismic reflection data across several frontier sedimentary basins to stimulate petroleum exploration in onshore Australia. This extended abstract presents data from two seismic lines collected in Western Australia in 2011. The 487 km long Yilgarn-Officer-Musgrave (YOM) seismic line crossed the western Officer Basin in Western Australia, and the 259 km long, Southern Carnarvon Seismic line crossed the Byro Sub-basin of the Southern Carnarvon Basin. The YOM survey imaged the Neoproterozoic to Devonian western Officer Basin, one of Australia's underexplored sedimentary basins with hydrocarbon potential. The survey data will also provide geoscientific knowledge on the architecture of Australia's crust and the relationship between the eastern Yilgarn Craton and the Musgrave Province. The Southern Carnarvon survey imaged the onshore section of the Ordovician to Permian Carnarvon Basin, which offshore is one of Australia's premier petroleum-producing provinces. The Byro Sub-basin is an underexplored depocentre with the potential for both hydrocarbon and geothermal energy. Where the seismic traverse crossed the Byro Sub-basin it imaged two relatively thick half graben, on west dipping bounding faults. Structural and sequence stratigraphic interpretations of the two seismic lines are presented in this extended abstract.

scholarly journals Pre-Zechstein structures around the MONA LISA deep seismic lines in the southern Horn Graben area

1999 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 99-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Abramovitz ◽  
H. Thybo
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Seismic Reflection ◽  
Normal Incidence ◽  
Lower Permian ◽  
Southeastern Part ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
The North ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
Mona Lisa ◽  
Seismic Lines

Seismic reflection data from the Horn Graben area in the southeastern part of the North Sea, off-shore Denmark, have been interpreted to illustrate the upper crustal structures around the MONA LISA deep seismic lines. The study area comprises the southern Horn Graben area and the eastern part of East North Sea High, where the Caledonian collision suture between Baltica and Eastern Avalonia bends such that the strike direction changes from ESE in the south to NNW in the north. Integrated interpretation of normal-incidence reflection data and wide-angle refraction data reveals substantial occurrences of lower and upper Palaeozoic strata in the area, thickest below the Horn Graben. This may indicate that Horn Graben developed as a graben structure during late Palaeozoic in the former Caledonian foredeep. On the northern and eastern parts of the MONA LISA deep seismic reflection lines 1 and 3, the main E- dipping boundary fault of the southern Horn Graben segment appears to be listric at depth with a sub-horizon-tal detachment at the top of the reflective lower crust. We have mapped the lateral extent of the lower Permian, volcanic Rotliegend reflector in the study area on the basis of seismic lines from the RTD-81 survey. Dipping reflections observed in the sedimentary strata below the Rotliegend reflector are interpreted as Cal-edonian structures generated by folding and deformation in Lower Palaeozoic Baltica shelf sediments in the Caledonian foreland basin. A sequence of S- and W-dipping reflections above 4 s twt are interpreted as preserved Caledonian thrusts in the upper crustal frontal part of the SW-dipping Caledonian Deformation Front.

Review of the 2008 offshore petroleum exploration release areas

2008 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 359
Author(s):  
Marita Bradshaw
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Water Area ◽  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
Adjacent Area ◽  
Petroleum Potential ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Offshore Petroleum

Each year the Australian Government releases new offshore opportunities for petroleum exploration. Thirty-five new exploration areas located across five of Australia’s offshore sedimentary basins are offered in the 2008 Release. All the areas are available through a work program bidding system with closing dates for bids at six and 12 months from the date of release. Acreage in the first round closes on 9 October 2008 and includes the more explored areas. The second closing round on 9 April 2009 comprises acreage located in less well explored and frontier regions. The 2008 exploration areas are in Commonwealth waters offshore of Western Australia and the Northern Territory, and in the Territory of the Ashmore and Cartier Islands adjacent area. The 2008 Release focusses on the North West Shelf, as well as offering two new exploration areas in the Vlaming Sub-basin in the offshore Perth Basin. Seven of the new release areas are located in Australia’s major hydrocarbon producing province, the Carnarvon Basin. They include a shallow water area in the western Barrow Sub-basin and another on the Rankin Platform, three areas in deeper water in the Exmouth Sub-basin and two on the deepwater Exmouth Plateau. Six areas are available for bidding in the Browse Basin and another five in the Bedout Sub-basin of the Roebuck Basin. In the Bonaparte Basin, the 15 Release areas are located in shallow water and represent a range of geological settings, including the Vulcan and Petrel sub-basins, Ashmore Platform and Londonderry High. The 2008 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Release of 35 areas in five basins covers a wide range in size, water depth and exploration maturity to provide investment opportunities suited to both small and large explorers. The Release areas are selected from nominations from industry, the States and Territory, and Geoscience Australia. The focus of the 2008 Release is on the North West Shelf where there is strong industry interest in the producing Carnarvon and Bonaparte basins and in the Browse Basin, the home of super-giant gas fields under active consideration for development. Also included in the 2008 Release is the Bedout Sub-basin, in the Roebuck Basin, located on the central North West Shelf, between the hotly contested Carnarvon and Browse basins. In addition, the Release show-cases the southern Vlaming Sub-basin, Perth Basin, where recent studies by Geoscience Australia provide a new understanding of petroleum potential (Nicholson et al, this volume).

scholarly journals Linking surface and subsurface volcanic stratigraphy in the Turkana Depression of the East African Rift system

2020 ◽  
Vol 178 (1) ◽  
pp. jgs2020-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Schofield ◽  
Richard Newton ◽  
Scott Thackrey ◽  
Douglas Watson ◽  
David Jolley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
Rift System ◽  
East African Rift System ◽  
East African ◽  
Volcanic Stratigraphy ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
The North ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
African Rift ◽  
Magmatic History

The Northern Kenya Rift is an important natural laboratory for understanding continental rifting processes. However, much of the current understanding of its geological evolution is based on surface outcrops within footwall highs due to a lack of subsurface geological constraints. In this paper, we present an investigation of the Cenozoic stratigraphy and volcano-tectonic relationship of the volcanic sequences within the Turkana Depression (namely the North Lokichar, North Kerio and Turkana Basins). We integrate regional seismic reflection data collected as part of ongoing petroleum exploration in the area with lithological and biostratigraphic data from new wells that were drilled in 2014 and 2015 (Epir-1 and Emesek-1). This has allowed linking and extrapolation of the detailed stratigraphy of the paleontologically important Lothagam site to the volcanic sequences within the Napedet Hills, North Lokichar, North Kerio and Turkana Basins. The site of the Plio-Pleistocene-age Turkana Fault, which separates the North Lokichar Basin from the Turkana and North Kerio Basins, appears previously to have acted as a focus of Middle Miocene volcanism c. 5 Ma prior to the main period of movement on the fault. Our study highlights how subsurface and outcrop information can be combined to give a more in-depth knowledge of the magmatic history within rift basins.

Crustal models of the eastern Superior Province, Quebec, derived from new gravity data

2000 ◽  
Vol 37 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 385-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamid Telmat ◽  
Jean-Claude Mareschal ◽  
Clément Gariépy ◽  
Jean David ◽  
Caroline N Antonuk
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Data ◽  
Seismic Profile ◽  
Density Variation ◽  
Crustal Thickening ◽  
Superior Province ◽  
Seismic Line ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
The North ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
Field Evidence

New gravity data were collected in the Nemiscau and La Grande subprovinces of the Superior Province. This ~350 km gravity profile follows the Matagami-Radisson road and extends northward the gravity transect along the ~260 km long Lithoprobe seismic line 48, across the northern Abitibi and Opatica subprovinces. For the Abitibi-Opatica segment, the interpretation is consistent with the Lithoprobe seismic profile. It calls for crustal thickening near the boundary between the Abitibi and Opatica belts, where the Moho is ~5 km deeper than in the Abitibi subprovince and ~8 km deeper than in the northern Opatica subprovince. The gravity model complements the seismic reflection data and provides information on the uppermost supracrustal sequences poorly imaged in the seismic profile. Most of the intrusive rocks in the Opatica Belt appear as thin (<5 km) bodies. Across the Nemiscau and La Grande subprovinces, the Bouguer anomalies are of short wavelengths and their sources lie in the upper crust. The crustal thickness is constant from the northern Opatica Belt throughout the southern part of the Nemiscau subprovince. Density measurements indicate that the upper crustal density is higher in the Nemiscau and La Grande subprovinces than in the Abitibi and Opatica belts. There is some crustal thickening beneath the La Grande subprovince, and a gravity high at the northern end of the subprovince is related to the occurrence of mafic supracrustal sequences. The gravity anomaly signature associated with the lateral density variation and field evidence indicate that the main tectonic boundaries dip to the north.

Proterozoic stratigraphy and tectonic framework of China

1984 ◽  
Vol 121 (6) ◽  
pp. 599-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wang Hongzhen ◽  
Qiao Xiufu
Keyword(s):  
Continental Margin ◽  
North China ◽  
Island Arc ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
Late Proterozoic ◽  
The North ◽  
Southern Margin ◽  
Platform Margin ◽  
Sketch Map ◽  
Middle Proterozoic

AbstractThe time span of the Proterozoic is taken as from 2600 to 600 Ma with subdivision boundaries at 1850 and 1050 Ma respectively, as 2600 Ma seems more appropriate for the initial Proterozoic in China, Siberia and parts of Gondwanaland, and 600 Ma is an inferred age of the Precambrian–Cambrian boundary based on recent study of the Yangtze Gorge section. The Proterozoic of China includes the Lower Proterozoic Wutaian and Hutuo-an, the Middle Proterozoic Changchengian and Jixianian and the Upper Proterozoic Qingbaikou-an and Sinian.Based mainly on tectono-sedimentary types and associations, seven stratigraphic super-regions are recognized in the Proterozoic of China and stratigraphic successions of various representative regions are shown in two tables, one for the Sinian and another for the Pre-Sinian Proterozoic. Palaeogeographic outline of the main super-regions and chronometric limit of the principal stratigraphic units are briefly discussed. Three types of stable Sinian successions are distinguished, the Yangtze type, the Quruktagh type and the Jiaoliao type, which are correlated mainly on the basis of tillite horizons and of sabelliditids and the Ediacara type of fossils. Semi-stable and mobile types of Sinian deposits in Southeast China are also briefly mentioned.The Proterozoic tectonic units of China and the nature of their boundaries are shown on a sketch map showing basement structures. Crustal sectors of continental nature are designated as continental tectonic domains, while broad and complicated crustal sectors of mainly transitional and partly oceanic nature may be called continental margin tectonic domains. The boundaries between these domains are usually the principal crustal consumption zones. On this basis, three continental domains, the North China, the South China and the Southern (Gondwana), and two continental margin domains, the Northern (Siberian–Mongolian) and the East China, are distinguished. Platforms, continental nuclei, massifs and uplifts are used to denote subdivisions within the tectonic domains. The development of aulacogens is an outstanding feature in the continental domains, especially in the Middle Proterozoic. Aulacogens may be classified into an intra-platform type and a platform margin type. Early Proterozoic aulacogens are usually brachy-axial and intermittent, and show conspicuous deformation at closure, much like a geosyncline. Thirteen aulacogens of different types are shown on the sketch map.The boundary nature of continental domains is analysed in terms of island arcs and marginal seas, and also of emplacement of granite rocks in border parts. The North China Domain was basically consolidated at around 1850 Ma and has a passive northern margin stretching from Nei Mongol to Central Tianshan, but the southern margin was active and was twice subducted by the Qinling marine realm at 1700 and 1000 Ma approximately. The Yangtze Platform was not completely consolidated until 1050 Ma BP but has a core older than 1850 Ma. A broad continental margin terrain had developed in the Jiangnan region and farther to the southeast in the Middle and Late Proterozoic. At least two island arc belts with interarc basins, an inner Fanjingshan and an outer Sibao, may be discerned in the Middle Proterozoic, and a Late Proterozoic island arc zone over 1000 km in length was developed along the southern margin of the Jiangnan Uplift, represented by the Banxi Group and equivalent strata. This kind of broad complicated continental margin tract which has a long development history may be called the open type or the West Pacific type.

Integration of Geophysical Technologies in the Petroleum Industry

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Co2 Storage ◽  
Petroleum Industry ◽  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
Reflection Seismology ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
Advanced Students ◽  
Storage Reservoirs ◽  
Magnetic Resistivity ◽  
Exploration And Production

The most utilized technique for exploring the Earth's subsurface for petroleum is reflection seismology. However, a sole focus on reflection seismology often misses opportunities to integrate other geophysical techniques such as gravity, magnetic, resistivity, and other seismicity techniques, which have tended to be used in isolation and by specialist teams. There is now growing appreciation that these technologies used in combination with reflection seismology can produce more accurate images of the subsurface. This book describes how these different field techniques can be used individually and in combination with each other and with seismic reflection data. World leading experts present chapters covering different techniques and describe when, where, and how to apply them to improve petroleum exploration and production. It also explores the use of such techniques in monitoring CO2 storage reservoirs. Including case studies throughout, it will be an invaluable resource for petroleum industry professionals, advanced students, and researchers.

Three-dimensional geometry and growth of a basement-involved fault network developed during multiphase extension, Enderby Terrace, North West Shelf of Australia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongdan Deng ◽  
Ken McClay
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Fault Reactivation ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Seismic Reflection Data ◽  
North West ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
Data Volume ◽  
Vertical Linkages ◽  
Fault Network

&lt;div&gt;Basement fault reactivation, and the growth, interaction, and linkage with new fault segments are fundamentally three-dimensional and critical for understanding the evolution of fault network development in sedimentary basins. This paper analyses the evolution of a complex, basement-involved extensional fault network on the Enderby Terrace on the eastern margin of the Dampier sub-basin, NW Shelf of Australia. A high-resolution, depth-converted, 3D seismic reflection data volume is used to show that multiphase, oblique extensional reactivation of basement-involved faults controlled the development of the fault network in the overlying strata. Oblique reactivation of the pre-existing faults initially led to the formation of overlying, en &amp;#233;chelon Late Triassic &amp;#8211; Middle Jurassic fault segments that, as WNW&amp;#8211;directed rifting progressed on the margin, linked by breaching of relay ramp to form two intersecting fault systems (F1 and F2-F4). Further reactivation in the Latest Jurassic &amp;#8211; Early Cretaceous (NNW&amp;#8211;SSE extension) produced an additional set of en &amp;#233;chelon fault arrays in the cover strata. The final fault network consists of main or principal faults and subordinate or splay faults, together with branch lines that link the various components. Our study shows that breaching of relay ramps and/or vertical linkages produces vertical and horizontal branch lines giving complex final fault geometries. We find that repeated activity of the basement-involved faults tends to form continuous and planar fault architectures that favor displacement transfer between the main constituent segments along strike and with depth.&lt;/div&gt;

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