IN FOR THE LONG HAUL - 50 YEARS OF SHELL EXPLORATION IN AUSTRALIA

1990 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 437
Author(s):  
B.M. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Aerial Photography ◽  
Organic Geochemistry ◽  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
Gravity Survey ◽  
North West ◽  
Effective Application ◽  
Field Geology

On 27th November, 1939 Shell was awarded its first exploration concession in Australia. The initial holdings covered much of southern Queensland, including parts of the Eromanga, Surat and Bowen Basins. An exploration programme involving field geology, aerial photography, a gravity survey and shallow structural drilling preceded a 'deep test' in 1950, Morella-1, located in the Denison Trough near Springsure. In the course of the venture, Shell was responsible for the first effective application of several modern techniques to petroleum exploration in Australia, including geophysics, organic geochemistry and wireline logging. Although disappointing results led to relinquishment of this first area, Shell has continued to explore in Australia, initially through participation in the WAPET and North West Shelf consortia, and from 1962 in a series of other ventures throughout the country. The rewards, in terms of Shell equity reserves, total some 1.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent at an exploration cost since 1964 of 1.1 billion dollars (1988 equivalent value).

VITRINITE REFLECTANCE SUPPRESSION IN COAL DUE TO A MARINE TRANSGRESSION: CASE STUDY OF THE ORGANIC GEOCHEMISTRY OF THE GRETA SEAM, SYDNEY BASIN

1994 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 241 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. George ◽  
J. W. Smith ◽  
D. R. Jardine
Keyword(s):  
Organic Geochemistry ◽  
Vitrinite Reflectance ◽  
Bimodal Distribution ◽  
Atomic Ratio ◽  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Geochemical Parameters ◽  
Marine Influence ◽  
Geochemical Investigation

Vitrinite reflectance suppression in marine sequences is a major problem facing some petroleum exploration companies. It leads to considerable difficulties in determining thermal maturity in exploration provinces like the North West Shelf of Australia. The Permian Greta seam, northern Sydney Basin, is a classical example of a marine-influenced coal which displays a vitrinite reflectance suppression of 0.25 per cent R0. It is an ideal candidate for detailed organic geochemical investigation of this problem. The amount and composition of extractable hydrocarbons in the coal appear to be only partially related to vitrinite reflectance, so it is unlikely that suppression is directly caused by the adsorption of hydrocarbons into the vitrinite matrix. Vitrinite reflectance is inversely proportional to the H/C atomic ratio, suggesting that the observed suppression is caused by the more perhydrous nature of vitrinite in marine-influenced coals. At the molecular level the marine influence can clearly be distinguished in the top metre of the seam by depleted amounts of n-alkanes with a lower carbon preference index and a slightly bimodal distribution, a lower pristane/phytane ratio and considerably more hopanes and diasteranes. In addition to the peat-derived humic compounds prevalent throughout the seam, these geochemical parameters indicate bacterial re-working of the newly deposited peat and a direct contribution of marinederived lipids at the top of the seam. Fluctuations in n-alkane and isoprenoid distributions and abundances elsewhere in the seam indicate that the depositional environment changed periodically.

About this title - Application of Analytical Techniques to Petroleum Systems

10.1144/sp484 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 484 (1) ◽  
pp. NP-NP
Author(s):  
Patrick J. Dowey ◽  
Mark Osborne ◽  
Herbert Volk
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Organic Geochemistry ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Sediment Provenance ◽  
Chemical Production ◽  
Petroleum Systems ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Analytical Approaches

Cutting-edge techniques have always been utilized in petroleum exploration and production to reduce costs and improve efficiencies. The demand for petroleum in the form of oil and gas is expected to increase for electricity production, transport and chemical production, largely driven by an increase in energy consumption in the developing world. Innovations in analytical methods will continue to play a key role in the industry moving forwards as society shifts towards lower carbon energy systems and more advantaged oil and gas resources are targeted. This volume brings together new analytical approaches and describes how they can be applied to the study of petroleum systems. The papers within this volume cover a wide range of topics and case studies, in the fields of fluid and isotope geochemistry, organic geochemistry, imaging and sediment provenance. The work illustrates how the current, state-of-the-art technology can be effectively utilised to address ongoing challenges in petroleum geoscience.

THE ROLE OF AMPLITUDE VERSUS OFFSET TECHNOLOGY IN PROMOTING OFFSHORE PETROLEUM EXPLORATION IN AUSTRALIA

2007 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 163 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. E. Williamson ◽  
F. Kroh
Keyword(s):  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
North West ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
Exmouth Plateau ◽  
The North ◽  
Amplitude Versus Offset ◽  
Cable Lines ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Amplitude Versus

Amplitude versus offset (AVO) technology has proved itself useful in petroleum exploration in various parts of the world, particularly for gas exploration. To determine if modern AVO compliant processing could identify potential anomalies for exploration of open acreage offshore Australia, Geoscience Australia reprocessed parts of four publicly available long cable lines. These lines cover two 2006 acreage release areas on the Exmouth Plateau and in the Browse Basin on the North West Shelf. An earlier study has also been done on two publicly available long cable lines from Geoscience Australia’s Bremer Basin study and cover areas from the 2005 frontier acreage release on the southern margin. The preliminary results from these three reprocessing efforts produced AVO anomalies and were made publicly available to assist companies interested in assessing the acreage. The results of the studies and associated data are available from Geoscience Australia at the cost of transfer.The AVO data from the Exmouth Plateau show AVO anomalies including one that appears to be at the Jurassic level of the reservoir in the Jansz/Io supergiant gas field in adjacent acreage to the north. The AVO data from the Caswell Sub-basin of the Browse Basin show an AVO anomaly at or near the stratigraphic zone of the Brecknock South–1 gas discovery to the north. The geological settings of strata possibly relating to two AVO anomalies in the undrilled Bremer Basin are in the Early Cretaceous section, where lacustrine sandstones are known to occur. The AVO anomalies from the three studies are kilometres in length along the seismic lines.These preliminary results from Geoscience Australiaand other AVO work that has been carried out by industry show promise that AVO compliant processing has value—particularly for gas exploration offshore Australia—and that publicly available long-cable data can be suitable for AVO analysis.

Review of the 2009 offshore petroleum exploration release areas

2009 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 465
Author(s):  
Thomas Bernecker
Keyword(s):  
Deep Water ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
Release Date ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Release Area ◽  
Block Sizes

The Australian Government formally releases new offshore exploration areas at the annual APPEA conference. This year, 31 areas plus two special areas in five offshore basins are being released for work program bidding. Closing dates for bid submissions are either six or twelve months after the release date (i.e. 3 December 2009 and 29 April 2010), depending on the exploration status in these areas is and on data availability. The 2009 release areas are located in Commonwealth waters offshore Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria, comprising intensively explored areas close to existing production as well as new frontiers. As usual, the North West Shelf features very prominently and is complimented by new areas along the southern margin, including frontier exploration areas in the Ceduna Sub-basin (Bight Basin) and the Otway Basin. The Bonaparte Basin is represented by one release area in the Malita Graben, while five areas are available in the Southern Browse Basin in an under-explored area of the basin. A total of 14 areas are being released in the Carnarvon Basin, with eight areas located in the Dampier Sub-basin, three small blocks in the Rankin Platform and three large blocks on the Northern Exmouth Plateau (these are considered a deep water frontier). In the south, six large areas are on offer in the Ceduna Sub-basin and five areas of varying sizes are being released in the Otway Basin, including a deep water frontier offshore Victoria. The special release areas are located in the Petrel Sub-basin, Bonaparte Basin offshore Northern Territory, and encompass the Turtle/Barnett oil discoveries. The 2009 offshore acreage release offers a wide variety of block sizes in shallow as well as deep water environments. Area selection has been undertaken in consultation with industry, the states and Territory. This year’s acreage release caters for the whole gamut of exploration companies given that many areas are close to existing infrastructure while others are located in frontier offshore regions. As part of Geoscience Australia’s Offshore Energy Security Program, new data has been acquired in offshore frontier regions and have yielded encouraging insights into the hydrocarbon prospectivity of the Ceduna-Sub-basin.

PETROLEUM EXPLORATION PREVIEW FOR 1967

1967 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
M. A. Condon
Keyword(s):  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Oil Markets ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Timor Sea ◽  
The Government ◽  
Average Size ◽  
The Cost

Exploration for petroleum in Australia paused in 1966 and this pause is likely to continue in 1967.The number of wells drilled and seismic activity will both be slightly less in 1967 than in 1966, but the work will generally be directed to more specific targets. The cost of exploration will be somewhat higher than in 1966.During the year off-shore drilling should increase and it is expected that five mobile rigs will be drilling in the offshore areas by the end of the year. The immediate structural targets available for these rigs are in the Gippsland, Bass and Otway Basins (Victoria-Tasmania), the North-West Shelf and Timor Sea-Bonaparte Gulf, and in the Gulf of Papua.Onshore exploration will be concentrated in the western Australian basins, the Surat Basin, the central Great Artesian Basin, and the Gidgealpa region of the southwestern Great Artesian Basin.The success or otherwise of the off-shore drilling will determine the rate of exploration over the next few years. If important discoveries are made off-shore, these may and probably would result in more intensive exploration of the same stratigraphic intervals onshore.The exploration patterns of Australia and several other countries before and after first commercial discovery are compared. This indicates that Australian discovery came early, as compared with other countries, where production has developed since the war, but that post-discovery effort in Australia has been very much less. The main obvious differences appear to be that in Australia the average size of the exploration concession is very much larger and the number of operators (having regard to the areas concerned) is much smaller, than in the other successful countries.There has been a gradual movement towards reducing the size of operating areas in Australia either by obligatory relinquihment or by farmout, but if discoveries are to be made at a satisfactory rate more operators are needed in every basin.The economic environment of Australia vis-a-vis Middle East oil and oil markets is probably the main basic reason for the peculiar exploratory pattern, which has impelled the Government to provide financial incentives to encourage exploration and development.

A geochemical investigation into the resource potential of the Lawn Hill Platform, northern Australia

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 722
Author(s):  
Amber J. M. Jarrett ◽  
Adam E. H. Bailey ◽  
Christopher J. Boreham ◽  
Tehani Palu ◽  
Lisa Hall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Geochemistry ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Hydraulic Stimulation ◽  
Petroleum Potential ◽  
North West ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Resource Exploration ◽  
Geochemical Investigation

The Lawn Hill Platform (LHP) is a sedimentary province in north-eastern Northern Territory and north-western Queensland that hosts a significant Paleoproterozoic–Mesoproterozoic sequence, often referred to as 'the ‘Isa Superbasin’, and includes the overlying South Nicholson Group. Shale gas resources and base-metals mineralisation are known in north-west Queensland, but the larger basin is underexplored. The Australian Government’s Exploring for the Future (EFTF) 2016−2020 program aims to boost resource exploration in northern Australia. New precompetitive geochemical data obtained in this program includes source rock geochemistry, kerogen kinetics, bitumen reflectance, biomarker and δ13C n-alkanes for understanding the petroleum potential, organic geochemistry of source rocks and fluids, stratigraphic correlations and mineralogy to determine the brittleness of shales. All data and derived reports are accessible on the EFTF portal (www.eftf.ga.gov.au), providing a central location for informed decision making. The results in this study demonstrate fair to excellent source rocks in multiple supersequences that are brittle and favourable to hydraulic stimulation. A comparison to the greater McArthur Basin demonstrates, that although there are many similarities in bulk geochemistry, LHP mudstones are largely heterogeneous, reflecting local variations that may be inherited from variations in contributing biomass, microbial reworking, depositional environment, sediment input and paleoredox conditions.

Simple Techniques for Monitoring Footpath Erosion in Mountain Areas of North-West England

1977 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosalind A. Coleman
Keyword(s):  
Aerial Photography ◽  
Technical Expertise ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Mountain Areas ◽  
North West ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Different Seasons ◽  
One Year ◽  
Site Types

Very precise measurements of the movement of coarse-textured, unconsolidated materials may be meaningless. Therefore the study of individual processes operating on footpaths may require a different approach. However, for identification of changes of reasonable dimensions, methods such as those described above are inexpensive, quick, and require no technical expertise. It may be argued that, for path management, erosion that is too limited to be measured by these methods is too limited to be a problem. It can certainly be argued that the problem of spatial correlation implies a large number of measurements. What is lost in lack of precision may be more than compensated for by the gain in data from the larger area and wider variation in site-types that it is possible to monitor with such simple techniques.To monitor the effects of recreation in mountain areas, it is desirable to be able to measure any change in path-state and relate this to recreation factors at different seasons and under different sit; -conditions. Three methods of measurement have been considered in this paper, corresponding to three time-scales. Aerial photography has been used to demonstrate trends over the long term, and has proved adequate to differentiate between path sections with differing resistance to erosion.Short-term measurement has been carried out relative to known fixed positions. Two methods are suggested. One is less precise, but simple and widely applicable, and can be used for measurement intervals of six months to one year. The other is more detailed and can be used for measurement intervals of a few days, but is limited in its application by practical considerations.It is suggested that simple techniques used at a large number of different types of site may be more effective than detailed measurements at a few sites.

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