<div>A downloadable map showing Australia's Petroleum Titles and 2022 Offshore Petroleum Acreage Release areas</div>

<div>A downloadable map showing Australia's Oil and Gas Titles as at 22 December 2022</div>

This web map service provides visualisations of in-service, large-scale battery installations connected to the National Energy Market (NEM) power system in eastern and south-eastern Australia. Data compiled from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).

<div>Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future program provides precompetitive information to inform decision-making by government, community and industry on the sustainable development of Australia's mineral, energy and groundwater resources. By gathering, analysing and interpreting new and existing precompetitive geoscience data and knowledge, we are building a national picture of Australia’s geology and resource potential. This leads to a strong economy, resilient society and sustainable environment for the benefit of all Australians. This includes supporting Australia’s transition to net zero emissions, strong, sustainable resources and agriculture sectors, and economic opportunities and social benefits for Australia’s regional and remote communities. The Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program, which commenced in 2016, is an eight year, $225m investment by the Australian Government. </div><div><br></div><div>As part of the EFTF Program, Geoscience has completed a multi-disciplinary study to investigate the energy resource potential of selected onshore basins within central Australia under the Australia’s Future Energy Resources (AFER) Project. The AFER Project has adapted the conventional hydrocarbon play-based exploration workflow, developed by the petroleum industry over several decades, to develop a similar approach for assessing unconventional hydrocarbon resource potential and CO2 geological storage prospectivity. Play-based exploration is a method of building and leveraging an understanding of a basin and its sediment-hosted resources by systematically evaluating a series of play intervals using the best available geological data and models. Each play interval represents a regionally significant reservoir/aquifer for one or more resources (e.g. hydrocarbons, groundwater, CO2 storage intervals) often with an associated seal/aquitard. Various ‘risk elements’ that are essential for a resource to exist can be mapped and qualified with a probability of geological success. These risk elements are then spatially integrated (stacked) to generate common risk segment (CRS) or ‘heat’ maps for each play interval that indicate areas of relatively high prospectivity versus relatively low prospectivity. Geological risk elements are evaluated using post-drill analysis of well control points, and geological maps generated from basin studies.</div><div><br></div><div>Common risk segment mapping, supported by post-drill analysis, has been undertaken by the AFER Project using the GIS-Pax Player Software, and assigned a geological probability of success (POS) using a ‘split risking’ system that involves assessing: </div><div>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pg play, which is the POS that the risk element is effective somewhere within the map segment; </div><div>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pg repeatability, which is the POS of future repeated effective discoveries for the risk element within the map segment (i.e. the inherent variability or heterogeneity of the risk element); and the </div><div>·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pg overall (Pg play x Pg repeatability). </div><div><br></div><div>This data package provides a spatial data set (CRS maps and post-drill analysis) capturing the AFER project’s assessment of hydrocarbon resources (conventional hydrocarbons, coal seam gas, and shale hydrocarbons) and the CO2 geological storage potential of the Pedirka and western Eromanga basins. The data package includes the following data sets:</div><div>1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Common risk segment maps for conventional hydrocarbons, unconventional hydrocarbons and CO2 geological storage resources provided in ESRI© ArcGIS file geodatabase format (gdb).</div><div>2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Common risk segment maps for conventional hydrocarbons, unconventional hydrocarbons and CO2 geological storage resources provided in ESRI© shape format (shp).</div><div>3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Post-drill analysis data provided in ESRI© shape format (shp).</div><div>4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Metadata forms documenting key information (abstract, data sources, lineage for related groups of map layers, keywords) for each group of related CRS maps and for the post-drill analysis results. </div><div><br></div><div>The product authors wish to acknowledge Tehani Palu (Geoscience Australia) for her internal peer review of the digital data package, Darren Ferdinando (Basin Science Pty Ltd) for his review of the conventional hydrocarbon common risk segment mapping, and Catherine Flowers (Geoscience Australia) for her technical support in developing the GIS products.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>

<div>This document provides metadata for the gross depositional environment (GDE) interpretations that have been generated in support of the energy resource assessments under the Australia’s Future Energy Resources (AFER) project.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div>The AFER projects is part of Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future (EFTF) Program—an eight year, $225 million Australian Government funded geoscience data and precompetitive information acquisition program to inform decision-making by government, community and industry on the sustainable development of Australia's mineral, energy and groundwater resources. By gathering, analysing and interpreting new and existing precompetitive geoscience data and knowledge, we are building a national picture of Australia’s geology and resource potential. This will help support a strong economy, resilient society and sustainable environment for the benefit of all Australians. The EFTF program is supporting Australia’s transition to a low emissions economy, industry and agriculture sectors, as well as economic opportunities and social benefits for Australia’s regional and remote communities. Further details are available at http://www.ga.gov.au/eftf.&nbsp;</div><div>The GDE data sets provide high level classifications of interpreted environments where sediments were deposited within each defined play interval in the Pedirka, Simpson and Western Eromanga basins. Twelve gross depositional environments have been interpreted and mapped in the study (Table 1). A total of 14 play intervals have been defined for the Pedirka, Simpson and Western Eromanga basins by Bradshaw et al. (2022, in press), which represent the main chronostratigraphic units separated by unconformities or flooding surfaces generated during major tectonic or global sea level events (Figure 1). These play intervals define regionally significant reservoirs for hydrocarbon accumulations or CO2 geological storage intervals, and often also include an associated intraformational or regional seal.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div>GDE interpretations are a key data set for play-based resources assessments in helping to constrain reservoir presence. The GDE maps also provide zero edges showing the interpreted maximum extent of each play interval, which is essential information for play-based resource assessments, and for constructing accurate depth and thickness grids.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div>GDE interpretations for the AFER Project are based on integrated interpretations of well log and seismic data, together with any supporting palynological data. Some play intervals also have surface exposures within the study area which can provide additional published paleo-environmental data. The Pedirka, Simpson and Western Eromanga basins are underexplored and contain a relatively sparse interpreted data set of 42 wells and 233 seismic lines (Figure 2). Well and outcrop data provide the primary controls on paleo-environment interpretations, while seismic interpretations constrain the interpreted zero edges for each play interval. The sparse nature of seismic and well data in the study area means there is some uncertainty in the extents of the mapped GDE’s.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div>The data package includes the following datasets:&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div>Play interval tops for each of the 42 wells interpreted – provided as an ‘xlsx’ file.&nbsp;</div><div>A point file (AFER_Wells_GDE) capturing the GDE interpretation for each of the 14 play intervals in each of the 42 wells – provided as both a shapefile and within the AFER_GDE_Maps geodatabase.&nbsp;</div><div>Gross depositional environment maps for each of the 14 play intervals (note that separate GDE maps have been generated for the Namur Sandstone and Murta Formation within the Namur-Murta play interval, and for the Adori Sandstone and Westbourne Formation within the Adori-Westbourne play interval) – provided as both shapefiles and within the AFER_GDE_Maps geodatabase.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>These GDE data sets are being used to support the AFER Project’s play-based energy resource assessments in the Western Eromanga, Pedirka and Simpson basins.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div>

A key focus of the Exploring for the Future program was the Kidson Sub-basin, a large, underexplored and poorly understood depocentre in the southern part of the Canning Basin of Western Australia. The Canning Basin hosts proven petroleum systems and has recently become an area of interest for unconventional hydrocarbon exploration. Several formations within deeper basin depocentres are under investigation. Unconventional petroleum resource evaluation is generally dependent on an understanding of both local and regional stresses, as these exert a control over subsurface fluid flow pathways, as well as the geomechanical properties of reservoir units. Gaps exist in our understanding of these factors within the Canning Basin, and particularly the Kidson Sub-basin where wellbore coverage is sparse. This study identifies a generally NE–SW-oriented regional maximum horizontal stress azimuth from interpretation of borehole failure in five petroleum wells, and a broadly strike–slip faulting stress regime from wireline data and wellbore testing. Variations in stress regime at different crustal levels within the basin are highlighted by one-dimensional mechanical earth models that show changes in the stress regime with depth as well as by lithology, with a general shift towards a normal faulting stress regime at depths greater than ~2.5 km. <b>Citation:</b> Bailey, A.H.E. and Henson, P., 2020. Present-day stresses of the Canning Basin, WA. In: Czarnota, K., Roach, I., Abbott, S., Haynes, M., Kositcin, N., Ray, A. and Slatter, E. (eds.) Exploring for the Future: Extended Abstracts, Geoscience Australia, Canberra, 1–4.

Increasingly, society understands that decarbonising the global economy will depend on critical minerals and mining. This is leading to greater scrutiny of where the necessary commodities will be coming from, and whether they will be produced responsibly. Australia’s vibrant world-class minerals industry, which has evolved over a long history of mining diverse commodities, is attracting attention in this regard. Given the major roles coal plays in Australia’s minerals industry and national economy, the global transition to low carbon energy will result in major challenges that need to be addressed. The loss of coal can be partly compensated by an increasing focus on the critical materials needed for clean energy technologies such as wind turbines, solar panels, and storage batteries. New mines, mineral processing advances and recycling will be needed to meet rapidly increasing demand for these commodities, and the recovery of critical metals from past, present and future mining wastes is also likely to be important. After outlining critical mineral supply issues, this report provides contextual information on types of mining and how mine wastes and rehabilitation have been, and are being, managed in Australia. After summarising the implications of closing coal mines, it focusses on growing the critical metals sector, with emphasis on the potential recovery of these increasingly valuable metals from mine wastes.

The South Nicholson Basin and immediate surrounding region are situated between the Paleo- to Mesoproterozoic Mount Isa Province and McArthur Basin. Both the Mount Isa Province and the McArthur Basin are well studied; both regions host major base metal mineral deposits, and contain units prospective for hydrocarbons. In contrast, the South Nicholson Basin contains rocks that are mostly undercover, for which the basin evolution and resource potential are not well understood. To address this knowledge gap, the L210 South Nicholson Seismic Survey was acquired in 2017 in the region between the southern McArthur Basin and the western Mount Isa Province, crossing the South Nicholson Basin and Murphy Province. The primary aim of the survey was to investigate areas with low measured gravity responses (‘gravity lows’) in the region to determine whether they represent thick basin sequences, as is the case for the nearby Beetaloo Sub-basin. Key outcomes of the seismic acquisition and interpretation include (1) expanded extent of the South Nicholson Basin; (2) identification of the Carrara Sub-basin, a new basin element that coincides with a gravity low; (3) linkage between prospective stratigraphy of the Isa Superbasin (Lawn Hill Formation and Riversleigh Siltstone) and the Carrara Sub-basin; and (4) extension of the interpreted extent of the Mount Isa Province into the Northern Territory. <b>Citation:</b> Carr, L.K., Southby, C., Henson, P., Anderson, J.R., Costelloe, R., Jarrett, A.J.M., Carson, C.J., MacFarlane, S.K., Gorton, J., Hutton, L., Troup, A., Williams, B., Khider, K., Bailey, A.H.E. and Fomin, T., 2020. South Nicholson Basin seismic interpretation. In: Czarnota, K., Roach, I., Abbott, S., Haynes, M., Kositcin, N., Ray, A. and Slatter, E. (eds.) Exploring for the Future: Extended Abstracts, Geoscience Australia, Canberra, 1–4.

A large proportion of Australia’s onshore sedimentary basins remain exploration frontiers. Industry interest in these basins has recently increased due to the global and domestic energy demand, and the growth in unconventional hydrocarbon exploration. In 2016, Geoscience Australia released an assessment of eight central Australian basins that summarised the current status of geoscientific knowledge and petroleum exploration, and the key questions, for each basin. This publication provides a comprehensive assessment of the geology, petroleum systems, exploration status and data coverage for additional three basins in western and central Australia: the Canning, Perth and Officer basins. The Perth and Canning basins are producing petroleum basins, however, they may be regarded as frontier basins for unconventional hydrocarbon resources. The Officer Basin is a large, unproven frontier basin which has seen little exploration to date.

<div>This data package contains interpretations of airborne electromagnetic (AEM) conductivity sections in the Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program’s Eastern Resources Corridor (ERC) study area, in south eastern Australia. Conductivity sections from 3 AEM surveys were interpreted to provide a continuous interpretation across the study area – the EFTF AusAEM ERC (Ley-Cooper, 2021), the Frome Embayment TEMPEST (Costelloe et al., 2012) and the MinEx CRC Mundi (Brodie, 2021) AEM surveys. Selected lines from the Frome Embayment TEMPEST and MinEx CRC Mundi surveys were chosen for interpretation to align with the 20&nbsp;km line-spaced EFTF AusAEM ERC survey (Figure 1).</div><div>The aim of this study was to interpret the AEM conductivity sections to develop a regional understanding of the near-surface stratigraphy and structural architecture. To ensure that the interpretations took into account the local geological features, the AEM conductivity sections were integrated and interpreted with other geological and geophysical datasets, such as boreholes, potential fields, surface and basement geology maps, and seismic interpretations. This approach provides a near-surface fundamental regional geological framework to support more detailed investigations. </div><div>This study interpreted between the ground surface and 500&nbsp;m depth along almost 30,000 line kilometres of nominally 20&nbsp;km line-spaced AEM conductivity sections, across an area of approximately 550,000&nbsp;km2. These interpretations delineate the geo-electrical features that correspond to major chronostratigraphic boundaries, and capture detailed stratigraphic information associated with these boundaries. These interpretations produced approximately 170,000 depth estimate points or approximately 9,100 3D line segments, each attributed with high-quality geometric, stratigraphic, and ancillary data. The depth estimate points are formatted for compliance with Geoscience Australia’s (GA) Estimates of Geological and Geophysical Surfaces (EGGS) database, the national repository for standardised depth estimate points. </div><div>Results from these interpretations provided support to stratigraphic drillhole targeting, as part of the Delamerian Margins NSW National Drilling Initiative campaign, a collaboration between GA’s EFTF program, the MinEx CRC National Drilling Initiative and the Geological Survey of New South Wales. The interpretations have applications in a wide range of disciplines, such as mineral, energy and groundwater resource exploration, environmental management, subsurface mapping, tectonic evolution studies, and cover thickness, prospectivity, and economic modelling. It is anticipated that these interpretations will benefit government, industry and academia with interest in the geology of the ERC region.</div>