2021
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Waukarlycarly 1 is a stratigraphic well drilled in the southern part of the Canning Basin’s Waukarlycarly Embayment under Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future program in collaboration with the Geological Survey of Western Australia to provide stratigraphic data for this poorly understood tectonic component. The well intersects a thin Cenozoic section, overlying Permian–Carboniferous fluvial clastics and glacial diamictites, with a thick pre-Carboniferous succession (855–2585 mRT) unconformably overlying the Neoproterozoic metasediments. Three informal siliciclastic intervals were defined based on the data from core lithology, well logs, fluid inclusions, chemical and mineral compositions; an Upper Sandstone (855–1348.1 mRT), a Middle Interval (1348.1–2443.4 mRT) and a Lower Sandstone (2443.4 –2585 mRT). The Middle Interval was further divided into six internal zones. Conventional methods were applied to interpret effective porosity, water saturation and elastic properties (Poisson’s ratio and Young’s modulus). Artificial neural network technology was employed on well logs to interpret the total organic carbon (TOC) content, pyrolysis products from the cracking of organic matter (S2), permeability, and mineral compositions. In the Upper Sandstone, average sandstone porosity and permeability are 17.9% and 464.5 mD and, 6.75 % and 10 mD in the Lower Sandstone. The Middle Interval claystone has an average porosity and permeability of 4.17 % and 0.006 mD, and average TOC content and S2 of 0.17 wt% and 0.047 mg HC/g rock with maximum values of 0.66 wt% and 0.46 mg HC/g rock. Average Poisson’s ratio and Young’s modulus of the claystone are 0.154 and 9.81 GPa. Correlations of mineral compositions, petrophysical, geomechanical and geochemical properties of the Middle Interval have been conducted. Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio are well correlated with the contents of key minerals, including Quartz, carbonates and TotalClay. Although TOC content is low at Waukarlycarly 1, hydrocarbon generation and migration have occurred elsewhere in the Waukarlycarly Embayment. The helium response just above the Neoproterozoic basement in the FIS profile is not associated with the hydrocarbon responses implying that these fluids have different sources.
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An assessment of tight, shale and deep coal gas prospectivity of the Cooper Basin has been undertaken as part of the Australian Government’s Geological and Bioregional Assessment Program. This aims to both encourage exploration and understand the potential impacts of resource development on water and the environment. This appendix presents a review of the regional petroleum prospectivity, its exploration, and the characterisation and analysis of shale, deep coal and tight gas in Carboniferous–Permian Gidgealpa Group of the Cooper Basin. The Cooper Basin is Australia’s premier onshore conventional hydrocarbon-producing province providing domestic gas for the East Coast Gas Market. As of December 2014, the Cooper and Eromanga basins have produced 6.54 Tcf of gas since 1969. The basins contain 256 gas fields as well as 166 oil fields that are currently in production. Gas is predominantly reservoired in the Cooper Basin, whereas the overlying Eromanga Basin hosts mainly oil. Hydrocarbon shows are found in the reservoir units throughout the succession. Recently, exploration targeting a range of unconventional plays has gained momentum. Unconventional play types within the mainly Permian Gidgealpa Group include shale gas associated with the Patchawarra Formation and the Roseneath and Murteree shales, tight and deep coal gas accumulations within the Toolachee, Epsilon and Patchawarra formations and additional tight gas plays in the Daralingie Formation and Tirrawarra Sandstone. To date, at least 80 wells have been drilled to test shale, tight and deep coal gas plays. Given the basin’s existing conventional production, and its processing and pipeline infrastructure, these plays are well placed to be rapidly commercialised, should exploration be successful. A prospectivity confidence mapping workflow was developed to evaluate the regional distribution of key unconventional gas plays within the Gidgealpa Group. For each play type, key physical properties were identified and characterised. The specific physical properties evaluated include formation extents, source rock properties (net thickness, TOC, quality and thermal maturity), reservoir characteristics (porosity, permeability, gas saturation and brittleness), regional stress regime and overpressure. Parameters for mappable physical properties were individually classified to assign prospectivity rankings. Individual properties were then multiplied together produce formation and play-specific prospectivity confidence maps. Non-mappable criteria were not integrated into the prospectivity mapping but were used to better understand the geological characteristics of the formations. Overall, both source and reservoir characteristics were found to be moderately to highly favourable for all play types assessed. Abundant source rocks are present in the Gidgealpa Group across the Cooper Basin. The Toolachee and Patchawarra formations are the richest, thickest and most extensive source rocks, with good to excellent source potential across their entire formation extents. Net shale, coal and sand thicknesses also demonstrate an abundance of potential reservoir units in the Gidgealpa Group across the basin. The predominantly fluvial Toolachee Formation is thickest in the Windorah Trough and Ullenbury Depression. Average effective porosity for assessed tight gas plays ranges from 6.7 % in the fluvio-deltaic to lacustrine Epsilon Formation to 7.8% in the Toolachee Formation. Based on an assessment of the brittleness of the shales and coaly shales, the Patchawarra Formation appears to be most favourable for hydraulic stimulation with an average Brittleness Index of 0.695, indicative of brittle rocks. This compares to the less brittle lacustrine Roseneath and Murteree shales have brittleness indices of 0.343 and 0.374, respectively. As-received total gas content is favourable, with averages ranging from 1.3 scc/g in the Patchawarra Formation to 1.6 scc/g for the Murteree Shale. The regional stress regime has an approximately east-west oriented maximum horizontal stress azimuth, resulting in predominantly strike-slip faulting to reverse faulting, depending on the depth, lithology and proximity of structures, e.g. GMI ridge. Significant overpressure is present at depths greater than 2800 m, especially in the Nappamerri and Patchawarra troughs. Overpressures are generally constrained to the Gidgealpa Group, with the Toolachee Formation being the youngest formation in which significant overpressure has been achieved. Based on a review of the geomechanical properties of the Cooper Basin sedimentary succession, it was found that stress variations within and between lithologies and formations are likely to provide natural barriers to fracture propagation between the gas saturated Permian sediments and the overlying Eromanga Basin. Prospectivity confidence maps were generated for six individual shale and deep coal plays and one combined tight gas play across the Gidgealpa Group. Comparison with key wells targeting shale, tight and deep coal gas plays, indicates that the prospectivity confidence mapping results are largely consistent with exploration activity to-date, with the highest prospectivity confidence for tight, shale and deep coal gas plays mapped in the Nappamerri, Patchawarra, Windorah, Allunga and Wooloo troughs and the southern Ullenbury Depression. Consequently, there is more confidence in the resultant maps in the southern Cooper Basin as more data was available here. Prospectivity confidence maps are relative, therefore a high prospectivity confidence does not equate to 100 % chance of success for a particular formation or play. The outputs of this regional prospectivity assessment identify areas warranting more detailed data collection and exploration and the assessment of potential impacts of resource development on water and the environment. The results also have the potential to encourage further exploration investment in underexplored regions of the Cooper Basin.
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A dataset of potential geological sequestration sites has been compiled as part of the Australian Petroleum Cooperative Research Centre's GEODISC program. Sites have been identified across all Australian sedimentary basins.
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Geoscience Australia is Australia’s Earth science public sector organisation, recognised for its expert data capabilities and high level of expertise. As the nation’s trusted advisor on geology and geography the organisation is the premium provider of data, science and analysis for decision makers. Internally, Geoscience Australia is currently targeting and refining its core capabilities in order to establish and clearly articulate our value proposition and service offering to stakeholders.
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This service contains features as defined under the Offshore Petroleum and Greeenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006. The Petroleum blocks defined under the Act, are delivered separately in the 'Australia - OPGGSA 2006 - Petroleum Blocks' service.
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Google has partnered with hundreds of museums, cultural institutions and archives including Geoscience Australia to host treasures from our National Mineral and Fossil Collection online on the Google Arts & Culture website. Our building's public areas have been scanned and are online via a streetview virtual tour, there are a large number of collection items uploaded which have been used to create many unique and fascinating exhibits.
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Abstract submitted for presentation to European Geosciences Union General Assembly, April, 2019
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The Upper Burdekin Basalt extents web service delivers province extents, detailed geology, spring locations and inferred regional groundwater contours for the formations of the Nulla and McBride Basalts. This work has been carried out as part of Geoscience Australia's Exploring for the Future program.
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The emerging global trend of satellite operators producing analysis ready data combined with open source tools for managing and exploiting this data are leading to more and more countries using Earth observation data to drive progress against key national and international development agendas. This paper provides examples from Australia, Mexico, Switzerland and Tanzania on how the Open Data Cube technology has been combined with analysis ready data to provide new insights and support better policy making across issues as diverse as water resource management through to urbanization and environmental-economic accounting.
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Australia has been, and continues to be, a leader in isotope geochronology and geochemistry. While new isotopic data is being produced with ever increasing pace and diversity, there is also a rich legacy of existing high-quality age and isotopic data, most of which have been dispersed across a multitude of journal papers, reports and theses. Where compilations of isotopic data exist, they tend to have been undertaken at variable geographic scale, with variable purpose, format, styles, levels of detail and completeness. Consequently, it has been difficult to visualise or interrogate the collective value of age and isotopic data at continental-scale. Age and isotopic patterns at continental scale can provide intriguing insights into the temporal and chemical evolution of the continent (Fraser et al, 2020). As national custodian of geoscience data, Geoscience Australia has addressed this challenge by developing an Isotopic Atlas of Australia, which currently (as of November 2020) consists of national-scale coverages of four widely-used age and isotopic data-types: 4008 U-Pb mineral ages from magmatic, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks 2651 Sm-Nd whole-rock analyses, primarily of granites and felsic volcanics 5696 Lu-Hf (136 samples) and 553 O-isotope (24 samples) analyses of zircon 1522 Pb-Pb analyses of ores and ore-related minerals These isotopic coverages are now freely available as web-services for use and download from the GA Portal. While there is more legacy data to be added, and a never-ending stream of new data constantly emerging, the provision of these national coverages with consistent classification and attribution provides a range of benefits: vastly reduces duplication of effort in compiling bespoke datasets for specific regions or use-cases data density is sufficient to reveal meaningful temporal and spatial patterns a guide to the existence and source of data in areas of interest, and of major data gaps to be addressed in future work facilitates production of thematic maps from subsets of data. For example, a magmatic age map, or K-Ar mica cooling age map sample metadata such as lithology and stratigraphic unit is associated with each isotopic result, allowing for further filtering, subsetting and interpretation. The Isotopic Atlas of Australia will continue to develop via the addition of both new and legacy data to existing coverages, and by the addition of new data coverages from a wider range of isotopic systems and a wider range of geological sample media (e.g. soil, regolith and groundwater).