Integrated petroleum systems analysis to understand the source of fluids in the Browse Basin, Australia  

Authors / CoAuthors

Palu, T.J. | Hall, L.S. | Grosjean, E. | Edwards, D.S. | Rollet, N. | Higgins, K. | Boreham, C.J. | Murray, A. | Nguyen, D. | Khider, K. | Buckler, T.

Abstract

The Browse Basin is located offshore on Australia's North West Shelf and is a proven hydrocarbon province hosting gas with associated condensate and where oil reserves are typically small. The assessment of a basin's oil potential traditionally focuses on the presence or absence of oil-prone source rocks. However, light oil can be found in basins where source rocks are gas-prone and the primary hydrocarbon type is gas-condensate. Oil rims form whenever such fluids migrate into reservoirs at pressures less than their dew point (saturation) pressure. By combining petroleum systems analysis with geochemical studies of source rocks and fluids (gases and liquids), four Mesozoic petroleum systems have been identified in the basin. This study applies petroleum systems analysis to understand the source of fluids and their phase behaviour in the Browse Basin. Source rock richness, thickness and quality are mapped from well control. Petroleum systems modelling that integrates source rock property maps, basin-specific kinetics, 1D burial history models and regional 3D surfaces, provides new insights into source rock maturity, generation and expelled fluid composition. The principal source rocks are Early-Middle Jurassic fluvio-deltaic coaly shales and shales within the J10-J20 supersequences (Plover Formation), Middle-Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous sub-oxic marine shales within the J30-K10 supersequences (Vulcan and Montara formations) and K20-K30 supersequences (Echuca Shoals Formation). All of these source rocks contain significant contributions of land-plant derived organic matter and within the Caswell Sub-basin have reached sufficient maturities to have transformed most of the kerogen into hydrocarbons, with the majority of expulsion occurring from the Late Cretaceous until present.

Product Type

document document document

eCat Id

104620

Contact for the resource

Keywords

( Project )

• Browse Basin

( Discipline )

• petroleum systems analysis

( Theme )

• source rocks

( Theme )

• fluids

• dew point

• gas

• oil

• condensate

( Theme )

• geochemistry

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification: Fields of Research

• Earth Sciences

• Published_External

Publication Date

2017-05-31T14:00:00

Creation Date

2017-05-14T12:00:00

Security Constraints

Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem    

Classification - unclassified

Legal Constraints

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence    

Access - license

Use - license

Status

Purpose

APPEA 2017 Conference and Exhibition

Maintenance Information

notPlanned

Topic Category

geoscientificInformation

Series Information

Lineage

Not applicable

Parent Information

Extents

[-18, -12, 118, 126]

Reference System

Spatial Resolution

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Extended abstract (pdf)  

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