<div>Two new programs at Geoscience Australia are providing trusted, high-quality science to support decision making and the Australian resources industry. </div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The Trusted Environmental and Geological Information program will provide baseline pre-competitive data in the Cooper, Adavale, north Bowen and Galilee basin regions. A repository of information is being developed in collaboration with CSIRO, including new geological and environmental assessments, to accelerate development in the sectors of petroleum, mineral, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage, while simultaneously providing opportunities to understand the potential hazards, risk and impacts of these resources being developed.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The Data Driven Discoveries program is combining new and old data to better understand the under-explored Adavale Basin in central-western Queensland. The program will undertake chemical composition analyses to support the correlation of geological layers, collate and reprocess historical seismic data, acquire new seismic reflection data, and undertake stratigraphic research drilling to provide a more detailed understanding of basin architecture and the resource potential of the Adavale Basin. </div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>An overview of the Trusted Environmental and Geological Information and Data Driven Discoveries programs will be provided, including initial results and planned acquisition. This will show how these complementary programs will contribute to streamlined regulation and approval processes, the low emissions agenda, and responsible resource development in key basin regions across Australia.</div> This Abstract was submitted/presented to the 2022 Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia (PESA) QLD Symposium 9 September (https://pesa.com.au/events/pesa-qld-2022-symposium/)

Publicly available groundwater data have been compiled to provide a common information base to inform environmental, resource development and regulatory decisions in the north Bowen Basin region. This data guide gives examples of how these data can be used. The data package included with this data guide captures existing knowledge of near-surface groundwater resources in north Bowen Basin, including salinity, water levels, resource size and surface water interactions. The methods used to derive these data for the shallow groundwater in the north Bowen Basin are outlined in the associated metadata files. These are described in groundwater conceptual models (Hostetler et al., 2023). Groundwater data for the north Bowen Basin are restricted to the upper 50 m, as a stratigraphic model is not available. Compiled data are assigned to this interval and used to characterise the near-surface groundwater system at the basin scale. The data are compiled for a point-in-time to inform decisions on potential resource developments in the Basin. The available historical groundwater data can be used to assess the potential effects on groundwater. The data can also be used for other purposes, such as exploring unallocated groundwater resource potential. Data to January 2022 are used for this compilation.

Publicly available geology data are compiled to provide a common information base for resource development and regulatory decisions in the north Bowen Basin region. This data guide gives examples of how the compiled data can be used. It supports a data package that presents core photographs, existing knowledge of the stratigraphy, and structural elements for the north Bowen Basin and the overlying Cenozoic basins. Stratigraphic frameworks capture the geological groups and formations that make up the sedimentary sequence in the north Bowen Basin region. The north Bowen Basin has 5 stratigraphic groups. From deepest to shallowest, these are the Lizzie Creek Group, Back Creek Group, Blackwater Group, Rewan Group and Clematis Group. Overlying the north Bowen Basin are the geological formations of Cenozoic basins. The north Bowen Basin has 5 play intervals, which are consolidated into one hydrostratigraphic interval. Overlying the north Bowen Basin are 1 Cenozoic play interval and 1 hydrostratigraphic interval. The geological groups and formations in the play intervals and hydrostratigraphic intervals are summarised in the stratigraphic charts included with this data package. Structural elements maps summarise where the sedimentary sequence has been deposited and later deformed by crustal movements. Structure information is used in assessing the geological potential for resources and interpreting groundwater flow and connectivity at the basin scale. The stratigraphic frameworks and structural elements provide the basic geological context for the north Bowen Basin region geological, resource and environmental assessments.

Publicly available data was compiled to provide a common information base for resource development, environmental and regulatory decisions in the north Bowen Basin. This data guide gives an example of how these data can be used to create the components of a workflow to identify unconventional hydrocarbon resource opportunities. The data guide is designed to support the data package that provide insights on unconventional hydrocarbon resources in the north Bowen Basin. The unconventional hydrocarbon assessment for the north Bowen Basin includes tight gas, shale resources (shale oil and gas) and coal seam gas (CSG) for 4 geological intervals, termed plays – these intervals have been defined by Wainman et al. (2023). The assessment captures data from well completion reports and government data sources, including the Bowen and Surat Basins Regional Structural Framework Study (SRK Consulting, 2008), Rangal Supermodel 2015: Rangal-Baralaba-Bandanna Coal Measures in the Bowen and Galilee Basins (Sliwa et al., 2017), Queensland Petroleum Exploration Database (QPED) from the Geological Survey of Queensland (GSQ) Open Data Portal (2020a), Coal Maturity Trends within the Bowen Basin (McKillop, 2016), and Rapid regional prioritisation for tight and shale gas potential of eastern and northern Australian basins (Hall et al., 2018) along with the scientific literature to inform the components required for unconventional hydrocarbons to be present. These datasets were used to map out gross depositional environments and their geological properties relevant for unconventional hydrocarbon assessments. The data are compiled at a point in time to inform decisions on resource development activities. The data guide outlines the play-based workflow for assessing unconventional hydrocarbon resource prospectivity. Each of the elements required for a prospective unconventional hydrocarbon system is explained and mapped. These data were merged and spatially multiplied to show the relative assessment of unconventional hydrocarbon prospectivity across the basin, at both the play interval and basin scale. As an example of assessments contained within the data package, this data guide showcases the CSG prospectivity of the Rewan–Blackwater Play interval.

<div>The Trusted Environmental and Geological Information (TEGI) Program (2021-2023) was a multi-disciplinary program that brought together the geology, energy resources, groundwater, carbon and hydrogen storage, mineral occurrences, surface water and ecology for four Australian basin regions. This talk covers how the team leveraged their varied scientific expertise to deliver integrated scientific outcomes for the North Bowen, Galilee, Cooper and Adavale basin regions. This talk highlights the approach and importance of meaningful engagement with those that live in, work in, rely on and care for the regions. The story of the TEGI program outlines how a committed team, collaborating across Australia’s leading scientific organisations, delivered genuine impact during a time of political change.</div><div><br></div>

Publicly available data was compiled to provide a common information base for resource development, and environmental and regulatory decisions in the north Bowen Basin. This data guide gives examples of how these data can be used to create the components of a workflow to identify geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) opportunities. The data guide is designed to support the data package that provide insights on the geological storage of CO2 in the north Bowen Basin. The geological storage of CO2 assessment for the north Bowen Basin encompasses 3 of the 5 geological intervals, termed plays – these have been defined by Wainman et al. (2023). The assessment captures data from the Queensland Petroleum Exploration Database (QPED) from the Geological Survey of Queensland (GSQ) Open Data Portal (Queensland Government, 2022a); the Queensland Carbon Dioxide Geological Storage Atlas (Bradshaw et al., 2009), ZeroGen IGCC with CCS: A Case History (Garnett et al., 2014), OzSEEBASE (2021) and the Bowen and Surat Basins Regional Structural Framework Study (SRK Consulting, 2008) along with the scientific literature to inform the four components required for a potential geological storage of carbon dioxide system. These datasets were used to map out gross depositional environments and their geological properties relevant for geological storage of carbon dioxide. From these datasets, the following properties have been evaluated and mapped across the basin: injectivity, storage efficiency, containment and structural complexity. The data are compiled at a point in time to inform decisions on resource development opportunities. The data guide outlines the play-based workflow for assessing geological storage of CO2 prospectivity. Each of the elements required for a prospective geological storage of CO2 system are explained and mapped. These data were merged and spatially multiplied to show the relative assessment of geological storage of CO2 prospectivity across the basin, at both the play interval and basin scale. As an example of assessments contained within the data package, this data guide showcases the geological storage of CO2 prospectivity of the Rewan–Blackwater Play interval.

Across Australia, groundwater is a vital resource that supports and strengthens communities, culture, the environment and numerous industries. Movement of groundwater is complicated, taking place horizontally, vertically and across different timescales ranging from weeks to millions of years. It is affected by changes in climate, human use and geological complexities such as the type, geometry and distribution of rocks. Understanding how all these factors interact is known as a groundwater conceptual model and it is an important first step. This groundwater conceptualisation is for the shallow groundwater in the north Bowen Basin as well as surface-groundwater interactions. Figure 1 shows the location of the cross sections used to conceptualise groundwater in the north Bowen Basin region. It also shows the combined (stacked) confidence for both salinity and water levels for the shallow (<50 m below ground surface) groundwater system in the north Bowen Basin. There is no publicly available geological model for the north Bowen Basin extended region. As a result, only the shallow groundwater system is included in this conceptualisation (Wainman et al., 2023). Confidence was calculated for both salinity and water levels (Hostetler et al., 2023) and combined to show overall confidence. The level of knowledge across the extended region is medium to low. The groundwater conceptualisations show the average value of the shallow groundwater, salinity and confidence over an area of 50 km along the cross section line.

Publicly available data was compiled to provide a common information base for resource development, environmental and regulatory decisions in the north Bowen Basin. This data guide gives an example of how these data can be used to create the components of a workflow to identify conventional hydrocarbon resource (oil and gas) opportunities. The data guide is designed to support the data package that provide insights on conventional oil and gas resources in the north Bowen Basin. The conventional hydrocarbon assessment for the north Bowen Basin includes 4 of the 5 geological intervals, termed plays – these intervals have been defined by Wainman et al. (2023). The assessment captures data from well completion reports and government data sources (e.g. Queensland Petroleum Exploration Database (QPED) from the Geological Survey of Queensland (GSQ) Open Data Portal and the Bowen and Surat Basins Regional Structural Framework Study (SRK Consulting, 2008)) to inform the 5 components required for conventional hydrocarbons to be present. These datasets are used to map out gross depositional environments and their geological properties relevant for conventional hydrocarbon assessments. From these datasets, the following properties were evaluated and mapped across the basin: reservoir presence, reservoir effectiveness, top seal, trap and charge. The data are compiled at a point in time to inform decisions on resource development activities. The data guide outlines the play-based workflow for assessing conventional hydrocarbon resource prospectivity. Each of the elements required for a prospective conventional hydrocarbon system is explained and mapped. These data were merged and spatially multiplied to show the relative assessment of conventional hydrocarbon prospectivity across the north Bowen Basin, at both the play interval and basin scale. As an example of assessments contained within the data package, this data guide showcases the conventional hydrocarbon prospectivity of the Upper Back Creek Play interval.

<div>The Australian Government's Trusted Environmental and Geological Information (TEGI) program is a collaboration between Geoscience Australia and the CSIRO that aims to provide access to baseline geological and environmental data and information for strategically important geological basins. The initial geological focus is on the north Bowen, Galilee, Cooper, Adavale, and their overlying basins. This paper presents seven stratigraphic frameworks from these basin regions that underpin groundwater, environmental and resource assessments, identify intervals of resource potential, and can assist in management of associated risks to groundwater resources and other environmental assets. The construction of stratigraphic frameworks for this program builds upon existing lithostratigraphic schemes to capture the current state of knowledge. The frameworks incorporate play divisions for resource and hydrogeological assessments. A total of 33 play intervals are defined for the north Bowen, Galilee, Cooper, Adavale, and their overlying basins, using chronostratigraphic principles. Where possible, unconformities and flooding surfaces are used to define the lower and upper limits of plays. Data availability and temporal resolution are considered in capturing significant changes in gross depositional environments. The results from this work enable the consistent assessment of shared play intervals between basins, and also highlight uncertainties in the age and correlation of lithostratigraphic units, notably in the Galilee and north Bowen Basins.</div> This presentation was given at the 2023 Australasian Exploration Geoscience Conference (AEGC) 13-18 March, Brisbane (https://2023.aegc.com.au/)