Authors / CoAuthors
Bradshaw, B.E. | Orr, M.L. | Bailey, A.H.E. | Palu, T.J. | Hall, L.S.
Abstract
The Paleo-Mesoproterozoic Isa Superbasin is located in northwestern Queensland and is part of the geologically complex and resource rich Mount Isa Province. Over the last five years, the Northern Lawn Hill Platform (NLHP) in the northern part of the Isa Superbasin has become a focus for frontier conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon exploration. Thick and extensive organic-rich shale units in the River and Lawn supersequences are of particular interest for unconventional shale gas exploration following a gas discovery in 2014 from the Lawn Shale at Egilabia-2 DW1. Potential shale gas resources in these stratigraphic intervals include 22.1 Tcf of prospective gas and 0.15 Tcf of contingent (2C) gas resources (Armour Energy, 2014 and 2015). Other conventional and unconventional plays may also occur in overlying stratigraphic units within the Isa Superbasin. However despite the increased interest in the region’s petroleum prospectivity, the data coverage across the Isa Superbasin is sparse and aspects of the regional geological framework remain ambiguous. This report presents an update to seismic and well interpretation in the Isa Superbasin originally undertaken in the late 1990’s as part of the North Australian Basins Resource Evaluation (NABRE) Project in the NLHP, the area with the greatest concentration of data and petroleum exploration activity. The NABRE Project focussed on developing an integrated structural and stratigraphic framework for the NLHP in the context of understanding and predicting sediment-hosted mineral deposits. However, the project did not produce depth-converted structure or isopach maps, which are required for assessing and mapping conventional and unconventional petroleum plays. Assessments of the area’s resource potential would also benefit by incorporating some key recently acquired data sets and published research with the original NABRE work. The original NABRE work has therefore been updated to include interpretations from new seismic and well data, and to generate depth-converted structure and isopach maps for eight key stratigraphic horizons of interest for petroleum exploration in the NLHP. Major sub-surface structures are also formally defined and named based on the depth-structure maps. The review of the Isa Superbasin geological framework presented here underpins work on two major federal government initiatives, the Exploring For The Future Program and Geological and Bioregional Assessment Program. Recommendations are included in this report on further value adding work that could supplement these programs to better inform prospectivity assessment.
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document
eCat Id
124259
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Cnr Jerrabomberra Ave and Hindmarsh Dr GPO Box 378
Canberra
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2601
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Keywords
- ( Theme )
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- Paleo-Mesoproterozoic Isa Superbasin
- ( Theme )
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- Mount Isa Province
- ( Theme )
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- seismic
- ( Theme )
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- well interpretation
- theme.ANZRC Fields of Research.rdf
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- EARTH SCIENCES
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- Published_External
Publication Date
2018-12-12T00:17:06
Creation Date
2018-12-04T00:00:00
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completed
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asNeeded
Topic Category
geoscientificInformation
Series Information
2018/047
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No lineage available
Parent Information
Extents
[-18.5, -17.5, 139.5, 138]
Reference System
GDA94 / MGA zone 54 (EPSG:28354)
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Associations
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