Variation of vertical stress in the onshore Canning Basin, Western Australia

Vertical stress is one of the three principal stresses and is an important parameter in geomechanical studies that are focussed on the prediction of pore pressure, fracture gradients, and wellbore stability. Variations of the vertical stress magnitude can be attributed to variations in lithology or diagenetic history, localised uplift, and overpressures caused by disequilibrium compaction. This study uses wellbore data from 102 open-file petroleum wells to characterise vertical stress within the onshore Canning Basin of north-western Australia. Vertical stress magnitudes are interpreted from density logs and checkshot data and at 1 km depth below the ground surface range from 20.5 MPa km-1 to 25.0 MPa km-1 with a mean value of 22.1 MPa km-1 (s.d. = 1.0 MPa km-1). Significant variation is evident within the calculated stress magnitudes, and when presented spatially, three regions of elevated vertical stress are identified: the Barbwire Terrace, the Devonian Reef Complexes of the northern Lennard Shelf, and the Mowla Terrace. Lithology, abnormal pore pressures, and tectonic uplift are investigated as potential mechanisms of the observed variation. Although abnormal pore pressures are identified, no direct correlation between overpressured areas and elevated vertical stress magnitudes is observed. The Canning Basin has an extensive history of uplift; however, there is little evidence for significant recent inversion. While uplift is likely to exert some influence over vertical stress magnitudes in the Canning Basin, the primary cause is interpreted to be lithological; areas of elevated vertical stress magnitude are also areas where thick intervals of carbonate sediments are present.


Appeared in The APPEA Journal 59, pages 364-382, 17 June 2019

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Date (Creation)
2018-12-04
Date (Publication)
2021-07-08T23:25:51
Citation identifier
Geoscience Australia Persistent Identifier/https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/126128

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Bailey, A.

 MEG Internal Contact
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Henson, P.

 MEG Internal Contact
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Peer reviewed journal article

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Accepted
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Journal of the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA)

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Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

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Minerals, Energy and Groundwater Division

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Bailey, A.

 MEG Internal Contact
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  • Geoscientific information

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W


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As needed

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Product data repository: Various Formats

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Data Store directory containing the digital product files

Data Store directory containing one or more files, possibly in a variety of formats, accessible to Geoscience Australia staff only for internal purposes

theme.ANZRC Fields of Research.rdf

  • EARTH SCIENCES

Keywords

  • density

Keywords

  • disequilibrium compaction

Keywords

  • fluid expansion

Keywords

  • formation pressure

Keywords

  • lithostatic pressure

Keywords

  • overburden stress

Keywords

  • overpressure

Keywords

  • stress regime

Keywords

  • tectonic uplift

Keywords

  • well logs

Keywords

  • well tests

Keywords

  • Published_External

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence

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CC-BY

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4.0

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http://creativecommons.org/licenses/

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Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem

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2018-11-01T00:00:00
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Unclassified
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English
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UTF8

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Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

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Link to The APPEA Journal paper

Link to The APPEA Journal paper

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Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem

Edition date
2018-11-01T00:00:00
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https://www.protectivesecurity.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

Classification
Unclassified

Metadata

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urn:uuid/64ac8a9b-6c03-429f-bfac-d0890d7514d3

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GeoNetwork UUID

Language
English
Character encoding
UTF8
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Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

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Bailey, A.

 MEG Internal Contact

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Document
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Peer reviewed journal article

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Geoscience Australia - short identifier for metadata record with

uuid

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eCatId/126128

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https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/64ac8a9b-6c03-429f-bfac-d0890d7514d3

Metadata linkage

https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/accessDenied.jsp/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/64ac8a9b-6c03-429f-bfac-d0890d7514d3

Date info (Creation)
2018-05-04T03:37:56
Date info (Revision)
2018-05-04T03:38:12

Metadata standard

Title

AU/NZS ISO 19115-1:2014

Metadata standard

Title

ISO 19115-1:2014

Metadata standard

Title

ISO 19115-3

Title

Geoscience Australia Community Metadata Profile of ISO 19115-1:2014

Edition

Version 2.0, September 2018

Citation identifier
https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/122551

 
 

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S
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W


Keywords

disequilibrium compaction fluid expansion formation pressure lithostatic pressure overburden stress overpressure stress regime tectonic uplift well logs well tests
theme.ANZRC Fields of Research.rdf
EARTH SCIENCES

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