First Acreage Release in Frontier Mentelle Basin

Authors / CoAuthors

Borissova, I. | Bradshaw, B.E. | Nicholson, C.J. | Payne, D. | Struckmeyer, H.I.M.

Abstract

In 2010 the Australian Government offered for the first time a large exploration block for acreage release in the frontier Mentelle Basin. This large sedimentary basin (36, 000 m2) is located about 150 km to the west of Cape Leeuwin. It lies beneath the continental slope off the Yallingup Shelf and the Naturaliste Though, a bathymetric saddle, separating the Australian margin from the Naturaliste Plateau. Water depths range from 500-1500 on the continental slope to almost 4000 m in the central part of the Naturaliste Trough. To enable petroleum prospectivity assessment of this frontier basin in 2008-09 Geoscience Australia acquired 2570 km of industry standard seismic, as well as gravity and magnetic data during the Southwest Margins seismic survey 310. Interpretation of the new seismic data resulted in mapping of the main structures and supersequences and led to a better undertsanding of the Mentelle Basin geology. Petroleum prospectivity assessment of the Mentelle Basin confirmed that the Mentelle Basin has a significant potential to become a new petroleum province. The work undertaken by Geoscience Australia team suggests that the Mentelle Basin has at least one active petroleum system. The basin is likely to contain multiple source rock intervals associated with coals and carbonaceous shales, as well as regionally extensive reservoirs and seals within fluvial, lacustrine and marine strata. A wide range of play types have been identified in the Mentelle Basin, including faulted anticlines and highside fault blocks, sub-basalt anticlines and fault blocks, drape and forced fold plays, and a large range of stratigraphic and unconformity plays.

Product Type

nonGeographicDataset

eCat Id

70252

Contact for the resource

Custodian

Owner

Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

Custodian

Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)
Cnr Jerrabomberra Ave and Hindmarsh Dr GPO Box 378
Canberra
ACT
2601
Australia

Keywords

GA PublicationAUSGeo News Article

( Theme )

sedimentary basins

( Theme )

prospectivity

( Theme )

continental margins

( Theme )

hydrocarbons

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)

Earth Sciences

Published_External

Publication Date

2010-01-01T00:00:00

Creation Date

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Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem

Classification - unclassified

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence

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Use - license

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unknown

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geoscientificInformation

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Unknown

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