Publicly available groundwater data have been compiled to provide a common information base to inform environmental, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Cooper 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 Cooper Basin aquifers and their properties, including salinity, water levels, resource size, potential aquifer yield and surface water interactions. The methods used to derive these data for the Cooper Basin aquifer are outlined in the associated metadata files. These are described in groundwater conceptualisation models (Gouramanis et al., 2023). The Cooper Basin includes one broadly defined aquifer named the Nappamerri Group aquifer. Compiled data are assigned to these intervals and used to characterise groundwater systems 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 baseline ecology data are compiled to provide a common information base for environmental, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Cooper Basin region. This web service summarises existing knowledge of the ecosystems and environmental assets in the Cooper Basin region.

Publicly available geological data in the Cooper Basin region are compiled to produce statements of existing knowledge for natural hydrogen, hydrogen storage, coal and mineral occurrences. This web service summarises mineral potential in the Cooper Basin region.

Publicly available geology data are compiled to provide a common information base for resource development, environmental and regulatory decisions in the Cooper Basin region. This data guide gives examples of how these data can be used and supports the data package that provides the existing knowledge of the key geological intervals of the Cooper Basin and the overlying Eromanga and Lake Eyre basins. The key geological intervals identified by the Trusted Environmental and Geological Information (TEGI) Program for resource assessment and groundwater system characterisation are termed play intervals and hydrostratigraphic intervals respectively. The Cooper Basin includes 7 plays, which are consolidated into 1 hydrostratigraphic interval. Overlying the Cooper Basin are 9 play intervals of the Eromanga Basin, which are consolidated into 7 hydrostratigraphic intervals and 1 Cenozoic play interval and 1 hydrostratigraphic interval for the Lake Eyre Basin. The geological groups and formations included in the play and hydrostratigraphic intervals are summarised in the stratigraphic charts of Wainman et al. (2023). Gross depositional, depth structure and thickness maps are provided with 3D model and cross-sections summarising the geology of the Cooper Basin and the overlying basins. The mapped depths and thicknesses of the key intervals are used to inform resource assessments and provide the framework for assigning groundwater data to hydrostratigraphic intervals.

The Australian Government’s $225 million Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program is committed to supporting a strong economy, resilient society and sustainable environment for the benefit of Australians (https://www.ga.gov.au/eftf). At its heart, the program is about stimulating industry now to ensure a sustainable, long-term future for Australia through an improved understanding of the nation’s minerals, energy and groundwater resource potential. By gathering and analysing geological and geophysical data and making the results publicly available, the program supports regional development and informed decision making across Australia, resulting in jobs and growth. The Energy component of this program is designed to produce pre-competitive information to assist with the evaluation of the hydrocarbon resource potential of onshore basins and attract exploration investment to Australia. As part of the EFTF Natural Hydrogen module, molecular and isotopic analyses were undertaken by Geoscience Australia on natural gas samples from the wells Canunda 2 and Ralgnal 1 from the southwestern margin of the Patchawarra Trough in the Cooper Basin, with the raw data from these analyses being released in this report. Some data from these wells were included in the nationwide studies of helium and hydrogen, as published by Boreham et al. (2018; 2021), and build on previous studies that document the composition of Australian natural gases (Boreham et al., 2001). These data are available through the Geoscience Australia portal at https://portal.ga.gov.au/

Publicly available geological data in the Cooper Basin region are compiled to produce statements of existing knowledge for natural hydrogen, hydrogen storage, coal and mineral occurrences. This data guide also contains assessment of the potential for carbon dioxide (CO2) geological storage and minerals in the basin region. Geochemical analysis of gas samples from petroleum in the basin shows various concentrations of natural hydrogen. However, the generation mechanism of the observed natural hydrogen concentration is still unknown. The mineral occurrences are all found in the overlying basins and are small and of little economic significance. The Cooper Basin has some potential for base metal and uranium deposits due to somewhat suitable formation conditions, but the depth of the basin makes exploration and mining difficult and expensive. This also applies to coal, where there are no identified occurrences or resources in the Cooper Basin. However, if some were identified, the depth of the basin would probably make extraction uneconomic, with the potential exception of coal seam gas extraction. CO2 geological storage assessment in the overlying Eromanga Basin suggests that most areas over the Cooper Basin (except over the Weena Trough in the south-west) are prospective for geological storage CO2.

Publicly available baseline ecology data are compiled to provide a common information base for environmental, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Cooper Basin region. This data guide captures existing knowledge of the ecosystems and environmental assets overlying the Cooper Basin. The land overlying the Cooper Basin is dominated by the Channel Country, Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields and Mulga Lands Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) bioregions with small areas of Mitchell Grass Downs and Stony Plains bioregions. The data on the ecosystems and environmental assets overlying the Cooper Basin have been summarised in July 2021 to inform decisions on resource development activities. Key data sources are broad vegetation groups - pre-clearing and 2019 remnant - Queensland series (Queensland Government), Field Environmental Data, Australian Wetlands Database and Heritage places and lists (Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water), and the Atlas of Living Australia.

The Geological and Bioregional Assessments (GBA) Program is a series of independent scientific studies undertaken by Geoscience Australia and the CSIRO, supported by the Bureau of Meteorology, and managed by the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. The Program consists of three stages across three regions with potential to deliver gas to the East Coast Gas Market. Stage 1 was a rapid regional prioritisation conducted by Geoscience Australia, to identify those sedimentary basins with the greatest potential to deliver shale and/or tight gas to the East Coast Gas Market within the next five to ten years. This prioritisation process assessed 27 onshore eastern and northern Australian basins with shale and/or tight gas potential. Further screening reduced this to a shortlist of nine basins where exploration was underway. The shortlisted basins were ranked on a number of criteria. The Cooper Basin, the Beetaloo Sub-basin and the Isa Superbasin were selected for more detailed assessment. Stage 2 of the program involved establishing a baseline understanding of the identified regions. Geoscience Australia produced regional geological evaluations and conceptualisations that inform the assessment of shale and/or tight gas prospectivity, ground- and surface-water impacts, and hydraulic fracturing models. Geoscience Australia’s relative prospectivity assessments provide an indication of where viable petroleum plays are most likely to be present. These data indicate areal and stratigraphic constraints that support the program’s further work in Stage 3, on understanding likely development scenarios, impact assessments, and causal pathways. <b>Citation:</b> Hall Lisa S., Orr Meredith L., Lech Megan E., Lewis Steven, Bailey Adam H. E., Owens Ryan, Bradshaw Barry E., Bernardel George (2021) Geological and Bioregional Assessments: assessing the prospectivity for tight, shale and deep-coal resources in the Cooper Basin, Beetaloo Subbasin and Isa Superbasin. <i>The APPEA Journal</i><b> 61</b>, 477-484. https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ20035

Publicly available data was compiled to provide a common information base for resource development, and environmental and regulatory decisions in the Cooper Basin. This web service summarises the geological storage of carbon dioxide prospectivity of the Cooper Basin.

<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>