Authors / CoAuthors
Rollet, N. | Nicholson, C.J. | Jones, A.T. | Kennard, J.M. | Grosjean, E.
Abstract
2013 Acreage Release Areas W13-19 and W13-20 in the offshore northern Perth Basin, Western Australia, cover more than 19,000 km2 in parts of the Houtman, Abrolhos, Zeewyck and Gascoyne sub-basins. The Release Areas are located adjacent to WA-481-P, the only offshore exploration permit active in the Perth Basin, granted to joint venture partners Murphy Australia Oil Pty Ltd, Kufpec Australia Pty Ltd and Samsung Oil and Gas Australia Pty Ltd in September 2012. Geoscience Australia recently undertook a regional prospectivity study in the area as part of the Australian Government's Offshore Energy Security Program. A revised sequence stratigraphic framework, based on new biostratigraphic sampling and interpretation, and an updated tectonostratigraphic model, using multiple 1D burial history models for Permian to Cenozoic sequences, give fresh insights into basin evolution and prospectivity. Geochemical studies of key offshore wells demonstrated that the late Permian's Lower Triassic Hovea Member oil-prone source interval is regionally extensive offshore in the Abrolhos and potentially Houtman sub-basins. This is supported by fluid inclusion data that provides evidence for palaeo-oil columns within Permian reservoirs in wells from the Abrolhos Sub-basin. Additionally, oil trapped in fluid inclusions in Houtman-1 can be linked to Jurassic source rocks suggesting that multiple petroleum systems are effective in the Release Areas. A trap integrity analysis was undertaken to mitigate exploration risks associated with trap breach during Early Cretaceous breakup and provides a predictive approach to prospect assessment. Potential seepage sites on the seafloor over recently reactivated faults correlate with hydroacoustic flares, pockmarks and dark colored viscous fluid observed over the areas. These observations may indicate an active modern-day petroleum system in the Houtman Sub-basin. The presence of a Jurassic petroleum system combined with the extension of the Hovea Member source rock offshore, the potential presence of seeps and results from trap integrity studies provide a platform to revitalize exploration in the offshore northern Perth Basin. The APPEA Journal
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75412
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- External Publication
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- marine
- Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)
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- Earth Sciences
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- Published_Internal
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2013-01-01T00:00:00
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