Following the publication of Geoscience Australia record 2014/09: Petroleum geology inventory of Australia's offshore frontier basins by Totterdell et. al, (2014), the onshore petroleum section embarked upon a similar project for onshore Australian basins. The purpose of this project is to provide a thorough basis for whole of basin information to advise the Australia Government and other stakeholders, such as the petroleum industry, regarding the exploration status and prospectivity of onshore Australian basins. Eight onshore Australian basins have been selected for this volume and these include: the McArthur, South Nicholson, Georgina, Amadeus, Warburton, Wiso, Galilee and Cooper basins. This record provides a comprehensive whole of basin inventory of the geology, petroleum systems, exploration status and data coverage for these eight onshore Australian basins. It draws on precompetitive work programs by Geoscience Australia as well as publicly available exploration results and geoscience literature. Furthermore, the record provides an assessment of issues and unanswered questions and recommends future work directions to meet these unknowns.

A SkyTEM airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey was flown over Surat and Galilee regions of Queensland, Australia during July 2017. The Surat-Galilee area was surveyed, with multiple survey sites in Orana, Injune and Galilee. The area is comprised of 1293 line kilometres in Orana, 552 line kilometres in Injune and 2922 line kilometres in Galilee. A total of 4767 line kilometres were flown for this survey. The projected grid coordinates have been supplied in GDA94 MGA Zone 55 for Galilee and Injune and in MGA zone 56 for Orana. The aim of the survey is to provide at a reconnaissance scale: a) trends in regolith thickness and variability b) variations in bedrock conductivity c) conductivity of key bedrock (lithology related) conductive units under cover d) the groundwater resource potential of the region e) palaeovalley systems known to exist in the region.

Publicly available groundwater data have been compiled to inform environmental, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Adavale Basin region. This web service summarises salinity, water levels, resource size, potential aquifer yield and surface water–groundwater interactions for the Galilee Basin located within the Adavale Basin region.

Publicly available geology data are compiled to provide a common information base for resource development and regulatory decisions in the Galilee Basin region. This data guide gives examples of how the compiled data can be used. It supports a data package that presents core photographs, existing knowledge of the stratigraphy, and structural elements for the Galilee Basin and the overlying Eromanga, Lake Eyre and other Cenozoic basins. Stratigraphic frameworks capture the geological groups and formations that make up the sedimentary sequence in the Galilee Basin region. The Galilee Basin includes 4 stratigraphic groups. From deepest to shallowest, these are the Joe Joe Group, Betts Creek group, Rewan Group and Clematis Group. Overlying the Galilee Basin are the geological formations of the Eromanga, Lake Eyre and other Cenozoic basins. The frameworks include the stratigraphic intervals used by the Trusted Environmental and Geological Information (TEGI) Program. From the base of the Galilee Basin to the top of overlying Cenozoic basins, the sedimentary sequence is categorised into 15 play intervals for resource assessment mapping and 11 hydrostratigraphic intervals for characterising groundwater systems (Wainman et al., 2023). Structural elements maps summarise where the sedimentary sequence has been deposited and later deformed by crustal movements. Structure information is used in assessing the geological potential for resources and interpreting groundwater flow and connectivity at the basin scale. The stratigraphic frameworks and structural elements provide the basic geological context for the Galilee Basin region geological, resource and environmental assessments.

Publicly available geology data are compiled to provide a common information base for resource development, environmental and regulatory decisions in the Galilee 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 Galilee Basin and the overlying Eromanga, Lake Eyre and other Cenozoic 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 Galilee Basin includes 5 plays, which are consolidated into 3 hydrostratigraphic intervals (see Table 1). Overlying the Galilee 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 and other Cenozoic basins. The geological groups and formations included in the plays and hydrostratigraphic intervals are summarised in the stratigraphic charts of Wainman et al. (2023a). Gross depositional, depth structure and thickness maps are provided, with 3D model and cross-sections summarising the geology of the Galilee 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 potential for hydrogen production in the Galilee Basin region is assessed to provide a joint information base for hydrogen generation potential from renewable energy, groundwater and natural gas coupled with carbon capture and storage (CCS). Hydrogen generation requires water, whether using electrolysis with renewable energy or steam methane reforming (SMR) of gas with CCS. The data package includes the regional renewable energy capacity factor, aquifers and their properties (potential yield, salinity, and reserves or storativity), natural gas resources, and geological storage potential of carbon dioxide (CO2). This data guide gives examples of how the compiled data can be used. The renewable hydrogen potential is assessed based on renewable energy capacity factor and groundwater information (potential yield, salinity, and reserves or storativity). Nine aquifers from the Galilee and overlying Eromanga and the Lake Eyre basins are included in the assessment. The Galilee Basin region has low renewable hydrogen potential except for small areas in the north, south and south-west. Although the renewable energy capacity factor in the basin is high, aquifers tend to have poor groundwater reserves or storativity, which results in lower overall renewable hydrogen potential. The Galilee Basin contains modest contingent gas resources, while sizeable gas reserves and contingent resources were identified in the overlying Eromanga Basin (Geoscience Australia, 2022). The geological CO2 storage assessment suggests that the Betts Creek - Rewan Play interval is the most prospective for CCS, with the highest potential around the central basin region. Further work on identifying detailed gas potential is needed to assess hydrogen generation potential from gas.

Publicly available data was compiled to provide a common information base for resource development, and environmental and regulatory decisions in the Galilee Basin. This data guide gives examples of how these data can be used to create the components of a workflow to identify geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) opportunities. The data guide is designed to support the data package that provide insights on the geological storage of CO2 in the Galilee Basin. The geological storage of CO2 assessment for the Galilee Basin encompasses 5 geological intervals, termed plays – these have been defined by Wainman et al. (2023). The assessment captures data from well completion reports and government data sources (e.g. Queensland Petroleum Exploration Database (QPED) from the Geological Survey of Queensland (GSQ) Open Data Portal) to inform the 4 components required for a potential geological storage of CO2 system. One hundred and sixty-three boreholes in the Galilee Basin were used to map out gross depositional environments and their geological properties relevant for geological storage of CO2. From these datasets, the following properties were evaluated and mapped across the basin: injectivity, storage efficiency, containment and structural complexity. The data are compiled at a point in time to inform decisions on resource development opportunities. The guide outlines the play-based workflow for assessing geological storage of CO2 prospectivity. Each of the elements required for a prospective geological storage of carbon dioxide system are explained and mapped. These data were merged and spatially multiplied to show the relative assessment of geological storage of carbon dioxide prospectivity across the basin at both a play interval and basin scale. As an example of assessments contained within the data package, this data guide showcases the geological storage of CO2 prospectivity of the Betts Creek-Rewan Play interval.

Publicly available groundwater data have been compiled to provide a common information base to inform environmental, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Galilee Basin region. This web service summarises salinity, water levels, resource size, potential aquifer yield and surface water–groundwater interactions for the Eromanga Basin located within the Galilee Basin region.

Publicly available groundwater data have been compiled to provide a common information base to inform environmental, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Galilee 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 Lake Eyre Basin aquifers in the Galilee Basin region and their properties, including salinity, water levels, resource size, potential aquifer yield and indicators of surface water interactions. The methods used to derive these data for the Lake Eyre Basin aquifer in the Galilee Basin region are outlined in the associated metadata files. These are described in groundwater conceptualisation models (Hostetler et al., 2023). The Lake Eyre Basin overlying the Galilee Basin includes one broadly defined aquifer that includes multiple aquifer systems that are defined as Cenozoic aquifers. Compiled data was assigned to this interval and were used to characterise groundwater systems at the basin scale. The data are compiled for a point-in-time to inform decisions on resource development activities Basin. The available historical groundwater data can be used to assess the potential effects on groundwater for different development scenarios. 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 groundwater data have been compiled to provide a common information base to inform environmental, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Galilee 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 Galilee Basin aquifers and their properties, including salinity, water levels, resource size, potential aquifer yield and surface water - groundwater interactions. The methods used to derive these data for all Galilee Basin aquifers in the Galilee Basin region are outlined in the associated metadata files. These are described in groundwater conceptual models (Hostetler et al., 2023). The Galilee Basin includes 3 broadly defined aquifer intervals: from deepest to shallowest, these are the Joe Joe Group, Betts Creek beds and Clematis aquifers. Compiled data have been assigned to these intervals and used to characterise groundwater systems at the basin scale. The data were 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 were used for this compilation.