Seismic analysis of igneous systems in sedimentary basins and their impacts on hydrocarbon prospectivity: examples from the southern Australian margin
Simon Holford A B , Nick Schofield C , Justin MacDonald A B , Ian Duddy D and Paul Green DA Australian School of Petroleum
B The University of Adelaide
C The University of Birmingham
D Geotrack International Pty Ltd
The APPEA Journal 52(1) 229-252 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ11017
Published: 2012
Abstract
The increasing availability of 3D seismic data from sedimentary basins at volcanic and non-volcanic continental margins has provided fundamental new insights into both the storage and transport of magma in the continental crust. As global hydrocarbon exploration increasingly focuses on passive margin basins with evidence for past intrusive and extrusive igneous activity, constraining the distribution, timing and pathways of magmatism in these basins is essential to reduce exploration risk. Producing and prospective Australian passive margin basins where igneous systems have been identified include the Bight, Otway, Bass, Gippsland and Sorell basins of the southern margin. This paper reviews both the impacts of volcanic activity on sedimentary basin hydrocarbon prospectivity (e.g. advective heating, reservoir compartmentalisation and diagenesis), and the styles, distribution and timing of late Cretaceous–Recent extrusive and intrusive igneous activity along basins of the southern Australian margin, providing illustrative examples based on 2D and 3D seismic reflection data.
Simon Holford is an Australian Research Council post-doctoral fellow and lecturer at the Australian School of Petroleum. He is the deputy director of the Centre for Tectonics, Resources and Exploration (TRaX) at the University of Adelaide. He graduated with a BSc (hons) from Keele University (2001) and a PhD from the University of Birmingham (2006). His research interests are in the deformation, uplift and magmatic evolution of rifted margins, sedimentary basins, and continental interiors and their impact on hydrocarbon exploration. Member: AGU, ASEG, GSA, GSL, PESA. simon.holford@adelaide.edu.au |
Nick Schofield is a lecturer in basin analysis at the University of Birmingham, having recently moved from the University of Aberdeen where he worked as a postdoctoral research fellow in a SINDRI-funded project investigating intra-basaltic petroleum systems in the Faroe Shetland Basin. Prior to this, Nick completed a PhD at the University of Birmingham (2009) investigating the mechanisms of sill emplacement based on 3D seismic analyses and field studies in the Faroe-Shetland Basin, northwest Scotland and the Karoo Basin, South Africa. Nick was awarded a BSc (Hons) in Geology from the University of Edinburgh in 2004. n.schofield@bham.ac.uk |
Justin MacDonald is a PhD student at the Australian School of Petroleum. He is a graduate of Memorial University of New foundland and the University of Waterloo, Canada; he holds a BSc (hons) and an MSc. His research interests relate to structural controls on delta—deepwater fold-thrust belts with particular emphasis on the Ceduna Delta systems of the Bight Basin. Member: AAPG, PESA, SPE, ASEG, SEG. justin.macdonald@adelaide.edu.au |
Ian Duddy is a founding director of Geotrack International Pty Ltd, specialist consultants in thermal history reconstruction for basin modelling. He obtained a BSc (geology) (hons) and PhD (geology) from the University of Melbourne and has been involved in researching the thermal evolution of sedimentary basins since 1975. Since the incorporation of Geotrack International in 1987, he has been involved in the development and worldwide promotion of AFTA® technologies and their integration with organic thermal indicators to provide rigorous constraints for basin modelling. He has authored numerous papers about these subjects. Member: AAPG, GSA, PESA, SEPM. mail@geotrack.com.au |
Paul Green is technical director of Geotrack International, a private company specialising in thermal history reconstruction in sedimentary basins and its application to hydrocarbon exploration. He has a PhD from the University of Birmingham and has held research positions at the universities of Birmingham and Melbourne and University College London. He is the author of more than 100 papers about fission track analysis and related topics. Member: AAPG, PESA, PESGB. mail@geotrack.com.au |
