The Paleozoic prospectivity of the Browse Basin, Australia
Said Amiribesheli A D , Joshua Thorp B and Julia Davies CA KUFPEC Australia Pty Ltd, Alluvion, 58 Mounts Bay Rd, Perth, WA 6000, Australia.
B Searcher Seismic Pty Ltd, Level 1/15 Rheola St, West Perth, WA 6005, Australia.
C Discover Geoscience, Level 1/15 Rheola St, West Perth, WA 6005, Australia.
D Corresponding author. samiribesheli@kufpec.com
The APPEA Journal 60(2) 685-690 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ19059
Accepted: 30 March 2020 Published: 15 May 2020
Abstract
Most of the discovered hydrocarbons in the Browse Basin occurred within the Mesozoic intervals, while deeper Paleozoic sequences have been seldom explored. Lack of Paleozoic exploration in the Browse Basin has been attributed to the lack of well penetrations, poor understanding of the petroleum systems and paucity of seismic data. The onshore Canning Basin with several commercial fields and discoveries is the most appropriate analogue for understanding the Paleozoic sequences in the region. With the integration of geophysical data (i.e. gravity, magnetic and seismic), well data and geology, the Paleozoic prospectivity of the Browse Basin can be further enlightened. Modern long offset (8 m) Vampire 2D seismic data were acquired by Searcher to address some of the complex challenges in the Browse Basin. Reservoir quality of the Brewster Formation, volcanic discrimination within the Plover Formation and identification of deeper Triassic and Paleozoic plays are some examples of these challenges in the Browse Basin. Recently Searcher reprocessed this regionally important Vampire 2D seismic dataset that ties to 60 wells. The broadband pre-stack depth migration reprocessed data were inverted to extract three petro-elastic properties of acoustic impedance, Vp/Vs and density by three-term amplitude versus offset inversion algorithm to improve imaging of deeper plays and delineate reservoir properties. This paper discusses how several potential Paleozoic reservoir-seal pairs can be identified in the Browse Basin by utilising the integration of Vampire 2D seismic data, quantitative interpretation products, regional geology and knowledge of the Canning Basin’s fields and discoveries. Previously there was little exploration of Paleozoic plays because they could not be imaged on seismic data. The potential Paleozoic reservoirs identified in this study include Permo-Carboniferous subcrop, Carboniferous-Devonian anticline and Carboniferous-Devonian rollover plays.
Keywords: Canning Basin, carbonate, Carboniferous play, Paleozoic play, Permian, Saismic™, Vampire 2D seismic.
Said Amiribesheli has over 20 years of experience with major operating exploration and production (E&P) companies covering new ventures through to exploration and development. His focus regions include Australia, SE Asia, PNG, Barents Sea, Gulf of Mexico and the Middle East. Said’s expertise includes seismic interpretation, play analysis, rock physics and reservoir characterisation, 4D seismic interpretation and monitoring, and he has extensive experience in play, lead and prospect generation, evaluation, volumetrics and risk analysis. Said holds a PhD in Exploration Geophysics from Curtin University, Australia. |
Joshua Thorp is the Geoscience Manager at Searcher Seismic based in Perth, Australia. He has a BSc in Pure Mathematics from the University of Calgary and started his career at CGG in 2007. He worked as an expat in Houston, France, Angola and Brazil with CGG as a project leader on time processing and PSDM seismic processing projects. In 2012, Joshua joined Searcher to manage and QC the seismic processing projects and implement quantitative interpretation and amplitude versus offset analysis workflows. As Geoscience Manager, Joshua has led the development of the Saismic platform which has been purpose built for training and applying deep learning algorithms on global seismic datasets. Joshua is a member of EAGE, SEG and PESA. |
Julia Davies has over 30 years within the E&P petroleum industry with experience in a broad range of geologic provinces and technical disciplines including initiating, evaluating and promoting new E&P opportunities to mature field redevelopment and improved oil recovery enhancement projects. |
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