The Permian gas potential of the Taroom Trough, Queensland: new ideas to unlock a multi-TCF play
Gareth Cooper A * , Greg Channon A , Pete Bekkers A and Neil Young AA Elixir Energy Ltd, 3/60 Hindmarsh Square, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.
The APPEA Journal 63 157-172 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ22033
Submitted: 9 December 2022 Accepted: 12 January 2023 Published: 11 May 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of APPEA.
Abstract
The Taroom Trough in Queensland is the main synclinal depression and southern extent of the Bowen Basin. Both the Bowen Basin and the overlying Surat Basin have been the focus of Australia’s coal seam gas (CSG) liquefied natural gas (LNG) export industry since 2014, but with CSG production now in decline and with a greater focus on domestic gas, it is timely to review the potential of new plays in this region. Although exploration and development in the Taroom Trough over the past decade have focussed on shallow Permian and Jurassic CSG resources, the early hydrocarbon potential of the trough was realised through conventional discoveries. Regardless of the reservoir, all conventional hydrocarbons in the trough have been typed to the same prolific Permian coals. These source rocks produce enormous volumes of oil and gas, yet only a small percentage of those volumes have been trapped in known conventional structures. This implies that a significant volume of oil and gas could remain trapped in tight reservoirs, including Fractured Thermally Mature Coals. Elixir Energy Limited plans to commence a drilling program in 2023 in ATP2044 (Grandis Gas Project) to unlock the gas potential of the Taroom Trough. The project will investigate the potential of Permian coals and sandstones at >3700 m depth using new understandings developed from recent studies into the critical role of elastic rock properties and stress anisotropy on coal fracture growth. This paper describes the opportunity that Elixir has identified and details the legacy technical work in the area and new research and ideas which have since evolved.
Keywords: deep thermogenic fractured coal, Grandis Gas Project, Kianga Formation, mechanical stratigraphy, Permian, stress, Taroom Trough, Tight Gas Sands.
Gareth Cooper is a Structural Geologist with 30 years of experience and a background in section restoration methods, 3D model building, maturity modelling and thermochronology, organic petrology, geochemistry, seismic-sequence stratigraphy, reservoir geomechanics and stimulation, stress and well bore stability. He is presently working on oil/gas and gold exploration projects in PNG, Australia and Mongolia. Formerly a Regional Staff Geologist with AWE Ltd and Santos Ltd, a Senior Geologist with Senex Ltd, New Guinea Energy Ltd and a Development Engineer at Rio Tinto Ltd, he has extensive knowledge of many Australian and Asian basins and has published widely on the geology of those basins. Gareth holds a PhD in Geology from Monash University. |
Greg Channon is a Geologist with more than 30 years of global oil and gas experience in a great variety of technical and leadership roles. Currently, Greg is the Chief Geoscientist at Elixir Energy, which has assets in Mongolia and Queensland, Australia. He is also a Non-Executive Director at Xstate Limited. During his career, Greg has worked with a range of exploration and production companies, including Delhi, Santos, Fletcher Challenge Energy, Shell, Swift Energy, Bright Oil and Pathfinder, XCD and Samson Oil and Gas. He has lived and worked in Australia, New Zealand, USA, Asia and Africa. Greg has a large range of diverse oil and gas expertise, including exploration, operations, development, production, economics, commercial negotiations, new ventures and business development. |
Peter Bekkers is an Exploration and Production Geoscientist with over 25 years of broad technical experience in geological and geophysical prospect and field identification/evaluation. His previous roles include International New Ventures management, evaluation, and exploration in South America, West Africa, India, Middle East, UK North Sea, Mongolia and Australia. |
Neil Young is currently the Managing Director of Elixir Energy Ltd, who he joined following the back-door listing of Mongolian CBM-focused company, Golden Horde Ltd, in late 2018. Neil has more than 25 years of commercial energy sector experience, both up-stream and down-stream, in companies both big and small, including Santos, Tarong Energy, Terra Gas Trader and Adelaide Energy. Originally a graduate in Economics and Politics from the University of Edinburgh, Neil’s career started in accountancy before evolving to gas marketing and business development roles. He has worked in ventures in various countries, ranging from Australia, Mongolia, the USA, Kazakhstan, Japan to Indonesia. |
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