THE PETROLEUM GEOCHEMISTRY OF OILS AND SOURCE ROCKS FROM THE NORTHERN BONAPARTE BASIN, OFFSHORE NORTHERN AUSTRALIA

Abstract

Geochemical data from oils and source rock extracts have been used to delineate the active petroleum systems of the Northern Bonaparte Basin. The study area comprises the northeastern portion of the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands, and the western part of the Zone of Co-operation Area A, and is specifically concerned with the wells located on and between the Laminaria and Flamingo highs. The oils and condensates from this region can be divided into two distinct chemical groups which correspond with the reservoir types, namely, a smaller group recovered from fracture porosity within the Early Cretaceous Darwin Formation, and a larger group reservoired in sandstones of the Middle-to-Late Jurassic Plover and Elang formations. The oils recovered from the Darwin Formation have a marine source affinity and correlate with sediment extracts from the underlying Early Cretaceous Echuca Shoals Formation. The Elang/ Plover-reservoired oils, which include all the commercial accumulations, were divided into two end-member families; the first includes the relatively land-plant- influenced oils from the northwestern part of the area (e.g. Laminaria, Corallina, Buffalo and Jahal fields), the second includes the relatively marine-influenced oils to the southeast (e.g. Bayu-Undan fields). Another oil family comprises the geographically and geochemically intermediate oils of the Elang and Kakatua fields and adjacent areas. While none of the oils can be uniquely correlated with a single source unit, they show geochemical similarities with Middle-to-Late Jurassic source rock extracts. Organic-rich rocks within the Plover and Elang formations are the major source of hydrocarbons for this area. The range in geochemistry of the Elang/Plover-reservoired oils may arise from facies variation within these sediments, but is more probably due to the localised additional input of hydrocarbons generated from thermally mature organic-rich claystone seals that overlie the Elang reservoir in catchment areas and traps; i.e. from the Frigate Formation for the northwestern oil family and from the Flamingo Group for the southeastern oil family. The short-range migration patterns dictated by the structural complexity of the basin are reflected in the closeness with which variations in the geochemical character of the accumulated liquids track variations in the character of source-seal lithologies. The length of migration pathways can, therefore, be inferred from the similarity or otherwise of source-seal characters with those of the hydrocarbon accumulations themselves. The resulting observations may challenge existing ideas concerning migration patterns, hydrocarbon prospectivity and prospect risking within the Northern Bonaparte Basin.