Structural and stratigraphic architecture of Australia’s frontier onshore sedimentary basins: the Arckaringa, Officer, Amadeus and Georgina basins*
L. Carr A , R. Korsch A , W. Preiss B , S. Menpes B , J. Holzschuh A and R. Costelloe AA Geoscience Australia.
B PIRSA.
The APPEA Journal 51(2) 703-703 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ10083
Published: 2011
Abstract
The Onshore Energy Security Program—funded by the Australian Government and conducted by Geoscience Australia—has acquired deep seismic reflection data in conjunction with state and territory geological surveys, across several frontier sedimentary basins to stimulate petroleum exploration in onshore Australia.
Here, we present data from two seismic lines collected in SA and NT. Seismic line 08GA-OM1 crossed the Arckaringa and Officer basins in SA and the southern-most Amadeus Basin in NT. Seismic line 09GA-GA1 crossed the northeastern part of the Amadeus Basin and the complete width of the southern Georgina Basin in NT. Structural and sequence stratigraphic interpretations of the seismic lines will be presented here, followed by an assessment of the petroleum potential of the basins.
Seismic line 08GA-OM1 also crosses the Neoproterozoic to Devonian eastern Officer Basin. The basin is structurally complex in this area, being dominated by south-directed thrust faults and fault-related folds—providing potential for underthrust petroleum plays. The northern margin of the basin is overthrust to the south by the Mesoproterozoic Musgrave Province. To the north, the Moorilyanna Trough of the Officer Basin is a major depocentre of up to 7,000 m deep.
Both seismic lines cross parts of the eastern Amadeus Basin. Seismic line 08GA-OM1 shows that the southern margin of the basin is overthrust to the north by the Musgrave Province with the main movement during the Petermann Orogeny. In the northeast, seismic line 09GA-GA1 crosses two parts of the basin separated by the Paleoproteroozic to Mesoproterozoic Casey Inlier (part of the Arunta Region). The northern margin of the basin is imaged seismically as a southward-verging, thinned-skinned thrust belt, showing considerable structural thickening of the stratigraphic succession.
Seismic line 09GA-GA1 was positioned to cross that part of the southern Georgina Basin that was considered previously to be in the oil window. Here, the basin has a complex southern margin, with Neoproterozoic stratigraphy being thrust interleaved with basement rocks of the Arunta Region. The main part of the basin, containing a Neoproterozoic to Devonian succession, is asymmetric, thinning to the north where it overlies the Paleoproterozoic Davenport Province. The well, Phillip–2, drilled adjacent to the seismic line, intersected basement at a depth of 1,489 m, and has been used to map the stratigraphic sequences across the basin.
Lidena is a geologist for the onshore petroleum project in the onshore energy and minerals division at Geoscience Australia. She graduated from ANU with a BA/BSc (geology and human ecology) (Hons) in 2004, and began working as a technical officer at the Research School of Earth Sciences (ANU). In 2007, she joined Geoscience Australia with the then ACRES, before moving to her position in early 2009. |
Russell Korsch is a group leader in the Onshore Energy and Minerals Division at Geoscience Australia and is responsible for the onshore petroleum and energy geodynamics components of the Australian Government’s Onshore Energy Security Program. He has a BSc (hons), PhD and DipEd from the University of New England, with a background in structural geology and tectonics, and has been involved in understanding the evolution of sedimentary basins and in the geological and geodynamic interpretation of deep seismic data collected by Geoscience Australia and partners during several years. He is on the executive of the Editorial Board of Australian Journal of Earth Sciences and a fellow of the Geological Society of America. Member: PESA, GSA, GSNZ. |
Wolfgang Preiss has worked for the Geological Survey of SA for 40 years. He has published extensively on SA geology, and has compiled a major synthesis on the Adelaide Geosyncline (1987) and co-edited the two volumes of The Geology of South Australia (1993, 1995). His early research focused mainly on all aspects of the Neoproterozoic of South Australia in the Adelaide Geosyncline, Stuart Shelf and Officer Basin; it also focused on comparisons with other Neoproterozoic successions, with emphasis on mapping, stratigraphy, sedimentology, palaeontology and tectonics. The last decade has been devoted to mapping and collaborative studies in the Palaeo to Mesoproterozoic Curnamona Province, as part of the Broken Hill Exploration Initiative. He has also been involved in the interpretation of all of the Geoscience Australia seismic transects done in SA during this decade, with emphasis on their Neoproterozoic and Cambrian sections. |
Sandra Menpes joined PIRSA’s Petroleum and Geothermal Group as a principal petroleum geoscientist in March 2010. Prior to joining PIRSA, Sandra was exploration asset manager for Trident Energy Ltd (2009), and principal exploration geologist for Essential Petroleum Limited (2002–08) after starting her career with Rio Tinto Exploration Pty Limited (1989–98). Sandra has wide-petroleum exploration experience in proven and frontier Australian basins, and has explored for coal deposits in the Bowen and Gunnedah basins. She enjoys research, in particular basin history analysis through the integration of geological and geophysical data. Sandy holds a BSc in petroleum geology and physics (NCPGG, now ASP) (Hons) from Adelaide University and has a graduate diploma in applied finance and investment (SIA, now FINSIA). |
Josef Holzschuh has been a seismic processor with Geoscience Australia since 2007 and he has processed numerous onshore deep crustal seismic data from different parts of Australia, including seismic line 08GA-A1. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) (geology and geophysics) from Sydney University in 1995 and with a PhD (geophysics) from UWA in 2000. |
Ross Costelloe works at Geoscience Australia in the seismic acquisition and processing project. He has extensive experience in geophysical data acquisition, processing and interpretation and has previously worked for GSI, Halliburton Geophysical Services, Geoterrex-Dighem and CSIRO in various roles. His career has included data acquisition and processing projects in Australia, Indonesia, Turkey, India and Botswana, working with seismic, gravity, aem, and airborne magnetics and radiometrics data. He has a BSc (applied mathematics) from Sydney University and an MSc (earth physics) from ANU. |
References
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