Geoscience Australia seismic survey 310: revealing stratigraphy and structure of the outer northern Perth Basin margin
George Bernardel A and Chris Nicholson AGeoscience Australia.
The APPEA Journal 53(2) 481-481 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ12092
Published: 2013
Abstract
Geoscience Australia acquired seismic survey GA 310 in 2008–09, across the southwest margin of Australia, as part of the Australian government’s Energy Security Program. Deep reflection seismic and potential field data were recorded across sparse 2D grids located on the Wallaby Plateau in the north, Mentelle Basin in the south, and the intervening Houtman and Zeewyck sub-basins of the northern Perth Basin.
The offshore northern Perth Basin extends for about 700 km along the Western Australia margin, from the towns of Carnarvon in the north to Cervantes in the south. The largely Paleozoic-Mesozoic tectonostratigraphic framework is dominated by Permian and Early-Middle Jurassic rifting, followed by Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous rifting leading to Valanginian breakup between Australia and Greater India. Underlying Precambrian Pinjarra Orogen structuring, in conjunction with rifting, has resulted in the development of several complex depocentres and basement highs.
A recent re-evaluation of the offshore northern Perth Basin well-based lithostratigraphy into a new chronostratigraphic sequence framework has been carried outboard, on the GA 310 seismic lines, into the margin bounding the Zeewyck and northern Houtman sub-basins. The main sequences hosting source rocks—Kockatea and Cattamarra—are widely present in the expansive northern Houtman Sub-basin, and are likely to be present in the deep Zeewyck Sub-basin. The mapping of a thick Late Jurassic Yarragadee Sequence in the Zeewyck Sub-basin indicates a major pre-breakup locus of relatively rapid deposition. The structural interpretation across the sub-basin highlights breakup-drift unconformities and strike-slip faulting and suggests a probable along-margin sheared crustal sliver; tectonic elements commensurate with an evolving rift-shear breakup margin.
George Bernardel is a geoscientist in Geoscience Australia’s Basin Resources Group. He has a BSc (Hons) and BEng. He has worked at Geoscience Australia since 1988 after a short period at Bridge Oil NL. In the past few years, he has been researching about the architecture and evolution of Australia’s Southwest Margin. Member: PESA and EAGE. |
Chris Nicholson is a geoscientist in Geoscience Australia’s Basin Resources Group. He graduated from ANU with a BSc (Hons) (2000). His research has focused the hydrocarbon prospectivity of frontier basins on Australia’s continental margin. Recently, he worked with a multi-disciplinary team to re-assess the hydrocarbon prospectivity of the offshore northern Perth Basin. Previously, he undertook similar research on the Mentelle, Vlaming, and Bremer basins. He is leading a regional integrated assessment of petroleum prospectivity and CO2 storage potential in the Browse Basin. Member: PESA and EAGE. |
References
Antobreh, A.A., Faleide, J.I., Tsikalas, F., and Planke, S. (2009). Rift–shear architecture and tectonic development of the Ghana margin deduced from multichannel seismic reflection and potential field data. Marine and Petroleum Geology 26, 345–68.Bird, D. (2001). Shear margins: Continent–ocean transform and fracture zone boundaries. The Leading Edge 20, 150–59.
Bradshaw, B.E., Rollet, N., Totterdell, J.M., and Borissova, I., 2003—A revised structural framework for frontier basins on the southern and south-western Australian continental margin. Geoscience Australia, Record 2003/03.
Dentith, M.C., Long, A., Scott, J., Harris, L.B., and Wilde, S.A., 1994—The influence of basement on faulting within the Perth Basin, Western Australia. In: Purcell, P.G., and Purcell, R.R. (Eds.), The Sedimentary Basins of Western Australia. Proceedings of Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia Symposium. Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia, 791–99.
Gibbons, A.D., Barckhausen, U., Van Den Bogaard, P., Hoernle, K., Werner, R., Whittaker, J.M., and Muller, R.D. (2012). Constraining the Jurassic extent of Greater India: tectonic evolution of the West Australian margin. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 13, 25pp.
Grosjean, E., Boreham, C., Jones, A., Jorgensen, D., and Kennard, J. (2013). A reassessment of the petroleum systems in the offshore northern Perth Basin. APPEA Journal 53, .
Hall, L.S., Gibbons, A.D., Bernardel, G., Whittaker, J.M., Nicholson, C., Rollet, N., Miller, D., and Jones, A., submitted—Structural Architecture of Australia’s Southwest Continental Margin and Implications for Early Cretaceous Basin Evolution. Proceeding of the Western Australian Basins Symposium.
Jones, A.T., Kennard, J.M., Nicholson, C.J., Bernardel, G., Mantle, D., Grosjean, E., Boreham, C.J., Jorgensen, D.C., and Robertson, D. (2011). New Exploration Opportunities in the Offshore Northern Perth Basin. APPEA Journal 51, 45–78.
Jones, A.T., Kelman, A.P., Kennard, J.M., Le Poidevin, S., Mantle, D.J., and Mory, A.J., 2012—Offshore Perth Basin Biozonation and Stratigraphy 2011, Chart 38. Geoscience Australia.
Jorgensen, D.C., Jones, A.T., Kennard, J.M., Mantle, D., Robertson, D., Nelson, G., Lech, M., Grosjean, E., and Boreham, C.J., 2011—Offshore northern Perth Basin well folio. Geoscience Australia Record, 2011/09, 72p.
Langhi, L., Zhang, Y., Nicholoson, C., Bernardel, G., Rollet, N., Schaubs, P., Kepmton, R., and Kennard, J., 2012—Geomechanical modelling of trap integrity in the northern offshore Perth Basin. CSIRO Earth Science & Resource Engineering. Open File Report EP12425.
Lorenzo, J.M. (1997). Sheared continent–ocean margins: an overview. Geo–Marine Letters 17, 1–3.
Nicholson, C., Langhi, L., Zhang, Y., Rollet, N., Bernardel, G., Kempton, R., and Kennard, J. (2012). Reducing exploration risk in the offshore northern Perth Basin: Trap integrity study addresses a key exploration risk. AusGeo News , 14–18.
Norvick, M.S., 2004—Tectonic and stratigraphic history of the Perth Basin, Geoscience Australia Record 2004/16, 30p.
Pfahl, M.C., 2011—Tectonic subsidence, thermal history and petroleum system modelling of the offshore northern Perth Basin, Western Australia. BSc, Australian School of Petroleum, 109p.
Rollet, N., Pfahl, M., Jones, A., Kennard, J., Nicholson, C., Grosjean, E., Mantle, D., Jorgensen, D., Bernardel, G., Kempton, R., Langhi, L., Zhang, Y., Hall, L., Hackney, R., Johnston, S., Boreham, C., Robertson, D., Petkovic, P., and Lech, M., 2013—Northern extension of active petroleum systems in the offshore Perth Basin - an integrated stratigraphic, geochemical, geomechanical and seepage study. Proceeding of the Western Australian Basins Symposium.
Turner, J.P., Rosendahl, B.R., and Wilson, P.G. (2003). Structure and evolution of an obliquely sheared continental margin: Rio Muni, West Africa. Tectonophysics 374, 41–55.
