Integration of biostratigraphy into a sequence stratigraphic framework for the Surat Basin, eastern Australia
Claudio L. de Andrade Vieira Filho A B , Mark Reilly A , Suzanne Hurter A and Zsolt Hamerli AA Centre for Coal Seam Gas, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072 Qld, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: c.deandradevieirafilho@uq.edu.au
The APPEA Journal 59(2) 863-868 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ18071
Accepted: 4 March 2019 Published: 17 June 2019
Abstract
A new sequence stratigraphic framework (SSF) for the Early–Late Jurassic Surat Basin, eastern Australia, is evolving. A second and third order framework based upon an integrated methodology of well-to-well correlations supported by well tied seismic data is being developed. The integration of an additional dataset (palynology) to test for regionally consistent sequence stratigraphic well correlations offers an improvement in defining sequence boundaries related to the geological timescale. The palynological data from 33 wells covering the north-east Surat Basin were extracted from the Queensland Digital Exploration (QDEX) open-file reports, some of which date back to the 1960s. These data were correlated and superposed on the SSF for age comparison. The dataset used in this study represents only a subset of all existing palynology information, as not all data are captured in QDEX. However, the palynology data in this exploratory study generally fits and supports the new SSF with only one exception, the reason for which is not understood at this stage. We recommend expanding this study to include more data because palynology can support stratigraphic interpretation, especially in wells that do not intercept, or have log data across, regional datums.
Keywords: coal seam gas, Jurassic, palynology, seismic, sequence stratigraphy, wireline.
Claudio Luiz de Andrade Vieira Filho is currently a Research Assistant at the Centre for Coal Seam Gas, The University of Queensland, Brisbane. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Geology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His research interests are sedimentology, sequence stratigraphy and geological modelling. |
Mark Reilly is an experienced petroleum geologist, having undertaken projects on the North-West Shelf as well as in the Bowen/Surat Basin, the Georgina Basin and Libya, amongst others. He has extensive experience in field geology and geomorphology and is particularly familiar with Central Queensland, the Flinders Ranges and Lake Eyre. Mark holds a Bachelor of Applied Science Degree in Geology from the Queensland University of Technology and a Bachelor of Science Degree (Honours) from the National Centre for Petroleum Geology and Geophysics at the University of Adelaide. Mark leads industry field geology training courses and he is a Senior Research Associate at the Centre for Coal Seam Gas (The University of Queensland). Mark has published in AAPG special publication, EABS Journal and the APPEA Journal and has presented at many local and international conferences. |
Professor Suzanne Hurter has recently joined The University of Queensland and was appointed Energi Simulation Industrial Research Chair after a career in the oil and gas industry in various roles in Shell (Netherlands), Schlumberger (Netherlands and Australia), QGC (BG-Group) and Arrow Energy (Shell-Petrochina). Previously, she has worked in academia in Germany (Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam and the Leibnitz Institute of Applied Geophysics in Hannover) and Brazil (University of São Paulo). She holds a PhD (Geology) from The University of Michigan (USA). Her research interests and activities include hydrocarbon maturation and thermal evolution of sedimentary basins, carbon sequestration, coupled modelling of flow, heat in porous and fractured media and using numerical modelling to evaluate and improve onshore gas production. |
Zsolt Hamerli has a first-class Honours Degree in Geology and over 17 years of professional experience in oil and gas exploration. Zsolt has worked as a Seismic Interpreter in several basins around the world and is currently at the University of Queensland’s Centre for Coal Seam Gas. |
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