Old basins, new seismic data – architecture of Proterozoic basins in Northwest Queensland
Alison Troup A B and Sally Edwards A *A Queensland Department of Resources, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
B Petroleum Assessment Hub, Queensland Department of Resources, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
The APPEA Journal 62 S502-S507 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ21167
Accepted: 5 March 2022 Published: 13 May 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of APPEA.
Abstract
As part of the Strategic Resources Exploration Program and to complement surveys acquired under Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future (EFTF) initiative, the Geological Survey of Queensland acquired the Camooweal 2D seismic survey in 2019. This survey was designed to support exploration for hydrocarbons in the Georgina and South Nicholson Basins and Isa Superbasin in Northwest Queensland (NWQ) by providing precompetitive sub-surface data to enable interpretation of basin and basement architecture and to examine structures interpreted in the 2018 North West Queensland SEEBASE Study. The Camooweal 2D seismic survey extends Geoscience Australia’s L210 South Nicholson Seismic Survey into an underexplored region of NWQ. It also ties into and complements the 1994 and 2004 Mount Isa seismic surveys, and the 2019 L212 Barkly Seismic Survey in the Northern Territory. The South Nicholson survey highlighted a significant thickness of sedimentary strata and identified a new depocenter of probable Proterozoic age, now referred to as the Carrara Sub-basin. The Camooweal and Barkly surveys extended the seismic coverage in this region and possibly increase the Carrara Sub-basin’s extent underneath the Georgina Basin. This work will present an interpretation of the basin architecture of the Camooweal 2D seismic in light of the recent drilling at NDI Cararra 1 and tie into interpretation of the Barkly Seismic Survey to provide a regional interpretation of NWQ’s Proterozoic basins in the region.
Keywords: deep seismic data acquisition, Georgina Basin, Isa Superbasin, North West Queensland, Queensland, seismic horizons, seismic interpretation, seismic reflectors, South Nicholson Basin.
Alison Troup has worked for the Queensland Government for 12 years. In that time, she has led and participated in numerous studies evaluating the conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon potential of basins and formations across the state. She has a particular interest in regional and play-based petroleum systems’ evaluation and understanding emerging play types and regions in Australia. She is currently part way through PhD studies with the University of Queensland and is a member of PESA. |
Sally Edwards attended Adelaide and James Cook Universities completing her MSc in sequence stratigraphy and sedimentology in 2001. Between 2002 and 2006, she worked for various research consortiums and institutions investigating modern sediment transport and deposition. Between 2006 and 2012, she worked for CO2CRC investigating carbon sequestration and storage options in Victoria and Queensland before joining the Geological Survey of Queensland. Since 2012 she has worked on petroleum-related projects in Queensland such as the Toolebuc Formation’s potential as a shale play, remapping the Injune Creek Group to recognise the coal seam gas reservoirs of the Surat Basin and, more recently, was involved in planning of the Camooweal Seismic Survey aimed at promoting exploration in greenfield Northwest Queensland. Currently her role within GSQ is as the petroleum subject matter expert and oil and gas data analyst. She is a member of PESA, SPE and is currently the President of the Formation Evaluation Society of Queensland. |
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