What lies beneath – a review of frontier exploration for deep plays in the Bowen Basin
Raymond L. Johnson Jr A * and Nathan Parker BA The University of Queensland, Centre for Natural Gas, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
B Origin Energy, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
The APPEA Journal 63 173-189 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ22197
Submitted: 23 January 2023 Accepted: 21 February 2023 Published: 11 May 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of APPEA. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Recent coal seam gas to liquefied natural gas developments have revitalised the Bowen and Surat basins and provided the impetus to explore further for plays with sufficient scale to target both export and domestic markets. Over the last decade, several wells were drilled through Permian-age sediments in the southern Bowen Basin and stimulated to assess the commerciality of various tight gas formations. Thorough data collection included log, core, injection testing, and observations from hydraulic fracturing operations and diagnostics. These data validated the play while providing a picture of the reservoir and in-situ stress conditions; however, challenges exist that will require further wells and studies. We will summarise and highlight the key data collected, review the fracture treatments that were largely ineffective and discuss the implications for further developments in these low-permeability, tight gas targets.
Keywords: Bowen Basin, deep coals, DFIT, fracture diagnostics, fracture stimulation, geomechanics, pore pressure, tight gas.
Prof Raymond L Johnson Jr. is currently a Professor of Well Engineering and Production Technology at the University of Queensland, Centre for Natural Gas. He has a PhD in Mining Engineering, a MSc in Petroleum Engineering, a Graduate Diploma in Information Technology, and a BA in Chemistry. Prof Johnson is a Life Member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), a past Queensland SPE Section chair, twice co-Chair of the SPE Unconventional Reservoir Conference Asia Pacific, 2019 co-Chair and 2021 Advisor of the Asia Pacific Unconventional Resources Technology Conference, Technical Committee Co-Chair for the 2022 SPE Unconventional Reservoir Symposium, and twice SPE Regional Technical Award Recipient (Production Operations and Management and Information). Ray has served in numerous technical and management positions in service, operating and consulting companies in the United States and Australia. Prof Johnson is a Fellow of Engineers Australia. |
Nathan Parker is currently Exploration Manager at Origin Energy. He is an accomplished explorer with over 20 years’ global experience in a diverse range of plays, from deep water to unconventionals. With a BSc in Applied Geology from The University of New South Wales and an MBA from Curtin University, Nathan has worked with Woodside, Shell, BG Group (Queensland Gas Company Pty Ltd; QGC) and Origin Energy in a wide range of technical and management roles. Prior to joining Origin Energy, Nathan led tight gas sand exploration programs in the Bowen Basin at QGC, resulting in the drilling of a series of play-opening wells in the deep basin centre. Nathan is an active member of PESA, serving on State and Federal Committees, and he is a past Federal President. He is also a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. |
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