SOME GOOD ONSHORE PETROLEUM PROSPECTS IN AUSTRALIA

Abstract

On onshore Australia there are only a few areas where he density of drilling has reached even what Dr. Busch las referred to as sparse coverage i.e., wells 10 miles apart. Consequently it is foolish to write off Australian Inshore sedimentary basins.

However there is enough information around now to grade areas in the sedimentary basins onshore and the writer has done so.

The factors used are:

Either shows of oil or gas in potential reservoir beds or favourable source rock shales with interbedded sandstone or carbonate reservoir beds at a low enough degree of metamorphism to prevent the hydrocarbons and the porosity of reservoir beds being destroyed.

Favourable early stratigraphic trapping situation, i.e., an onlap or hingeline situation.

Area good for structural elucidation either from surface geology plus core drilling or from seismic. Based on these factors there are 2 potential groups of areas.

Round known commercial fields onshore. This is obvious and is not considered further here.

The following structures or areas

Ethabuka Structure. Georgina Basin. Queensland.

Pincombe Range Structure, and other structures. Bonaparte Gulf. Western Australia.

Otway Basin.

Gambier Embayment. Western Victoria.

The characteristics of these areas are briefly dealt with. They are all areas which are virtually undrilled.