THE LANDER TROUGH—A CENTRAL AUSTRALIAN FRONTIER EXPLORATION AREA

Abstract

The Lander Trough is an almost unexplored area of 30 000 square kilometres in the central western Northern Territory. It has very similar stratigraphy and structural features to the nearby Amadeus, Ngalia and southern Georgina Basins. They all contain fluvio-deltaic to marine sediments of Late Proterozoic to Carboniferous age and were subjected to deformation during several major periods of folding and overthrusting. They are remnants of one depositional basin which covered much of Northern Australia in the Late Proterozoic and Early Palaeozoic Eras. Producing oil and gas fields occur in the Amadeus Basin and there are many oil and gas occurrences in the southern Georgina and Ngalia Basins. The Lander Trough contains up to 3000 metres of largely marine clastic and carbonate sediments which are expected to include mature source rocks and effective reservoirs and seals. Adequate migration paths and trapping mechanisms are believed to be present. The Lander Trough has the potential for commercial petroleum discoveries.