THE SEARCH FOR STRATIGRAPHIC TRAPS GOES ON—VISUALISATION OF FLUVIAL-LACUSTRINE SUCCESSIONS IN THE MOORARI 3D SURVEY, COOPER-EROMANGA BASIN

Abstract

Exploration and development in the Cooper-Eromanga Basin have been predominantly focussed on structural traps. However, the future for exploration and field development lies in exploration for stratigraphic traps. Using advanced visualisation techniques on open file 3D seismic survey data from the Moorari and Woolkina fields in the Patchawarra Trough, Cooper Basin, we have sought to characterise the variety of possible stratigraphic traps in the Permian Patchawarra, Epsilon and Toolachee Formations and also the basal Jurassic Poolowanna Formation. The key to the analysis lies in a genetic-stratigraphic framework using sequence stratigraphy concepts as applied to non-marine basins.

Five different types of possible stratigraphic traps are illustrated from the Moorari 3D survey:

Isolated fluvial channels in a transgressive systems tract of the lower Patchawarra Formation.

Fluvial sand bodies in low accommodation intervals in a lowstand systems tract of the upper Patchawarra Formation.

Highstand lacustrine delta of the Epsilon Formation below the regional sequence boundary at the base of the Toolachee Formation.

Isolated fluvial channels in the transgressive systems tract of the Toolachee Formation.

Crevasse splay channels and crevasse splay delta complex of the transgressive systems tract of the Poolowanna Formation.

For each trap type, three dimensional distributions of the possible reservoir and seal rocks are presented and the ranking of stratigraphic trap opportunities is discussed.