PETROLEUM POTENTIAL OF THE GREAT SOUTH BASIN, NEW ZEALAND—NEW SEISMIC DATA IMPROVES IMAGING

Abstract

Much of the Great South Basin is covered by a 30,000 km grid of old seismic data, dating from the 1970s. This early exploration activity resulted in drilling eight wells, one of which, Kawau–1a, was a 461 Bcf gas-condensate discovery. Three other wells had significant oil and gas shows; in particular, Toroa–1 had extensive gas shows and 300 m oil shows. Cuttings are described in the geological logs as dripping with oil. The well was never tested due to engineering difficulties, meaning that much of the bore was accidentally filled with cement while setting casing.

In early 2006, Crown Minerals, New Zealand’s petroleum industry regulating body, conducted a new 2D seismic survey in a previously lightly surveyed region across the northern part of the Great South Basin. While previous surveys were generally recorded for five seconds, sometimes six, with up to a 2,500-metre-long cable, the new survey, acquired by CGG Multiwave’s Pacific Titan, employed a 6,000-metre-long streamer and recorded for eight seconds.

The dataset was processed to pre-stack time migration (PreSTM) by the GNS Science group using its access to the New Zealand Supercomputer. Increasing the recording time yielded dividends by more fully imaging, for the first time, the nature of rift faulting in the basin. Previous data showed only the tops of many fault blocks. The new data show a system of listric extensional faults, presumably soling out onto a mid-crust detachment. Sedimentary reflectors are observed to seven seconds, implying a thickness of up to 6,000 m of section, probably containing source rock units. The rotated fault blocks provide focal points for large compaction structures. The new data show amplitude anomalies and other features possibly indicating hydrocarbons associated with many of these structures. The region around the Toroa–1 well was typified by anomalously low velocities, which created a vertical zone of heavily attenuated reflections, particularly on intermediate processing products. The new data also show an amplitude anomaly at the well’s total depth (TD) which gives rise to a velocity push-down.

Santonian age coaly source rocks are widespread and several reservoir units are recognised. The reservoir at Kawau–1a is the extensive Kawau Sandstone, an Early Maastrichtian transgressive unit sealed by a thick carbonate-cemented mudstone. In addition to the transgressive sandstone target, the basin also contains sandy Eocene facies, and Paleogene turbidite targets may also be attractive. Closed structures are numerous and many are very large with potential to contain billion barrel oil fields or multi-Tcf gas fields.