Revisiting the deep structure of the Northern Carnarvon Basin: insights from new seismic reflection data
Paul Bellingham A , Leanne Cowie B , Rod Graham C , Brian Horn A , Kenneth McDermott A and James Pindell DA ION Geophysical.
B Badleys Geodynamics.
C Independent Consultant.
D Tectonic Analysis.
The APPEA Journal 55(2) 421-421 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ14056
Published: 2015
Abstract
The Carnarvon Basin has long been a focus for hydrocarbon exploration and development. Many models have been proposed for the basin’s lithospheric structure, although the great thickness of the Mungaroo delta system has hampered the clear imaging of the underlying rift and break-up structure. New deep, long offset seismic reflection data acquired across the basin as a part of ION’s Westralia SPAN survey provide unique imaging of the deep basement structures and the complete overlying sedimentary section. The survey crossed the offshore terrains, from weakly stretched continental crust to oceanic crust.
The margin has developed during two major events; one of Permo-Carboniferous age, prior to the Mungaroo delta system, and one of Middle to Upper Jurassic age. There is a possibility that the basement terrain under parts of the Exmouth Plateau is actually Permo-Carboniferous oceanic crust, rather than hyper-extended continental crust or exhumed continental lithospheric mantle.
Deformation during the second major event in the Jurassic was focused in the Barrow-Dampier Sub-basin and at the present day ocean-continent transition with little deformation across the Exmouth Plateau in-between. The only basement involved extension appears to be in the Barrow-Dampier system and appears to be non-volcanic. The outer margin along the northwest edge of the Exmouth Plateau includes significant volcanic input, likely underplating and emplacement of seaward-dipping reflectors.
Paul Bellingham is the director for eastern hemisphere for the ION consulting business unit. He is a structural geologist with interest in crustal extension and break-up and implications for petroleum systems. Prior to ION, Paul was at Hess, where he managed the exploration program in Kurdistan, Iraq. Paul also held positions in exploration and new ventures as well as strategic planning and portfolio management. He received his Bachelor’s degree in geology in 1995 from Cambridge University, where he also obtained his PhD (1999), investigating the development and subsidence of extensional sedimentary basins in the Arctic. Fellow: GSL. Member: PESGB. |
Leanne Cowie completed a PhD at the University of Liverpool (2014) that focused on determining ocean-continent transition structure and continent-ocean boundary location at deep-water rifted margins. Leanne’s PhD at Liverpool was funded by an oil and gas industry consortium project and one of her objectives was to put her research results into a context that can be readily used by industry as an aid to deep-water exploration. Leanne is now employed by Badley Geodynamics as a geophysicist, where she works on the integrated quantitative analysis of deep seismic reflection and gravity data to determine deep-water rifted continental margin structure and tectonics. |
Rodney (Rod) Graham graduated from the University of Wales with a PhD, DIC and undertook post-doctoral research at Imperial College, and later in lectured structural geology in the University of Wales (Swansea). For the next 30 years, he worked, in a roving advisory roles, for BP, Monument, LASMO, ENI, Emerald and Hess. He retired in 2012 to set up his own consulting business. He is a visiting professor at Imperial College, has written numerous papers and has acted as external examiner for many PhD thesis and several MSc courses. Fellow: GSL. Member: PESGB, AAPG. |
Brian W. Horn Brian received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in geology from the University of Colorado and his PhD in geology and geological engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. He is the senior vice president and chief geologist for ION consulting business unit. He has worked in exploration and production for 25 years with Amoco, BP and Maersk Oil before joining ION in 2010. His experience includes integrating geological and engineering/production data for play exploration and development fairway analysis, petroleum systems, source-rock potential, regional stratigraphic and seismic correlations and resource assessments. In addition to exploration projects Brian has delivered exploitation/development programs generating prospects for development and reservoir characterisation for infill drilling designed to identify and evaluate critical geologic uncertainties focused on increasing recovery efficiencies and reservoir management strategies. |
Ken McDermott was awarded his PhD by the University of Birmingham, UK, in 2013 for work on the recognition and mechanisms of hyper-extension at magma-poor rifted margins and a BSc in geology from University College Dublin, Ireland (2007). His main research interests are in the structural and tectonic development of both volcanic and magma-poor rifted margins. He is interested in how extension is accommodated at rifted margins. Since 2014, Ken has been structural geologist at ION Geophysical working on, and aiding in the development of ION’s BasinSPAN library. In 2012-14 Ken held a post-doctoral research position at University College Dublin, working with the NAG Consortium to create a new tectono-stratigraphic atlas for the N. Atlantic. Fellow: GSL. |
Jim Pindell received a BA in geology from Colgate University (1979), a Master’s degree in geology from SUNY Albany (1981) and a PhD in geology from the University of Durham, England (1985). His main interests are in research and teaching (short courses, workshops, field trips), focusing on paleogeography and basinal evolution primarily of the Atlantic margins, the Gulf of Mexico and Latin America. He has served as a research scientist at the Lamont, Dartmouth, Rice and Cardiff institutions in the last 28 years, and has conducted numerous industrial consortia-type research programs through his company Tectonic Analysis Ltd. Since 2011, Jim has served as an interpreter for ION Geoventures where he studies and documents rifting and continental margin formation. Member: AAPG, GSA, AGU and GSL. |
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