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Australian Energy Producers Journal Australian Energy Producers Journal Society
Journal of Australian Energy Producers
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Non peer reviewed)

New insights into the deep-water Otway Basin – Part 1. Integrated depth imaging workflows unravelling the subsurface

Si Ying Lee A C , Bee Jik Lim B , Arwindran Anantan A and Alexander Karvelas B
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- Author Affiliations

A Schlumberger Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

B Schlumberger, Perth, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: slee38@slb.com

The APPEA Journal 61(2) 652-656 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ20100
Accepted: 26 February 2021   Published: 2 July 2021

Abstract

The Otway Basin is a northwest-southeast trending passive margin rift basin over 500 km long and forms part of the Jurassic-Cretaceous Australian Southern Rift System. Exploration for oil and gas has, to date, focused on the onshore shelfal portions targeting thick early Cretaceous depocentres. Outboard, under deep-water areas, potential hydrocarbon resources in thick late Cretaceous depocentres remain significantly under-explored, with limited sparse legacy 2D seismic lines and no wells drilled to date. As a result, little is known about the potential continuation of the proven hydrocarbon plays, or indeed the presence of new plays, in the outboard areas. The 2020 Otway Basin seismic program was carried out with the key objectives being to infill data gaps outboard through the acquisition of new 2D seismic lines and improve the quality of legacy datasets inboard through reprocessing. A comprehensive broadband processing and depth imaging workflow was designed to address the inherent subsurface challenges that have inhibited legacy imaging campaigns. The results of this seismic program are improving the interpretability of the full stratigraphic sequence whilst also unravelling deeper crustal elements. This is providing a better understanding of the distribution of regional stratigraphic sequences, both laterally across the basin, and from the shelf to deep-water areas for the first time. As a result, new insights are being gained on both the basin evolution and potential for working petroleum systems.

Keywords: broadband processing, depth imaging, Otway Basin, seismic acquisition.

Si Ying Lee is a Geosolutions Project Manager for the Digital and Integration Division, Schlumberger, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Si Ying has a BSc in Geology from University of Malaya, Malaysia. She joined Schlumberger in 2012 and has worked on 2D, 3D marine time and depth imaging projects in various countries in the Asia Pacific.

Bee Jik Lim is an Area Geophysicist for WesternGeco based in Perth, Australia. She joined WesternGeco in 1999 and moved to Perth in 2010. She has over 20 years of industry experience with extensive background in seismic data processing and earth model building and imaging throughout various countries in the Asia Pacific region.

Arwindran Anantan is a Geosolutions Project Manager for the Digital and Integration Division, Schlumberger, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He joined Schlumberger in 2007 and has worked in time, depth, 2D, 3D, 4D, marine and land processing projects in various countries across Europe and Asia.

Alex Karvelas is the Exploration Lead for the Exploration Data Australasia region based in Perth. His role includes interpretation on depth imaging and reprocessing projects, and also supporting new acquisition projects from survey design, data processing, through to final delivery. In addition to supporting live projects in Australasia, Alex is also actively part of the Exploration and Petroleum Systems Modelling groups which support exploration campaigns and basin hydrocarbon assessment projects around the world.


References

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