Exploring for the Future: new geomechanical data in frontier Australian basins
Adam Bailey A * , David Dewhurst B , Liuqi Wang A , Chris Carson A , Jade Anderson A , Grace Butcher A and Paul Henson AA
B
Adam H.E. Bailey is a Petroleum Geoscientist at Geoscience Australia, with expertise in petroleum geomechanics, structural geology and basin analysis. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) in 2012 and a PhD in 2016 from the Australian School of Petroleum at the University of Adelaide. Adam is currently part of the Onshore Energy Systems team at Geoscience Australia, where he is currently working on the flagship Exploring for the Future Program. |
Dave N. Dewhurst is a chief research scientist at CSIRO Energy in Perth. He holds a BSc (Hons) In Geology from the University of Sheffield (UK) and a PhD in Physics from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne (UK). He previously held post-doctoral positions at the University of Birmingham (UK), the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (UK), the Institut Français du Pétrole near Paris and Imperial College, London, before moving to CSIRO in 1998. He works on mechanical and physical properties of rocks for petroleum exploration and development, specialising in overburden and gas shales, as well as reservoir and seal evaluation for geological storage of CO2 and other gases. |
Dr Liuqi Wang is a well analyst at Geoscience Australia working in the Minerals, Energy and Groundwater Division. He received his PhD in petroleum engineering and worked as a research fellow at the University of New South Wales before joining Geoscience Australia. His research interests include petrophysics, static and dynamic reservoir modelling, applied statistics and artificial intelligence. He is a member of PESA and EAGE. |
Chris Carson has worked in Antarctica, Canadian Arctic, Alaska, New Caledonia and northern and central Australia, specialising in metamorphic petrology, geochronology and structural geology. Joining Geoscience Australia in 2006, he dabbled in SHRIMP geochronology and, in 2017, joined the Onshore Energy program, working in the South Nicholson region of the NT. |
Jade Anderson completed a PhD at the University of Adelaide in the areas of metamorphic geology, geochronology and Proterozoic Australia tectonics in 2015. Jade now works as a Geoscientist in basin systems at Geoscience Australia. |
Grace Butcher (nee Westerman) is a Geologist at Geoscience Australia. She graduated with a BSc (Hons) in 2010 from the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds. Working with the Onshore Energy Systems team at Geoscience Australia. Grace is currently working on the flagship Exploring for the Future Program in Northern Australia. |
Paul A. Henson graduated from the University of Tasmania and is currently the Director of the Onshore Energy Systems section at Geoscience Australia. He has extensive experience in the minerals sector working on mineral systems in Proterozoic and Archaean terranes. Since 2010, he has led the Australian Government’s onshore carbon storage program, undertaking deep onshore drilling and seismic acquisition programs in collaboration with the states and industry. He now manages the EFTF Energy program, leading a team of researchers to acquire new pre-competitive geoscientific data to improve our understanding of the oil and gas potential of Australian onshore basins. |
Abstract
Led by Geoscience Australia, Exploring for the Future (EFTF) is a A$225 million Australian Government program dedicated to exploring Australia’s resource potential and boosting investment. The EFTF program energy component aimed to attract industry investment by delivering a suite of new precompetitive geoscience data in prospective Australian sedimentary basins. Through EFTF, Geoscience Australia has acquired significant amounts of new geomechanical data from underexplored onshore sedimentary basins with identified hydrocarbon prospectivity, from both legacy and newly acquired samples. These data were acquired to build a better understanding of basin sediment rock properties, particularly looking at the reservoir and seal potential of postulated unconventional and conventional targets. Four major datasets are presented herein, representing prospective intervals from the Paleozoic Canning Basin of Western Australia, the Neoproterozoic-Paleozoic Officer Basin of South Australia and Western Australia, the Paleo-Mesoproterozoic South Nicholson region of the Northern Territory and northwest Queensland, and the Paleo-Mesoproterozoic Birrindudu Basin of the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Additionally, the Paleo-Mesoproterozoic McArthur Basin of the Northern Territory is represented by a small number of analyses. Tests include unconfined compressive strength tests, laboratory ultrasonic measurements, single and multi-stage triaxial tests and Brazilian tensile strength tests. These datasets are a precompetitive resource that can facilitate investment decisions in frontier regions, helping to identify elements of conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon systems as well as providing essential data to assess geological storage opportunities.
Keywords: Birrindudu Basin, Canning Basin, Exploring for the Future, frontier basins, geological storage, geomechanics, Greater McArthur Basin, Officer Basin, Proterozoic shales, South Nicholson region.
Adam H.E. Bailey is a Petroleum Geoscientist at Geoscience Australia, with expertise in petroleum geomechanics, structural geology and basin analysis. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) in 2012 and a PhD in 2016 from the Australian School of Petroleum at the University of Adelaide. Adam is currently part of the Onshore Energy Systems team at Geoscience Australia, where he is currently working on the flagship Exploring for the Future Program. |
Dave N. Dewhurst is a chief research scientist at CSIRO Energy in Perth. He holds a BSc (Hons) In Geology from the University of Sheffield (UK) and a PhD in Physics from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne (UK). He previously held post-doctoral positions at the University of Birmingham (UK), the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (UK), the Institut Français du Pétrole near Paris and Imperial College, London, before moving to CSIRO in 1998. He works on mechanical and physical properties of rocks for petroleum exploration and development, specialising in overburden and gas shales, as well as reservoir and seal evaluation for geological storage of CO2 and other gases. |
Dr Liuqi Wang is a well analyst at Geoscience Australia working in the Minerals, Energy and Groundwater Division. He received his PhD in petroleum engineering and worked as a research fellow at the University of New South Wales before joining Geoscience Australia. His research interests include petrophysics, static and dynamic reservoir modelling, applied statistics and artificial intelligence. He is a member of PESA and EAGE. |
Chris Carson has worked in Antarctica, Canadian Arctic, Alaska, New Caledonia and northern and central Australia, specialising in metamorphic petrology, geochronology and structural geology. Joining Geoscience Australia in 2006, he dabbled in SHRIMP geochronology and, in 2017, joined the Onshore Energy program, working in the South Nicholson region of the NT. |
Jade Anderson completed a PhD at the University of Adelaide in the areas of metamorphic geology, geochronology and Proterozoic Australia tectonics in 2015. Jade now works as a Geoscientist in basin systems at Geoscience Australia. |
Grace Butcher (nee Westerman) is a Geologist at Geoscience Australia. She graduated with a BSc (Hons) in 2010 from the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds. Working with the Onshore Energy Systems team at Geoscience Australia. Grace is currently working on the flagship Exploring for the Future Program in Northern Australia. |
Paul A. Henson graduated from the University of Tasmania and is currently the Director of the Onshore Energy Systems section at Geoscience Australia. He has extensive experience in the minerals sector working on mineral systems in Proterozoic and Archaean terranes. Since 2010, he has led the Australian Government’s onshore carbon storage program, undertaking deep onshore drilling and seismic acquisition programs in collaboration with the states and industry. He now manages the EFTF Energy program, leading a team of researchers to acquire new pre-competitive geoscientific data to improve our understanding of the oil and gas potential of Australian onshore basins. |
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