Exploration of the south-eastern part of the Frontier Amadeus Basin, Northern Territory, Australia
Francois Bache A B , Paul Walshe A , Juergen Gusterhuber A , Sandra Menpes A , Mattilda Sheridan A , Sergey Vlasov A and Lance Holmes AA Santos Ltd, 60 Flinders Street, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: francois.bache@santos.com
The APPEA Journal 58(1) 190-208 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ17221
Submitted: 28 November 2017 Accepted: 16 January 2018 Published: 28 May 2018
Abstract
The Neoproterozoic to Late Paleozoic-aged Amadeus Basin is a large (~170 000 km2) east–west-trending basin, bounded to the south by the Musgrave Province and to the north by the Arunta Block of the Northern Territory. Commercial oil and gas production is established in the northern part of the basin but the southern part is still a frontier exploration area. Vintage and new seismic reflection data have been used with well data along the south-eastern Amadeus Basin to construct a new structural and depositional model. Three major phases of deformation controlling deposition have been identified. The first phase is characterised by a SW–NE trending structural fabric and is thought to be older than the deposition of the first sediments identified above basement (Heavitree and Bitter Springs formations). The second phase corresponds to the Petermann Orogeny (580–540 Ma) and trends in a NW–SE orientation. The third phase is the Alice Springs Orogeny (450–300 Ma) and is oriented W–E to WNW–ESE in this part of the basin. This tectono-stratigraphic model involving three distinct phases of deformation potentially explains several critical observations: the lack of Heavitree reservoir at Mt Kitty-1, limited salt movements before the Petermann Orogeny (~300 Ma after its deposition) and salt-involved structures that can be either capped by the Petermann Unconformity and overlying Cambrian to Devonian sediments, or can reach the present day surface. Finally, this model, along with availability of good quality seismic data, opens new perspectives for the hydrocarbon exploration of the Amadeus Basin. Each of the tectonic phases impacts the primary petroleum system and underpins play-based exploration.
Keywords: Alice Springs Orogeny, dolomites, evaporites, Gillen, Heavitree, Neoproterozoic, Petermann Orogeny, play-based exploration, prospectivity, seismic stratigraphy, structural framework, time–depth conversion.
Francois Bache is a senior geoscientist at Santos Ltd. He has a PhD in marine geology from the University of Brest, France. Francois specialises in seismic stratigraphy and play-based exploration and has published on various topics and geographical areas including Tasman Frontier, New Zealand, Mediterranean Basin, Sultanate of Oman and Bolivia. Francois is also Associate Editor of the Marine and Petroleum Geology Journal. |
Paul Walshe holds a BA Mod in Geology from Trinity College, Dublin and an MSc in Petroleum Geology and Geophysics from the University of Adelaide. He is currently working as a Senior Staff Geophysicist with Santos and has previously worked for Maersk Oil, Shell and Origin Energy. He has worked on exploration and development projects in many parts of the world, including onshore and offshore Australia, Angola, Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico. He is a member of SEG and the EAGE. |
Juergen Gusterhuber holds an MSc in Mining Geology and a PhD in Petroleum Geology from the Montan University Leoben, Austria. He has been working for 4 years as a research associate with the main focus on thermal basin and petroleum systems modelling at the Department of Applied Geosciences and Geophysics before he joined Santos Ltd in early 2013 as a geoscientist. In July 2016, he commenced work in the Northern Territory Onshore Exploration team. Juergen has published various peer-reviewed papers on basin evolution and petroleum systems modelling and he is a member of AAPG and EAGE. |
Sandy Menpes is an exploration geoscientist who has now worked in most of the onshore Australian basins at least once in her career. She graduated from the University of Adelaide with an Honours Degree in Petroleum Geology and Geophysics in 1988. Sandy spent the first 10 years of her career working for Rio Tinto, exploring for oil and gas in the Amadeus, Beetaloo and Georgina Basins in the Northern Territory and exploring for coal in the Permian basins of eastern Australia. After a few years at home with young children she joined Essential Petroleum in 2002, exploring for oil and gas in the Otway Basin. After 7 years at Essential Petroleum, Sandy worked as Trident Energy’s Exploration Asset Manager (Cooper, Canning, Amadeus and offshore Otway Basins) before accepting a research position assessing the unconventional potential of South Australian basins (Arckaringa, Officer, Cooper and Adelaide Geosyncline) at DMITRE in 2010. Sandy joined Santos in 2014, initially with the Unconventional Resources Group exploring the unconventional gas plays of the Cooper Basin, before taking a position as Team Leader Northern Territory Onshore Exploration working the Beetaloo and Amadeus Basins. Sandy is a member of PESA, SPE and AAPG and is currently Chair of the PESA Federal Conferences Committee. |
Mattilda Sheridan is a Geoscientist in the Regional and New Ventures Team at Santos Ltd. Mattilda is currently involved in play-based exploration in the Northern Territory, focusing on the McArthur and Amadeus Basins. Prior to this role at Santos, Mattilda worked as a sedimentologist and well site geologist. Mattilda obtained a MSc in Geology at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand (2014). Her undergraduate Degree in Geology was completed at the Australian National University, Canberra and at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom (2012). |
Sergey Vlaslov is a senior geophysicist at Santos Ltd. He holds an MSc in Geology and Geophysics from Saratov State University, Russia. He has worked on exploration and development projects in different oil and gas provinces in Russia, Central Asia, India and Mongolia, including a number of the field Acquisition projects, being a manager, geophysicist, independent consultant, ‘birddog’, observer and labour. |
Lance Holmes graduated with a BSc Hons from the University of Natal, South Africa. Specialising in regional basin analysis and new venture evaluations, he has worked for several companies on many basins throughout Africa, Australasia, South-east Asia and the Middle East. Lance currently works for Santos Ltd as a Principal Geologist in the Regional and New Ventures Team, identifying and capturing new opportunities. |
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