Georgina Basin Prospectivity Study

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Overview

The Georgina Basin is prospective for both conventional and unconventional hydrocarbons, and contains evidence of several active petroleum systems, with both gas and oil shows having been reported in the southern Georgina Basin (Figure 1). Key potential source rocks include the middle Cambrian Thorntonia Limestone and the Arthur Creek Formation (Questa Australia Pty Ltd, 1994; Ambrose et al., 2001; Boreham and Ambrose, 2007; Dunster et al., 2007; Tiem et al., 2011; Kruse et al., 2013).

The source rocks in the Georgina Basin are considered to be elements of the Larapintine Petroleum Supersystem of Bradshaw (1993); whereas elements of the Neoproterozoic Centralian Petroleum Supersystem of Bradshaw et al. (1994) have yet to be documented in this basin.

Due to the limited audience of this diagram and its complexity, no alternative description has been provided. Please email clientservices@ga.gov.au

Figure 1. Georgina Basin Location Map

Products

Several products have been released for the Georgina Basin to assist explorers in understanding the conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon potential of the southern Georgina Basin. Key data products include a geoscience data package and a HyLogger data package.

The Geoscience Data Package is a geospatial data compilation for the Georgina Basin, with a focus on the southern part of the basin. The data set includes three components: an ARC-GIS package (that includes geochemistry, biostratigraphy, formation top picks, hydrocarbon shows, XRD data, XRF-ICPMS data, Geoscience Australia maps, map products and geophysics), a seismic data compilation (incorporating existing publicly-available seismic data from the southern Georgina Basin), and a well folio (summarising in graphic form the key stratigraphic, geochemical, biostratigraphic, hydrocarbon shows, wireline log, porosity, permeability and HyLogger data for 29 wells in the southern Georgina Basin). A second release of the ARC-GIS package will include additional data acquired in 2015, including XRD, XRF, mineralogy and geomechanical data. The HyLogger Data Package includes reprocessed HyLogger data from 25 wells in the basin (on both the Northern Territory and Queensland sides), as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Petroleum shows and indications in the southern Georgina Basin

The Onshore Energy Systems Section at Geoscience Australia is currently undertaking a comprehensive geochemical study of the Georgina Basin. One component of the study is the Australian Source Rocks Mapping Project, in which newly acquired and legacy total organic carbon (TOC) and Rock-Eval pyrolysis screening data are used to determine the distribution, type, quality, maturity and generation potential of source rocks in the basin. The second component of this study uses molecular (biomarker) and compound-specific stable carbon and hydrogen isotopic analysis to conduct gas-oil and oil-source rock correlations to better define the basin's petroleum systems.

Other products include publications released by Geoscience Australia, conference presentations and journal articles (detailed below).

Reports and datasets

Carr, L.K., Korsch, R.J., Struckmeyer, H.I.M., Totterdell, J.M., Jones, L.E.A., Holzschuh, J., Costelloe, R.D. and Meixner, T., 2011. The Architecture and Petroleum Potential of Australia's Onshore Sedimentary Basins from Deep Seismic Reflection Data and Petroleum Maturation Systems Modelling; the Arrowie, Georgina and Darling Basins. Record 2012/036. Geoscience Australia, Canberra.
Carr, L., Ayling, B., Morris, R., Higgins, K., Edwards, D., Khider, K., Smith, T., Lawrie, J., Morse, M., Boreham, C., Hatch, L., Woods, M., Cortese, A., Southby, C. and Chirinos, A., 2015. Georgina Basin Geoscience Data Package. 1 ed. Geoscience Australia, Canberra.
Smith, B.R. and Huntington, J.F., 2014. Georgina Basin HyLogging data package. Geoscience Australia, Canberra.
Smith, T.E., Carr, L.K., Edwards, D.S., Hall, L., Kelman, A.P., Laurie, J.R., Le Poidevin, S. and Nicoll, R.S., 2013. Georgina Basin biozonation and stratigraphy Chart Series, 2013, Chart 41. Geoscience Australia, Canberra.
Tiem, V.T.A., Horsfield, B. and di Primo, R., 2011. Gas Shale Potential of the Amadeus and Georgina Basins, Australia: Preliminary Insights. Record 2011/010. Geoscience Australia, Canberra.

Peer-reviewed journal articles

Ayling, B., Huntington, J., Smith, B. and Edwards, D., 2016. Hyperspectral logging of middle Cambrian marine sediments with hydrocarbon prospectivity: a case study from the southern Georgina Basin, northern Australia. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 63(8), 10.1080/08120099.2016.1204625.
Bailey, A., Tenthorey, E., and Ayling, B., 2017. Characterising the present-day stress regime of the Georgina Basin. The Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 64 (1). DOI: 10.1080/08120099.2017.1268206.
Pagès, A., Schmid, S., Edwards, D., Barnes, S., He, N., and Grice, K., 2016. A molecular and isotopic study of palaeoenvironmental conditions through the middle Cambrian in the Georgina Basin, central Australia. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 10.1016/j.epsl.2016.04.032.

Conference presentations, posters and papers

Ayling, B., Edwards, D., Huntington, J., Higgins, K., Laurie, J., Boreham, C., Smith, T., Hall, L., Morris, R., Chirinos, A., Smith, B. and Hashimoto, R., 2014. Geoscience Australia's onshore hydrocarbons program in the Northern Territory: including HyLogging in the Georgina Basin. Oral presentation at the Northern Territory AGES conference, 18-19 March 2014, Alice Springs, Australia.
Ayling, B., Edwards, D., Smith, B.R., and Huntington, J., 2014. Integration of HyLogging data with geochemical, well log and biostratigraphic data in the Georgina Basin, Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia. Poster presentation at the Australian Earth Sciences Convention, 7-10 July 2014, Newcastle, Australia.
Ayling, B., Edwards, D., Huntington, J. and Smith, B.R., 2015. Evaluation of spectral proxies in unconventional hydrocarbon plays: a case study from the southern Georgina Basin, Australia. Oral presentation at the AAPG-ICE Conference, 14-16 September 2015, Melbourne, Australia.
Ayling, B., Tenthorey, E. and Bailey, A., 2016. Geomechanics, stress regime and mineralogy of the Arthur Creek Formation and Thorntonia Limestone, southern Georgina Basin. Oral presentation at the Northern Territory AGES conference, 15-16th March 2016, Alice Springs, Australia.
Boreham, C.J. and Ambrose, G.J., 2012. Cambrian petroleum systems in the southern Georgina Basin, Northern Territory, Australia. Proceedings of the 3rd Central Australian Basin Symposium, Alice Springs, NT. Oral presentation.
Boreham, C.J., Edwards, D.S., Hall, L., Bernecker, T., Carr, L.K., Chen, J., Smith, T.E., Laurie, J.R., Stacey, A., Tan, J. and Horsfield, B., 2013. Unconventional Middle Cambrian petroleum systems in the Georgina Basin, Australia. AAPG Hedberg Conference - Fundamental Controls on Petroleum Systems in Lower Paleozoic and Older Strata, Beijing, China, September 2013. Oral presentation.
Boreham, C., Newman, J. and Edwards, D., 2014. Maturity assessment of Middle Cambrian organic-rich rocks in the southern Georgina Basin using geochemical and petrographic comparisons. Program and Abstracts. AOGC2014: the 18th Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference, 30 November-2 December 2014, Adelaide, South Australia. Oral presentation.
Edwards, D.S., Hall, L.S. and Ayling, B., 2014. Geochemical applications and petroleum systems modelling to investigate petroleum prospectivity; case studies from the Georgina and Cooper basins. RIU Good Oil Conference, 9-10 September 2014, Freemantle, Australia. Oral presentation.
Flannery, E., Smith, T., Edwards, D.S., Andrews, A. and Boreham, C., 2014. Molecular profiles of the middle Cambrian Arthur Creek Formation and Thorntonia Limestone, southern Georgina Basin. Program and Abstracts. Poster P5. AOGC2014: the 18th Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference, 30 November-2 December 2014, Adelaide, South Australia. Poster presentation.
Henson, P., Ayling, B., Boreham, C., Carr, L., Edwards, D., Hall, L., Huntingdon, J., Laurie, J., Morris, R., Newman, J., Smith, B. and Smith, T., 2015. Geoscience Australia's activities in the Georgina Basin: a synopsis. In: Northern Territory Geological Survey, 2015. Annual Geoscience Exploration Seminar (AGES) 2015. Record of abstracts. Northern Territory Geological Survey, Record 2015/002.
Smith, T.E., Laurie, J.R. and Edwards, D.E., 2015. Middle Cambrian chemostratigraphy and biostratigraphy in the southern Georgina Basin: correlating the Arthur Creek 'hot shale'. Oral presentation at the AAPG-ICE Conference, 14-16 September 2015, Melbourne, Australia.

References

Ambrose, G.J., Kruse, P.D. and Putnam, P.E., 2001. Geology and hydrocarbon potential of the southern Georgina Basin, Australia. The APPEA Journal: An Oil and Gas Odyssey, 41:1, pp. 139-163.
Bradshaw, M., 1993. Australian petroleum systems. PESA Journal, No. 21, 43-53.
Bradshaw, M.T., Bradshaw J., Murray A.P., Needham D.J., Spencer L., Summons R.E., Wilmot J. and Winn S., 1994. Petroleum systems in west Australian basins. In: Purcell P.G. and R.R. (Editors), The Sedimentary Basins of Western Australia: Proceedings of the Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia Symposium, Perth, 1994, pp. 93-118.
Dunster, J.N., Kruse, P.D., Duffett, M.L. and Ambrose, G.J., 2007. Geology and Resource Potential of the Southern Georgina Basin. Northern Territory Geological Survey. Digital Information Package DIP007.
Questa Australia Pty Ltd, 1994. Northern Territory Geological Survey, Petroleum Basin Study - Georgina Basin. Northern Territory Geological Survey, Darwin and Questa Australia Pty Ltd., Adelaide, 203 pp.
Kruse, P.D., Dunster, J.N. & Munson, T.J., 2013. Chapter 28: Georgina Basin. In: Ahmad, M. and Munson, T.J. (Compilers), Geology and mineral resources of the Northern Territory. Northern Territory Geological Survey, Special Publication, 5, 28.1-28.56.