An Integrated Evaluation of Potential Petroleum Systems of the Southern Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia

摘要

The Southern Carnarvon Basin is an elongate basin in Western Australia covering approximately 200,000km2. There are two main regions: a western platform (Gascoyne Platform) with a Cambrian to Lower Carboniferous succession that has mostly flat-lying Cretaceous-Cenozoic cover; and an eastern set of half-grabens (Merlinleigh Sub-basin) forming a single mid-Carboniferous -- Permian depocenter, now separated by a gneissic basement of the Carrandibby Inlier, which is considered to be a part of the Merlinleigh Sub-basin. The two regions have little in common except for sharing a Devonian to Lower Carboniferous succession and both have predominantly Paleozoic infill.;Tectonics processes recorded in the strata as demonstrated by several episodes of subsidence and sediment accommodation has shaped the Southern Carnarvon Basin. Each episode generated distinct tectonostratigraphic megasequences, which are separated by major unconformities that recorded uplift and erosion.;The scope of the research involves interpreting seismic sections of the minimally explored basin to investigate the structural history and petroleum potential. The study area covers approximately 150,000 km2 with roughly 6,461 line kilometers of 2D seismic coverage and data from 111wells. By integrating seismic interpretation with other available geophysical data, we will be able to better identify potential plays and further our understanding of the underexplored Southern Carnarvon Basin.