Assessing aquitard hydraulic performance from hydrocarbon migration indicators: Surat and Bowen basins, Australia

摘要

Basin hydrodynamic assessment methods are being applied to Australia's developing coal seam gas (CSG) to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export developments in the Queensland's Bowen and Surat basins. Technical challenges include the need to predict the cumulative impacts of CSG production on formation pressure in adjacent Great Artesian Basin aquifers and assess to what degree, if any, there may be fugitive methane liberated from the reservoir but not captured by production wells. Both these challenges require an understanding of the distribution of aquitard hydraulic sealing performance. We use hydrocarbon systems analysis to illuminate basin scale geological seal performance of the low permeability strata and provide baseline data on hydrocarbons in groundwater.