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Offshore Sydney Basin Eastern Australia: Envoi
Offshore Sydney Basin Eastern Australia: Envoi
License PEP 11
August 2007
P139 Sydney Basin – SE Australia ENVOI
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P139 Sydney Basin – SE Australia ENVOI
active oil seeps & proven Basin Evolution: Several pulses of foreland basin
subsidence and sub regional thrusting have occurred
hydrocarbon system onshore. from Carboniferous to the present day but the
geological history of the sedimentary basins can be
broadly divided into four phases of subsidence,
Exploration History: The basins around Sydney have separated by at least four phases of uplift.
been known to be coal bearing for nearly two centuries.
Coal has been mined for 175 years from the Newcastle Phase 1 – Early Permian (Foreland basin
coalfields in the Hunter Valley area while more recently development): After an extensive period of rifting and
several companies have successfully produced coal bed volcanism in the Carboniferous, the earliest Permian
methane in the Sydney Basin onshore. Between the sediments were deposited in a north- south oriented
turn of the last century and 1970 over 80 exploration Sydney Basin following a marine transgression.
wells were drilled here. Records from 68 of these were
Transgressive sandstones are locally preserved below
reviewed by Sydney Oil Company (not related to
the shale and siltstone dominated sediments of Lower
Sydney Gas) which noted that 41% had flowed gas
though mostly in small quantities. Two oil exploration Dalwood Group. A WNW-ESE oriented thrust then
wells were completed in 2000, namely Glenmore-1 and propagated from the north of the region, now known as
Fairlight-1 both found residual oil shows in Triassic and the Hunter or Peel Thrust, which provided uplift and
Permian sandstones at depths ranging between 580m the clastic sediment input into the subsiding foreland
and 830m. basin.
Offshore, though naturally occurring oil slicks have been To the north east, the Greta Coal Measures prograded
a known phenomenon for decades, and more recently into the basin passing laterally into, and over,
confirmed by satellite analysis, no exploration wells shoreface sediments called the Farley Formation.
have so far been drilled! Around the primary Baleen South prospect the Farley
Formation grades upwards into the Greta Coal
The PEP 11 permit area offshore was originally held by Measures and forms the oldest likely reservoir. In
Sydney Oil Company who shot over 1,700 kms of 2D addition to the reservoir potential of these sandstones,
seismic data in 1981. Santos and Ampolex held the the interbedded coals form an excellent gas source.
same license area between 1989 and 1992, known then Increased marine influence at the top of the Greta
as permit NSW P/10, when they acquired an additional Coal formation created the environment for more oil
605 kms of 2D seismic data and reprocessed 1,742 kms prone source facies to be developed and preserved.
of the original 1981 Sydney Oil Company data. Neither
Group drilled any exploration wells. Flare Petroleum Following a marine transgression towards the end of
was subsequently granted the current area, NSW/PEP early Permian times, the basin wide Branxton shale
11 (referred to as PEP 11) on July 24th 1999 for an initial Formation was deposited and now forms a suitable
term of 6 years. After several extensions, the permit is seal for the underlying Farley and Greta sandstones.
currently in its 5th permit year where a well is next The Muree Sandstone which was subsequently
requirement. Bounty acquired the acreage in 2003 and deposited in a shallow marine, shoreface environment
farmed out to MEC in 2006 which is now progressing on top of the Branxton Shales, now forms the main
the exploration effort. reservoir in the Baleen South prospect. The new play
model indicates that the development of these
Permian shallow marine clastics could also be
Large ‘totally’ unexplored enhanced in their present offshore location to those
offshore coastal basin with in some of the onshore wells which are thought to
be more distal from predicted sediment source to
active oil seeps & proven the north east where wells indicate better reservoir.
hydrocarbon system. Porosities averaging 15% are expected in the Muree
Sandstone in PEP11 with good permeability
depending on the diagenetic history of the area. Seal
for the sandstone is provided by the Mulbring Siltstone
Sydney Basin Evolution & Petroleum which also has potential as a wet gas source facies.
Geology: The geological evolution of the Sydney
Basin is well controlled onshore but still poorly Phase 2 – Late Permian (Foreland basin
understood offshore, due to the lack of well data and development): The mid Permian Hunter Orogeny
also its complex structural history. The basin evolution was an important period of compression and erosion.
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P139 Sydney Basin – SE Australia ENVOI
West north west verging thrusting and high angle Previous work on the block based on old data is not
reverse faulting resulted which was responsible for thought to have resulted in the identification of suitable
creating the large Baleen structure in PEP 11. (The area drillable prospects. Only by careful reprocessing of
had been a remnant Carboniferous high in the earliest seismic data and a thorough integration of all of the
Permian). The compression was also responsible a available information has it been demonstrated that
west north west oriented extensional feature known as ALL of the elements appear to exist for a new
the Newcastle Syncline (ref: Regional map on the productive hydrocarbon play area in PEP 11.
attached montage). Coal Measures of the Lower and
Upper Tomago Formation and the Newcastle Formation There is now a total of 1,450 km of new 2D seismic
complete the Permian stratigraphy which was deposited data, and 2,345 kms of older 2D seismic data available
in a delta system that prograded from the north east into for interpretation within the permit area. Nearly half of
a marine basin centred on present day Sydney. Each the old seismic has been reprocessed, concentrating
Formation was separated by a brief marine on the northern area around the Baleen prospect.
transgression and the deposition of a relatively thin Integrating a detailed review of the onshore geology
shale sequence. with their interpretation offshore has resulted in a
marked upgrading of the prospectivity of PEP-11.
Phase 3 – Triassic (Passive subsidence): After coal
measure deposition, a non marine sequence of alluvial The main reservoir targets are the Late Permian’s
fans, fluvial sands and estuarine shale was laid down as Muree Sandstone Member, which is sealed by the
the Narrabeen Group. This Group, though important Mulbring Siltstone, and the deeper Greta Sandstone,
onshore, is largely eroded over much of PEP 11 and is which is sealed by shale in the Branxton Formation.
therefore of little significance to the offshore exploration. Both of these sealing strata are also considered
As a result, very little rock record now remains in the potential wet gas-prone source rocks that may be
onshore Sydney Basin to properly understand the mature in the Newcastle Syncline present day.
geological history of the Triassic in the area. Based on
more regional evidence, however, it is likely that the Significantly, repeatable Landsat satellite seep studies
main phase of structure formation in the offshore offshore in the mid 1990’s showed sea surface oil
occurred during the Late Triassic. An alternative is that seeps over and around the Baleen prospect which is
deformation happened in the Mid Cretaceous when the more exclusive proof that the area has a mature and
Tasman Sea rift began to form, which led to the actively generating source system.
separation of Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania.
Currently 7 prospects and leads have been identifield
The possibility of Jurassic and Early Cretaceous in the PEP 11 permit, which may contain up to 5 Tcf
sedimentation exists although seismic indicates that gas (or hundreds of millions of bbls oil). The Baleen
these sequences offshore in PEP 11 have been eroded. prospect is considered to be the best candidate for the
first ever offshore well in the region subject to drilling in
2009.
Phase 4– Tertiary (Subsidence): What Tertiary
sediment is still present, confirms an important period of
Tertiary passive margin subsidence occurred which The Baleen Prospect is a faulted 4-way dip-closed
resulted in at least 500 metres of sediment being anticline both at the mapped Base Permian horizon
deposited in the Newcastle Syncline. The effect of this and at markers within the Early Permian section. The
deposition has been critical to the renewed main target is the Permian Muree Sandstone which
generation of hydrocarbons which would have has a mapped closure of over 20,000 acres. Most
likely reserves for this is some 1.2 Tcf recoverable or,
enabled any Triassic aged structures to have received a
in the case of an oil discovery, 675 million bbls
late charge.
equivalent. Should more than one horizon be sealed,
which is quite possible, this reserve figure could
increase significantly.
Well defined gas prospects with
large upside (OGIP 5 Tcf) & Other structures also have large reserve potential. The
evidence for oil potential. Baleen SE structure could contain most likely
recoverable reserves of 768 Bcf. Five other leads
identified in PEP 11 could hold an additional 1.48 Tcf
recoverable reserves between them.
PEP 11 Block Potential: The PEP 11 permit
lies on the eastern side of the Sydney Basin and is Permit PEP 11 could therefore contain cumulative
boarded to the west by the edge of the oceanic crust. reserves in excess of 3 Tcf of gas or several billion
Water depths vary from 40 metres to over 200 metres barrels of oil recoverable.
offshore.
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P139 Sydney Basin – SE Australia ENVOI
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SUMMARY OF THE PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
Timor OF SYDNEY BASIN
Sea HU NE
NT W SCHEMATIC REGIONAL PETROLEUM HYDROCARBON
L. PE
AGE STRATIGRAPHY GEOLOGY OCCURRENCE
SYDNEY
ER EN
TH GL WEST SOUTH NORTHERN SYDNEY BASIN
PEP 11
RM
NORTHERN BASIN EM-1
(Flowed 18 mcfd - RU AN TERTIARY
IA N
TERRITORY
U.Permian?) ST D
QUEENSLAND
FO
T R A N S P OR T DI RE
LAT E
PA L
C
WESTERN BRISBANE
Jerry Plains-1
LD
AE
BE
I
AUSTRALIA SOUTH (Oil & CSM Shows in
O
AUSTRALIA
LT
S
SE
N.S.W. Permian)
M
D
EN
S
A
MIDDLE
PERTH SYDNEY T
A
C TI O
N Y
VICTORIA
I
N
E
R
NE
E A R LY
NEWCASTLE
SY WC
T
NE
NC AS
LI
LI TL
NC
S
NE E ACTIVE LANDSAT NEWCASTLE
SINGLETON GP
SY
32° C.M.
SEEPS
Y
R
A
E
HU RUS
B
VA
E
TH
TOMAGO
LIN
?
NT T
T.
S
HIN
C.M.
R
LAT E
ER
TIC
S
RE
S
C
B
O
LO
EE
AN
MULBRING
O
E S
N
SILTSTONE
SH
MAITLAND GP
UR
B
N
E R
N N E
LI
MUREE SST
F
Terrigal-1A H
TIC
FF
O G
BALEEN
A
M
W
L
D L A S T BRANXTON
AN
O
(Oil Shows in Cores) FM
OF
Y B N D F F
N
DG PROSPECT
I
U
E
L PEP 11 I
RIC F
N
CO
T L S
INE
Most Likely
O
NE
M
S I
NEWCASTLE
NE O P
ITI
GRETA COAL
LAPSTO
MONOCL
SY
W
C U Est. 1.2 Tcf rec MEASURES
R
R
OS
NC AST FARLEY
DALWOOD GROUP
A
N
LI L FM
NE E S
P
B A
E A R LY
E
E
D
G
RUTHERFORD
R
T FM
H
E
EN
KURRAJONG
A
CLIN
P
FT
M
T
M
LI
I
FAULT
LITHGOW LIM
UP
ED
SYN
ALLANDALE FM
Balmain-1 IT OF
R
PA L A E O S
RE
LOCH INVAR
HO
RE
(Flowed 1mmcfd - ?
P a c i f i c
FM S
FS
E Y
T
SHO
U.Permian)
OF
SYDNEY
OFF
E
N
34°
O c e a n
(STEPHANIAN)
SYDNEY
I
T
N
CARB.
N
O
C
D
P a c i f i c
WOLLONGONG
Woronora-1
H
O c e a n 0 50km
Y
KEY :
S
LANDSAT SEEPS
O r De
U
0 100km
PEP 11
Wate
R RESERVOIR
200mS
PROSPECTS S SOURCE
REGIONAL MAP SHOWING REGIONAL
CROSS SECTION SEAL
LOCATION MAP PROSPECTIVITY OF PEP 11 PERMIT
IN NORTHERN PART OF SYDNEY A A SEISMIC SECTION EXISTING WELLS / SHOWS
151° 152° OF S.E AUSTRALIA
BASIN B B GAS PIPELINE
PERMIAN
LOWER TOP OIL 1
BASE PERMIAN
MONTAGE SHOWING HYDROCARBON
2 WINDOW
PERMIAN
3 3
4
BASEMENT
(CARBONIFEROUS)
4
TOP GAS
WINDOW
2
PROSPECTIVITY OF PEP 11
SYDNEY BASIN,
OFFSHORE EASTERN AUSTRALIA
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