The structural features and petroleum resource potential of basins in the western and northwestern Australian margins

Abstract

The oil and gas basins of Australia are confined to its western and northwestern margins. They are typical pericontinental depressions in the continent-ocean transition zone with a passive tectonic regime. The following oil and gas basins are definable from the south to northward: the Perth, Carnarvon, Canning, Browse, and Bonaparte. All these basins are well studied. Among them, the Carnarvon basin is the most productive. Despite the discovery of approximately a hundred oil and gas fields in this basin, its continental slopes are still insufficiently known. In this connection, the morphostructural features of the productive areas were analyzed using a specialized GIS technique. The performed analysis of the Carnarvon hydrocarbon-bearing basin demonstrated the efficiency of this technique and allowed several promising zones located west, north, and south of the discovered oil and gas fields and forming a single trend with them to be outlined. The total reserves of the country are as high as 2.1 × 109 t of oil and 840 × 109 m3 of gas. The annual oil production in Australia by January 1, 2008 was 22.25 × 106 t of oil and 14 × 109 m3 of gas. Approximately 95% of the oil and 80% of the gas produced in Australia by the beginning of 2008 were obtained from offshore parts of its basins.