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BASIN OUTLINE
Introduction
The Arafura Basin is located on the northern margin of Australia in the Arafura
Sea and extends from the onshore Northern Territory to the Australian–
Indonesian border (Figure 1). It is located in mostly shallow water, with a
maximum depth of 230 m. The region is under-explored with no commercial
discoveries; nine wells have been drilled within the Goulburn Graben but the
main depocentre to the north (Figure 2) has not been tested.
Basin Summary
The northern margin of Australia is structurally complex and contains three
partially overlapping basins; the McArthur Basin (Paleoproterozoic–
Mesoproterozoic), the Arafura Basin (Neoproterozoic–Paleozoic) and the
Money Shoal Basin (Mesozoic–Cenozoic) (Figure 1 and Figure 3). The
Australian part of the Arafura Basin extends north from the onshore McArthur
Basin and covers an area of approximately 200,000 km2. The basin contains
up to 15 km of late Neoproterozoic (Cryogenian–Ediacaran) to Paleozoic
(Cisuralian) sediments, overlain by up to 4 km of Mesozoic (Early Jurassic) to
Cenozoic sediments of the Money Shoal Basin.
The areas of the Arafura Basin to the north and south of the Goulburn Graben
were either not affected by the aforementioned extension and contractional
events or restructuring was minor. Hence, previously, these areas were
termed the northern and southern platforms (e.g. Bradshaw et al, 1990). In
the northern area, the sedimentary section is up to 15 km thick, whereas in
the southern area it is up to 3 km thick (Figure 2). However, seismic coverage
is poor in the southern region and areas with thicker sediments may be
present. In the northern area, it is possible that any early formed traps and
associated hydrocarbon accumulations have remained intact, thus up-grading
the prospectivity compared with the Goulburn Graben. The southern inshore
region probably has little hydrocarbon potential with inferred thin Paleozoic
sediments over a pre-Cambrian basement (Miyazaki and McNeil, 1998).
The subsidence history of the Arafura Basin has been episodic, with periods
of basin-wide subsidence in the Neoproterozoic, Cambrian (Series 2)–Early
Ordovician, Late Devonian and Pennsylvanian–Cisuralian (late
Carboniferous–early Permian), separated by long, relatively quiescent periods
of non-deposition and erosion (Figure 4).
Source Rocks
In the Arafura Basin, potential source rocks occur within the Wessel Group
(Neoproterozoic), the Goulburn Group (Ordovician–Cambrian), the Arafura
Group (Devonian) and the Kulshill Group (Permo–Carboniferous). Potential
source rocks may be present within the Wessel Group; however, no data are
available for this section.
Good to very good potential source rocks are present in the Permo-
Carboniferous Kulshill Group. The typical TOC content ranges from <0.4% to
3% with a maximum hydrogen index (HI) of 321 mgHC/gTOC. Several
samples in the central Goulburn Graben have TOC contents up to 9% and
comprise land plant-derived organic matter such as vitrinite, sporinite and
liptodetrinite (Sherwood et al, 2006). Based on vitrinite reflectance data at
Kulka 1 (0.9–2.4% Ro), the Kulshill Group in the western Goulburn Graben is
mature to overmature for oil generation and mature for gas generation due to
loading by the Money Shoal Basin. Elsewhere in the Arafura Basin, the
Kulshill Group is immature for hydrocarbon generation.
Reservoir Rocks
Potential reservoir rocks in the Arafura Basin include shallow marine
limestones and dolomites of the Cambro-Ordovician Goulburn Group, and
terrestrial to fluvio-deltaic interbedded sandstones and mudstones of the
Devonian Arafura Group and Permo-Carboniferous Kulshill Group. The
Goulburn Group dolomite hosts an oil show and gas indication in Arafura 1
and oil indications in Goulburn 1 (Figure 4). The unit has a maximum porosity
of 7.7% that relies on the development of secondary porosity through features
such as vugs and fractures (Earl, 2006). A risk associated with this unit is
cementation reducing secondary porosity. The cementation is probably at
least partly related to Triassic contraction and uplift. Siltstones and
sandstones of the Arafura Group host the oil shows and indications in
Arafura 1 and Goulburn 1, with the better quality reservoir occurring at
Goulburn 1 (maximum porosity of 19% and maximum permeability of
7.83 mD). A significant proportion of the primary porosity has been destroyed
by diagenetic effects, including silica overgrowths and carbonate cementation.
Tasman 1 encountered an oil show in an unnamed Carboniferous carbonate,
and Kulka 1 recorded an oil show in the Kulshill Group. Although no
hydrocarbons have been found within the uppermost part of the Kulshill
Group, these sediments display good reservoir characteristics, averaging
5.5 % porosity, with a maximum porosity of 17.7% being recorded at
Tasman 1. Carbonate cements are sporadic throughout the group but there is
evidence of multiple fracture sets (such as at Chameleon 1), which could
enhance the overall permeability and porosity (Earl, 2006).
Timing of Generation
Peak oil generation and migration from potential Paleozoic source rocks in the
Goulburn Graben, where all exploration wells are located, pre-dates the
Triassic structural event and thus potential trap formation (Moore et al, 1996;
Struckmeyer, 2006a, b). Despite this, modelling by Struckmeyer (2006b)
demonstrated that some areas in the western Goulburn Graben could have
experienced a late phase of generation and expulsion from potential
Paleozoic source rocks (Figure 5 and Figure 6). For example, this includes
the possibility of a minor phase of late expulsion of light oil from a Type I/II
Cambrian source rock at Tuatara 1, where the lack of success is considered
to be due to an absent or inadequate seal (Earl, 2006). Struckmeyer (2006b)
found that the modelling of hydrocarbons expelled from source rocks within
the Devonian Arafura Group and the Permo-Carboniferous Kulshill Group was
highly sensitive to the amount of Triassic erosion interpreted for any location.
Bearing this in mind, expulsion of hydrocarbons appears to have occurred in
the late Cenozoic from the western Goulburn Graben, an area included in the
northernmost part of Release Area NT11-1 (Figure 6).
Play Types
Interpretation of available seismic data indicates that a variety of potential play
types are present within the western Goulburn Graben (Struckmeyer, 2006b).
Paleozoic plays include large faulted anticlines and fault blocks that could
provide traps at several stratigraphic levels. Sub-unconformity plays below the
Triassic regional unconformity are present within Neoproterozoic, Cambro-
Ordovician, Devonian and Permo-Carboniferous strata. Diagenetic traps and
other stratigraphic traps within the Cambro-Ordovician and Devonian
carbonate successions are a strong possibility in this region, but are untested
and insufficient stratigraphic information is available to allow a detailed
assessment.
Critical Risks
A recent audit of exploration wells in the Goulburn Graben (Earl, 2006)
identified timing of charge, breach of structure and reservoir quality as the
major reasons for the failure to find significant hydrocarbon accumulations.
The next phase of exploration occurred in the early 1980s with several
companies operating in the region, including Diamond Shamrock, Esso,
Petrofina and Sion Resources. A number of wells were drilled at this time, all
of which tested the Paleozoic Arafura Basin sequence. Petrofina drilled two
wells, Arafura 1 (1983) and Goulburn 1 (1985).
Arafura 1 recorded significant oil shows over a 425 m depth range in the
Devonian and Ordovician sections and provides the most important Paleozoic
stratigraphic control in the basin. The company also mapped a number of
large fault-related closures that remain untested (Miyazaki and McNeil, 1998).
Esso drilled two wells, Tasman 1 (1983), which targeted a fault block on a
domal feature originally interpreted as salt-related, and Torres 1 (1983), which
targeted a prominent Paleozoic anticline. Diamond Shamrock drilled Kulka 1
(1984), which provides important stratigraphic control for the Upper Paleozoic
and Mesozoic sections.
LOGAN, G.A., RYAN, G.J., GLENN, K., ROLLET, N., HEMER, M.,
TWYFORD, L. AND SHIPBOARD PARTY, 2006—Shallow Gas and Benthic
Habitat Mapping, Arafura Sea. RV Southern Surveyor May – June 2005, Post
Cruise Report. Geoscience Australia Record 2006/19.
MCLENNAN, J.M., RASIDI, J.S., HOLMES, R.L. AND SMITH, G.C., 1990—
The geology and petroleum potential of the western Arafura Sea. The APEA
Journal 30(1), 91–106.