Canning Basin summary - Department of Mines and Petroleum

Government of Western Australia
Department of Mines and Petroleum
Petroleum Division
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity:
Canning Basin
CANNING
BASIN
WESTERN
AUSTRALIA
PERTH
February 2014
Contents
Petroleum geology of the Canning Basin
Introduction............................................................................................ 3
Location and size of the Canning Basin................................................ 3
Tectonic elements.................................................................................. 3
Basin subdivisions................................................................................. 4
Stratigraphy........................................................................................... 6
Exploration history................................................................................. 7
Production............................................................................................10
Petroleum systems...............................................................................10
Plays.....................................................................................................16
Other aspects of the Canning Basin
Infrastructure and markets...................................................................19
Land access, climate, and land use.....................................................19
Selected references.................................................................................. 21
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity: Canning Basin
Petroleum geology of the Canning Basin
Introduction
The onshore Canning Basin is a large, intracratonic, predominantly Paleozoic
basin that ranges in age from Ordovician to Cretaceous. It is significantly under
explored for hydrocarbon resources, with relatively minor oil and gas production,
although widespread shows at many stratigraphic levels and in different
geological settings show that there are four active petroleum systems. Despite
these positive indicators, the Canning Basin may be the least explored Paleozoic
basin in the world. Further exploration is warranted given that:
• The Canning Basin has only four wells/10 000 km2, compared with the
Paleozoic basins of North America which average 500 wells/10 000 km2.
• Only a small number of valid structural tests exist in the basin.
• There are more than 130 giant and supergiant oilfields and gasfields with
Paleozoic sources and reservoirs that are similar to the Canning Basin,
including basins in North America, North Africa, and the North Caspian Basin
of Kazakhstan and Russia.
• The US Energy Information Agency reported in 2013 that the Canning Basin
has the largest shale gas potential in Australia, and in fact the eighth largest
in the world; they estimated it has in excess of 225 TCF of recoverable shale
gas based on the Goldwyer Formation play alone.
• Further exploration could be highly successful based on the presence of
five discovered oilfields, new gas discoveries, widespread and numerous
petroleum shows, a huge shale gas potential, and low well density.
• There are established pathways to markets: Oil is being trucked to the
Kwinana oil refinery in the Perth metropolitan area and, in the past, it
was also exported from the port of Broome. A gas pipeline runs along the
southern margin of the Canning Basin to Telfer, the site of one of Australia’s
largest gold mines.
Location and size of the Canning Basin
• Central northern Western Australia, approximately 1500 km northeast of
Perth
• The largest sedimentary basin in Western Australia
• Onshore area of about 530 000 km2 and offshore area of about 110 000 km2.
Tectonic elements
The Canning Basin initially developed in the Early Paleozoic as an intracratonic
sag between the Precambrian Pilbara and Kimberley Cratons.
• Significant tectonic events affected the basin in the:
- Early Ordovician (extension and rapid subsidence)
- Early Devonian (compression and erosion)
- Late Devonian (extension and subsidence)
- Middle and late Carboniferous to Permian (compression then subsidence)
- Early Jurassic (transpressional uplift and erosion).
• The southern Canning Basin is less intensely deformed than the northern
part, which underwent major fault block movements.
3
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity: Canning Basin
Basin subdivisions
The Canning Basin is subdivided into a series of troughs, sub-basins, platforms,
shelves, and terraces, bounded by northwesterly–southeasterly trending,
syndepositional fault systems (Fig. 1).
120°
122°
126°
124°
128°
16°
Pend
er
Terra
c
e
KIMBERLEY
BASIN
Lloyd 1
Point Torment 1
Boundary 1
Point Torment 1
Terrace 1
Deepening
West Terrace 1
Janpam North 1
West Kora 1 Meda 1
Blina 1
Kora 1 Sundown 1
Boronia 1
Yulleroo 1 Crimson Lake 1
Jurgu
rra
Ellendale 1
Ungani 1 Ellendale 1
Le
Ter
rac
nn
Valhalla 1
e
Mowla
Terrace
Fit
z
18°
ar
d
roy
St George Range 1
Pictor 1
me
Tro
Pictor 2 Edgar Range 1
ug
Looma 1
h
Great Sandy 1
Pla
Dodonea 1
tfo
Leo 1
rm
Br
oo
Sh
elf
ne
s
tty
e
Pla
ll
tfo
elf
Sh
Ki
rm
ds
on
Su
b-
Ba
22°
sin
elf
600 km
Rya
n
Sh
Derby
Port
Hedland
Ta
ble
to
p
OFFICER
BASIN
Kalgoorlie
PERTH
20°
c
rra
Te
nd
e
lgo
te
ke
An
sla
ra
c
Ba
Cr
os
Te
r
ry
go in
re as
G b-b
Su
e
c
ra
rm
Arch
Billiluna
Shelf
Be
r
Te
Munro
PILBARA
CRATON
Arch
Mirbelia 1
tfo
Pla
Su Wil
b- lara
ba
sin
Jo
al
ire
w
rb
Ba
Cudalgarra 1
W
all
Sh
el
f
GUNBARREL
BASIN
(over Officer Basin)
ARG203b
24°
Warri
Arch
04/02/14
25 km
Canning Basin (offshore/onshore)
Oil producer
Other tectonic elements
Excellent/good oil show
Gas producer
Excellent/good gas show
Figure 1. Tectonic elements of the Canning Basin and wells with oil and gas occurrences
4
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity: Canning Basin
The basin subdivisions are based on present-day structural elements. However,
growth faulting initially developed some of these, and troughs developed and
were active at different times during the basin’s history.
Two major northwest-trending troughs are separated by a mid-basin arch and
bounded by marginal shelves.
• The northern depocentre is divided into the Fitzroy Trough and the
Gregory Sub-basin (Fig. 2), which are estimated to contain up to 15 km of
predominantly Paleozoic rocks. The Lennard Shelf, to the north of the Fitzroy
Trough, is the most intensively explored part of the basin and contains
commercial oilfields (Fig. 1).
• The southern trough includes the Kidson and Willara Sub-basins, in which
there are thinner sedimentary successions (4–5 km thick) of predominantly
Ordovician to Silurian and Permian rocks, with extensive Mesozoic cover.
The Kidson Sub-basin has thick salt seals, but hydrocarbon potential has not
been properly tested, with very little exploration to date.
• The central arch is divided into the Broome and Crossland Platforms, and
structural terraces step down from it into both depocentres (Fig. 2). The
Broome Platform and its terraces have a thinner sedimentary section, but
have had many good oil shows, and oil and gas flows.
• The southwestern Canning Basin is defined by relatively thin successions on
the Anketell Shelf, and a complex series of horsts and grabens: the Wallal
Embayment, Wallal Platform, and Samphire Graben.
NORTH-EAST VIEW
N
Kimberley Block
Shelf
Lennard
Gregory
in
Sub-bas
Fitzroy
in
Sub-bas
rm
d Platfo
n
Crossla
Platform
Broome
Kidson
Willara
in
Sub-bas
in
Sub-bas
Pilbara Craton
RB74
04/02/14
Figure 2. Image of interpreted depth-to-basement for the Canning Basin (adapted from Fig. 4–16c, SRK
Consulting Pty Ltd, 1998)
5
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity: Canning Basin
Stratigraphy
66
Petroleum
system
Tectonic
events
Seal
North
South
Reservoir
Epoch
Source
Stratigraphy
Period
Age
(Ma)
The onshore Canning Basin succession consists of Ordovician to Cretaceous
sedimentary rocks overlying Proterozoic–Archean basement, but it is
predominantly Paleozoic in age (Fig. 3).
Legend
Lower
Dominant lithology
Sandstone
Bejah Claystone Anketell Fm.
Frezier
Parda Melligo
Samuel
Ss.
Fm.
Ss.
Fm.
Callawa/Cronin
Fms
Broome Sandstone
Breakup Unconformity
145
Jarlemai Fm.
Alexander Fm.
Barbwire Ss.
Wallal Ss.
Jurassic
Upper
Middle
Gas well
Gas show
Oil show
Oil and gas show
Evaporite
Basement
Secondary lithology
Sandstone
Gp Group
Fm. Formation
Ss. Sandstone
Unconformity
Disconformity
Shale
Conglomerate
Diamictite
Fitzroy
Transpression
Erskine
Ss.
Blina Shale
Blina Sh.
Liveringa Gp
Lightjack Fm.
Guadalupian
Permian
?
Millyit Ss.
?
?
Noonkanbah Fm.
Cisuralian
Poole Sandstone
Silurian
Llandovery
Ordovician
Upper
Middle
Lower
485
Cambrian
Precambrian
L4
Lloyd oilfield
West Kora
Ungani
Tandalgoo
Fm.
Valhalla
Meda oil
Mirbelia
Meda gas
Yulleroo
Terrace
St Georges
Range
Ellendale
Blina 1
Janpam North
Blina 2
Boronia
?
Prices Creek
Movement
Pridoli
Ludlow
Kora
Point Torment
Sundown 2
?
Reef
Complexes
Middle
Wenlock
Meda Transpression
Worral
Fm.
Larapintine 2
Frasnian
Yellow Drum Fm.
Gumhole Fm.
Clapp
Ridge Mellinjerie
Fm.
Fm.
West Terrace
Crimson Lake
L3
?
Laurel Fm.
Fairfield Group
Tournaisian
Lower
419
Anderson
Fm.
Visean
Boundary
Sundown 1
Reeves
Fm.
Serpukhovian
Framennian
?
extensional
movements
Devonian
Carboniferous
Upper Mississippian
Pennsylvanian
Group
Alice Springs Orogeny
Grant
299
Gondwanan 1
Middle
Lower
Lopingian
Selected
hydrocarbon occurrences
major offshore
subsidence
Triassic
Upper
252
444
Oil well or field
Carbonate–shale
Lower
201
359
Shale
Mixed siliciclastic
and coal
Carbonate
Jurassic–Cretaceous
extensional events offshore
Cretaceous
Upper
Sahara Fm.
Carribuddy
Mallowa Salt
Nibil Fm. Group ?
Minjoo Salt
Bongabinni Fm.
Nita Fm.
Prices
Goldwyer Fm.
Willara Fm.
Nambeet Fm.
Creek Gp
?
Carranya
Fm.
Wilson Cliffs
Ss.
Samphire
Marsh
Movement
?
Pictor
Dodonea oil
Dodonea gas
basement
RB92
04/02/14
Figure 3. Generalized stratigraphy of the Canning Basin, with major petroleum elements and
hydrocarbon occurrences indicated
6
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity: Canning Basin
Table 1. Generalized stratigraphy of the Canning Basin
Age
Stratigraphy
Mesozoic
• Basin is capped by a relatively thin Mesozoic section
(mainly Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous), which is
not considered to have petroleum potential onshore.
Upper
Carboniferous –
Permian
• The Grant Gp and Reeves Fm. (in the north)
unconformably overlie Paleozoic units in places, and
basement rocks along the Anketell Shelf.
• The glacial Grant Gp is a known reservoir on the Lennard
Shelf and northern Fitzroy Trough.
• The remainder of the shallow marine to fluvial Permian
section comprises the Poole Sandstone, shaly
Noonkanbah Fm., and Liveringa Gp.
• All formations, except the Reeves Fm., are exposed on the
northern Fitzroy Trough and Lennard Shelf.
Regional
unconformity
• Erosion, caused by basin-wide uplift associated with the
Meda Transpression, separates the lower Carboniferous
from the upper Carboniferous succession (between the
Anderson and Reeves Fms).
Devonian – Lower
Carboniferous
• A complex megasequence is present across much of
the northern Canning Basin, ranging from marine reef
and basin complexes in the north (best developed on
the Lennard Shelf) to non-marine and marginal marine
successions in the south.
• This succession was never deposited across much of the
southwestern basin. Any remnants are likely restricted to
the Tandalgoo Sandstone, which often displays excellent
reservoir properties.
Ordovician to
Silurian
• The oldest megasequence begins with the shallow marine
Nambeet, Willara, Goldwyer, and Nita Formations, in
ascending order, capped by the marginal marine evaporitic
and redbed Carribuddy Group and Worral Fm.
Early Ordovician
• Regional deposition in the basin consists of shallow marine
carbonate and clastic facies that commenced in response
to the extensional Samphire Marsh Movement.
Major compressional tectonic events influenced the basin and correlate with its
most significant unconformities:
Age of unconformity
Late Triassic to Early Jurassic Late Carboniferous Early Devonian Compressional event
Fitzroy Transpression
Meda Transpression
Prices Creek Movement
Exploration history
Exploration in the Canning Basin has taken place during three principal periods.
1919–1920s
• Exploration interest in the Canning Basin began in 1919, after water bores
showed traces of oil at Prices Creek in the Pillara Range. Three of the four
Prices Creek wells yielded traces of oil in massive limestone, which was
thought to be lower Carboniferous in age.
• Petroleum exploration activity began in the Canning Basin in the early 1920s,
when the Freney Oil Company encountered asphaltic shows in drill holes
on the Lennard Shelf. Minor exploration followed, with Associated Australian
Oilfields joining the search.
7
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity: Canning Basin
1980s–1990s
• In 1979 and 1980, events in Iran and Iraq led to increased world oil prices.
• Exploration intensified when the Bureau of Mineral Resources (BMR, now
Geoscience Australia) and West Australian Petroleum Pty Ltd. (WAPET)
conducted gravity, magnetic, and seismic reflection surveys.
• There was an exploration boom in the 1980s, with Home Energy, Amoco,
IEDC, Mobil, WMC, BHP, Bridge Oil and others joining the search.
• In 1981, Home Energy made the first commercial oil discovery in the basin
with their Blina 1 well, which was drilled on a prominent seismic anomaly
above the edge of the Lennard Shelf. It initially recovered oil from the Fairfield
Group overlying a Devonian reef.
• In 1982, Home Energy also discovered oil in the Grant Group and Anderson
Formation in the Sundown 1 well.
• Up until the mid-1980s, exploration largely focused on the northern and
central parts of the Canning Basin. The primary exploration targets were
Devonian and Permian–Carboniferous strata. Many exploration wells had
shows, especially oil, but only five discoveries resulted in commercial fields:
the Blina, Boundary, Lloyd, Sundown and West Terrace oilfields.
• The subsalt Ordovician section was the target of companies such as Shell;
hydrocarbons were recovered from its Looma 1 well in 1996. This was the first
proof of mature, migrated oil from a southern Canning Basin kitchen (Kidson
Sub-basin) providing a new exploration play.
2009–2013
• In 2009, Buru Energy completed the first 3D seismic survey in the Canning
Basin – the Bunda Survey.
• In 2010, Mitsubishi farmed into Buru Energy acreage and provided capital
investment for an active exploration program.
• In October 2011, Buru Energy’s Ungani 1 well intersected light oil (~37
degrees API gravity) in dolomitised limestone of the Carboniferous Laurel
Formation. This was the first significant oil discovery in the Canning Basin
since the 1980s and it generated renewed interest. This was reflected in
a higher level of bidding for Canning Basin acreage in subsequent work
program bidding rounds.
• Buru also discovered gas in 2011, in the Laurel Formation at their Valhalla
prospect and conducted successful appraisal drilling at their Yulleroo gasfield
in 2010 and 2013.
• In October 2011, ConocoPhillips announced a farm-in to New Standard
Energy’s acreage in the southern Canning Basin. The joint venture has drilled
two exploration wells so far, as part of a Goldwyer Formation, liquids-rich
shale project.
• Hess applied for several areas and obtained more acreage in the Canning
Basin by acquiring the unlisted Kingsway Oil in 2012.
• In February 2013, a further farm-in was announced by PetroChina, to
acreage held by ConocoPhillips and New Standard Energy.
• In November 2013, Apache Energy’s farm-in to Buru and Mitsubishi’s coastal
and eastern desert acreage was announced. These permits principally cover
the Goldwyer Shale areas of the joint venture’s portfolio and are considered
prospective for shale oil and gas, as well as for conventional sandstone
reservoirs.
8
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity: Canning Basin
• US Energy Information Administration reports in 2011 and 2013 identified
the basin as having in excess of 225 TCF of recoverable shale gas based
on the Goldwyer Formation play alone. The Australian Council of Learned
Academies confirmed this assessment and calculated a further 38 TCF of
recoverable shale gas in the Laurel Formation.
• As of November 2013, nearly 300 wells had been drilled onshore. Drilling
has been accompanied by acquisition of 88 000 line km of 2D seismic and
429 km2 of 3D seismic, all onshore (Fig. 4).
16°
Derby
Broome
18°
Fitzroy Crossing
Halls Creek
20°
Goldsworthy
Marble Bar
Telfer
CANNING
22°
BASIN
24°
WESTERN AUSTRAL
IA
NORTHERN TERRIT
ORY
Town
Coast
Petroleum well
26°
Gas pipeline
Seismic line
200 km
120°
122°
124°
126°
128°
RB69a
04/02/14
Figure 4. Map of the Canning Basin showing combined 2D and 3D seismic lines and petroleum wells
9
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity: Canning Basin
Production
• A few small fields on the Lennard Shelf produced from Carboniferous–
Permian clastics, however the Boundary, Sundown, and West Terrace
oilfields are depleted.
• Oil has been produced since 1983 from Upper Devonian reservoir intervals
at the Blina oilfield.
• World-renowned Devonian reefs exposed in the Lennard Shelf provide an
excellent insight into the subsurface carbonate geology.
• A significant discovery was made at Ungani in October 2011, on the southern
margin of the Fitzroy Trough in Lower Carboniferous Laurel Formation
dolomites; the well flowed at 1647 barrels of oil per day (BOPD), on a ½ inch
choke. Buru Energy is continuing to assess the field for future production and
completed the Ungani 3D seismic survey in October 2013.
Petroleum systems
Paleozoic petroleum systems recognized within the onshore Canning Basin are
summarised in Table 2 and Figures 5 and 6.
Table 2. Summary of Paleozoic petroleum systems in the Canning Basin
Petroleum
supersystem
Source age
Formation
Selected hydrocarbon
occurrences
Vagrant or mixed
source
Devonian
Unknown
Mirbelia
Gondwanan 1
Permian
Noonkanbah Fm.
Cycas
Larapintine 4
Early
Carboniferous
Anderson Fm.
Lloyd, Boundary
Laurel Fm.
(Fairfield Gp)
Sundown, West Terrace,
West Kora, Point Torment
Larapintine 3
Larapintine 3
Late Devonian
Gogo Fm.
Blina
Larapintine 2
Ordovician
Bongabinni Fm.
(Carribuddy Gp)
Barbwire Terrace
(Dodonea, Percival,
Solanum)
Goldwyer Fm.
MowlaTerrace (Pictor,
Edgar Range); Willara
Sub-basin (Cudalgarra,
Great Sandy, Leo);
Broome Platform (Looma)
10
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity: Canning Basin
Point Torment 1
West Kora 1
Lloyd 1-3
Wattle 1/ST1
Boundary 1
West Terrace 1-2
Janpam North 1
Blina 1-7
Boronia 1
Ellendale 1
17°
Fitzroy Trough
18°
Lennard
Shelf
Broome Platform
Edgar Range 1
Willara
Sub-basin
19°
Leo 1
Pictor 1-2
Great Sandy 1
ce
rra
Te
Barbwire
Terrace
Percival 1
Munro Arch
rm
en
ab
Gr
ire
tfo
Pla
Em
y
plo
nt
me
rly
yca
arl nt
uk me
Wa bay
Em
llal
Wa
21°
Billiluna
Shelf
tty
Be
ph
m
Sa
al
ll
Wa
20°
Jones Arch
Dodonea 1
Cudalgarra 1
Crossland Platform
Anketell
Shelf
Balgo
Terrace
Gregory
Sub-basin
CANNING
BASIN
22°
Kidson Sub-basin
100 km
23°
Tabletop Shelf
121°
ARG231a
123°
122°
Ryan Shelf
125°
124°
Carboniferous sourced oil
Excellent shows
Devonian sourced oil
Good shows
Fair shows
Ordovician sourced oil
126°
127°
128°
Poor shows
Good source rocks
Wells drilled (no shows)
04/02/14
Figure 5. Petroleum system classification of oil shows in the Canning Basin (adapted from Ghori
and Haines, 2007)
Generating potential
1000
Kerogen type
Excellent
1.0
Oil-prone
10
Good
Fair
Poor
1
1
SNA76
Permian
10
TOC (%)
100
Lower Carboniferous
0.5% Ro
600
400
Oil- and
gas-prone
200
0
Stains or
shows
0.8
Production index
Very good
Hydrogen index
S2mg/g rock
800
100
Thermal maturity
1000
Oil Wetwindow gas
zone
Drygas
zone
0.6
0.4
0.2
1.35% Ro
Gas-prone
380
400
0
420
440
460
Tmax (°C)
Devonian
480
500
Immature
380
400
420
440
Tmax (°C)
460
480
500
04/02/14
Ordovician
Figure 6. Geochemical evaluation of the Canning Basin’s Ordovician, Devonian, lower Carboniferous and
Permian source rocks (adapted from Ghori, 2013)
11
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity: Canning Basin
Source Rocks
Effective Paleozoic source rocks are found in the Canning Basin and the
principal source rocks are summarized below. Figure 3 shows the stratigraphic
relationships.
Anderson Formation (Carboniferous)
•
•
Good source rock
Limited to the Fitzroy Trough and Lennard Shelf
Laurel Formation (lower Carboniferous)
• Good to excellent source rock
• Limited to the Fitzroy Trough and Lennard Shelf
• Entered the peak oil window at various times between the Carboniferous and
Mesozoic
• Post-mature in areas to the southwest (Fig. 7)
• Probably immature on parts of the Lennard Shelf and bounding terraces
120°
Pender
Terrace
122°
124°
INDIAN
OCEAN
126°
KIMBERLEY
CRATON
Kora
Puratte
128°
Yarrada
Fit
z
Yulleroo
18°
Blina
roy
Sundown
Tro
ug
h Paradise
Ungani
urr
a
Admiral Bay
Fault Zone
Bro
om
Wi
lla
ra
Su
Anna
Plains
b-b
Ter
rac
e
Ba
rb
latf
orm
n
ire
Jones Arch
e
Ar
ch
ll S
nd
lf
he
Sahara
Pl
atf
or
CANNING
BASIN
22°
m
Dampier
Fenton Zone
Kidson
Sub-basin
PILBARA
CRATON
ce
rra
Te
e
ac
sla
Nicolay
Wilson Cliffs
Tabletop
Shelf
Patience
Lake Hevern
Contention
Heights
Kidson
OFFICER
BASIN
lgo
Cr
os
Percival
Ba
ro
ra
c
rr
ry in
Te
go as
tty
re b
G ubS
e
ket
un
Billiluna
Shelf
Te
r
Kemp Field
Auld
Halls
Creek
St George
Range
w
Be
An
M
lf
Asgard
Pegasus
Frankenstein
Oscar Range
Pinnacle
Fault System
he
Sally May
Munro
20°
ar
dS
Looma
McLarty
asi
nn
Fitzroy
River
Pictor
eP
Nita Downs
Le
Valhalla
Jur
g
Broome
Ryan
Shelf
25km
RB82
04/02/14
Canning Basin
Gas mature
Extent of Laurel* unknown
Tectonic unit boundary
No Data
Oil mature
Laurel* eroded
*Lower Laurel Member of the Laurel Fm.
Petroleum Well
Figure 7. Laurel Formation prospectivity map, Canning Basin
12
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity: Canning Basin
Gogo Formation (Devonian)
• Good source rock
• The Gogo and Laurel Formations are the main suprasalt source rocks in the
central Canning Basin.
• The Devonian reef complex is within peak oil generation over large areas on
the bounding terraces and shelves, and is post-mature in the Fitzroy Trough.
Bongabinni Formation (base of Carribuddy Group, Ordovician)
• Contains beds of rich oil- and gas-prone source rock locally along the Admiral
Bay Fault Zone.
• It could potentially extend into the depocentre of the Kidson Sub-basin, but
the distribution of the source rocks is not well known.
Goldwyer Formation (Ordovician)
• Equated with global Cambrian–Ordovician source rocks and regionally with
source rocks of the Mereenie oilfield (Amadeus Basin).
• Good oil source rock with good potential for large shale gas resources.
• Relatively deep-water, shaly facies contain excellent source rocks at two
stratigraphic levels on the Barbwire and Mowla Terraces and northern
Broome Platform.
• Post-mature in the deeper parts of the Fitzroy Trough and Broome Platform
(Fig. 8).
• Immature along the Broome Platform near the present coastline; currently in
the peak oil generating window.
• Good source potential is likely elsewhere, such as the Kidson Sub-basin,
although the distribution of source rock facies is poorly constrained, owing
to limited reliable data.
• The formation is also considered to have significant shale gas potential,
although commercial production has yet to be realised.
13
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity: Canning Basin
120°
Pender
Terrace
122°
124°
INDIAN
OCEAN
Fit
z
urr
a
Admiral Bay
Fault Zone
W
Su illara
b-b
asi
n
Blina
Sundown
Paradise
Ungani
Jur
g
Broome
Yarrada
gh
Yulleroo
Valhalla
Ter
rac
e
om
Ba
Nita Downs
rb
eP
Anna
Plains
Le
nn
ar
dS
latf
orm
ire
Jones Arch
lgo
ce
rra
Te
Dampier
Fenton Zone
Ar
ch
CANNING
BASIN
Auld
m
n
si
ba
b-
atf
or
e
Pl
Su
lf
Frankenstein
nd
ry
sla
go
re
G
Cr
os
Nicolay
he
ll S
e
ket
Kemp Field
Ba
Percival
c
rra
Te
ro
e
y
An
M
un
ra
c
Pegasus
Sahara
22°
Billiluna
Shelf
Te
r
tt
Be
Munro
Halls
Creek
St George
Range
w
Sally May
20°
lf
Looma
McLarty
Oscar Range
Pinnacle
Fault System
he
Fitzroy
River
Asgard
Pictor
Bro
128°
KIMBERLEY
CRATON
Kora
Puratte
roy
Tro
u
18°
126°
Lake Hevern
Kidson
Sub-basin
PILBARA
CRATON
Wilson Cliffs
Contention
Heights
Kidson
Tabletop
Shelf
Patience
Ryan
Shelf
OFFICER
BASIN
25km
RB83
07/01/14
Canning Basin
Gas mature
Extent of Goldwyer
No Data
Oil mature
Goldwyer
eroded
Figure 8. Goldwyer Formation prospectivity map, Canning Basin
14
unknown
Tectonic unit boundary
Petroleum Well
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity: Canning Basin
Reservoirs and Seals
A number of reservoirs and seals are summarised in Table 3.
Table 3. Summary of principal reservoirs (R) and seals (S) in the Canning Basin
Age
Rock Unit
R/S
Lithology
Permian
Noonkanbah Fm.
S
Shale
Grant Gp: interbedded porous
sandstone and shale, potentially
creating reservoir–seal couplets
S, R
Shale, sandstone
Reeves Fm.
S
Sandstone
Anderson Fm.
R, S
Sandstone
Laurel Fm.
R
Dolomite
Yellow Drum Fm.
R
Carbonate
‘Devonian reef complexes’
R, S
Reef complexes
Tandalgoo Fm.
R
Sandstone
Carboniferous
Devonian
Worral Fm. – localized
R
Sandstone
Ordovician–
Silurian
Carribuddy Gp: regional seal,
localized reservoirs
S, R
Salt, shale
Ordovician
Nita Fm.
R
Acacia Ss. Member (Willara Fm.):
central–eastern parts of the basin
R
Secondary
dolomite
Nambeet Fm.
R
Sandstone
Sandstone
Prospective areas
1. The Fitzroy Trough has long been considered the most prospective area of
the Canning Basin, with shows in the area confirming petroleum generation
and migration. Additional attractive characteristics include:
• Substantial sedimentary accumulations
• Reef carbonate buildups along the northern half-graben hingeline
• Southwestern structural development
• Potential for a large basin centred gas accumulation (BCGA) along the
southern margin.
2. The Kidson Sub-basin to the south shows promise, but contains only
11 drilled wells in 100 000 km2.
• The Ordovician subsalt Looma discovery was the first proof of mature
migrated oil in the southern Canning Basin. This new exploration play
remains to be further tested.
• In the south, there is potential for gas generation from the Permian and
pre-Ordovician carbonaceous shales and for oil expulsion from shales
in the Ordovician Goldwyer Formation.
• Salt diapirism is evident in the region and may provide traps in areas that
lack major block faulting.
“The best remaining frontier prospects lie in young
basins where oil generation has occurred recently
or in older basins with a high preservation potential
such as intracratonic basins with evaporite seals.”
Duncan S Macgregor, BP, 1996
15
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity: Canning Basin
Plays
There are numerous known types of plays in the Canning Basin, and
probably numerous undiscovered plays. Play type varies geographically and
stratigraphically; Table 4 and Fig. 9 detail significant plays and their potential
analogs.
• Fracture systems associated with transfer faults connecting the Lennard
Shelf to the deeper Fitzroy Trough control migration and permeability in the
carbonate reservoirs of the shelf. Siliciclastic reservoir accumulations there
are controlled by effective intraformational seals.
• Unconformity traps and draping reservoirs in rotated fault blocks, downthrown
rollovers, inversion folds, subsalt traps, and stratigraphic traps all remain to
be tested.
• Additional, international, Paleozoic analogs include the Michigan Basin,
Illinois Basin, Forest City Basin and Delaware Basin of the US, as well as
the North Caspian Basin, Ghaba Salt, Ghadamis and Murzuk Basins, Illizi–
Berkine Basin and Baltic Basin.
Table 4. Key plays in the Canning Basin with potential analogs
Age
Play
International analogs
Conventional
Paleozoic
Truncated reservoirs, base
Permian unconformity
Permian
Worral Fm. – Grant Gp
Eastern flank of South Oman
suprasalt sombrero dissolution Salt Basin, giant oilfields
features
Permian–
Carboniferous
Grant Group, clastics
Unayzah Fm., Saudi Arabia;
Oman
Early Carboniferous
Laurel Fm., dolomites
Dnieper–Donets Basin,
Ukraine
Devonian
Lennard Shelf carbonate reefs Alberta Basin giant oilfields,
(stratigraphic traps)
Canada
Subsalt
}
Silurian–Ordovician
Carribuddy Gp
Goldwyer Fm.
Nita Fm.
Ordovician
Fractured Nita and Goldwyer
Fms
W. Texas CambrianOrdovician Ellenburger
Dolomite, giant gasfields
Nita Fm. dolomite and Upper
Willara Fm., carbonate
Dolomite reservoirs, e.g.
prolifically producing Red
River Fm, Williston Basin
Nambeet Fm., sandstone
Possibly Sirte Basin, Libya,
giant gasfields and Murzuk
Basin, Libya, giant oilfields
late Carboniferous Paradox
Basin, US
Shale gas and oil, and BCGA
Carboniferous
Laurel Fm., shale gas
Barnett Shale, US
Laurel Fm., BCGA
Dnieper–Donets Basin,
Ukraine
Devonian
Gogo Fm., shale gas
Marcellus Shale, US
Ordovician
Goldwyer Fm., shale gas and
shale oil
Utica Shale, Bakken Shale,
US and Canada
16
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity: Canning Basin
Suprasalt plays
0
Noonkanbah Formation
Thickness (metres)
Poole Sandstone
C
B
SEAL
A2
500
A2
Intra - Grant Fm. U/C
A1
A1
Grant Fm. TURTLE
STRUCTURE A2
Mellinjerie Fm.
CHANNEL
Mellinjerie Fm.
Grant Fm. TURTLE
STRUCTURE A1 & A2
Subsalt plays
Nibil REGIONAL SEAL
PILLOW
C
LOWER SALT
Nita Fm. ? REEF
500
E SEAL
?
D
Thickness (metres)
0
Mallowa UPPER SALT
?
Unit E
?
Goldwyer Fm. SOURCE
Nita Fm. ? REEF
04/02/14
RB97
Figure 9. Typical Canning Basin suprasalt and subsalt play types. Models apply to various areas of the Canning
Basin.
17
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity: Canning Basin
Table 5. Conventional plays, trap types and objectives validated by hydrocarbon
discoveries, Canning Basin (adapted from Bureau of Resource Sciences,
1993)
Reservoir
Seal
Source
Grant Fm.*,
sandstone
Grant Fm.*, shales and
siltstones
Trap/Objective
Discovery (well and type)
Upper Carboniferous to Permian — Lennard Shelf
Laurel Fm., shales
in Fitzroy Trough
Compressional culmination with
internal stratigraphic traps
Sundown 1, oil
Unfaulted four-way dip closure
within a paleo-monadnock
West Terrace 1, oil
nd
Boundary 1, oil
Faulted, four-way dip closure on
Laurel Fm. carbonate horizon
Crimson Lake 1, oil
Carboniferous — Lennard Shelf
Anderson Fm.,
sandstone
Laurel Fm.,
carbonates
Anderson Fm., shales
nd
nd
Point Torment 1, gas
Laurel Fm., shales
in Fitzroy Trough
Four-way dip closure
Lloyd 1, oil
Kora 1, West
Kora 1; oil
Compressional culmination with
internal stratigraphic traps
Sundown 1, oil
Four-way dip closure
Terrace 1, oil
Reef-like seismic anomaly
Meda 1, oil
Laurel Fm., shales
Laurel Fm., sandstone
Carboniferous — Fitzroy Trough
Laurel Fm., limestone
Laurel Fm., shales
Laurel Fm., shales
Anticline
Laurel Fm., clastics
Laurel Fm., shales
Laurel Fm., shales
BCGA
Valhalla 2, gas
Laurel Fm., clastics
Fairfield Group, shales
Gogo Fm., shales
Faulted, four-way dip closure on
Intra-Fairfield Gp
Ellendale 1, oil and gas
Laurel Fm., sandstone
St George Range 1, gas
Yulleroo 1, gas
Devonian — Lennard Shelf and Barbwire Terrace
Yellow Drum Fm.,
leached dolostones
Fairfield Group, shales
Nullara Fm.,
carbonates
Nullara Fm., shales
Gogo Fm., shales
Compaction drape closure over
Devonian reef
Blina 1, oil
Reef-like seismic anomaly
Jampam North 1, oil
Nullara Fm.,
calcarenite
Meda 1, gas
Nullara Fm., leached
dolostones
May River Member,
shales
Gogo Fm., clastics
Gogo Fm., shales
Mellinjerie Ls.,
dolostones
Lower Pillara Fm.,
shales
Nita Fm., fractured
dolostones
Nita Fm., shales
Goldwyer Fm.,
fractured carbonates
Goldwyer Fm., shales
Nambeet Fm.,
fractured dolomitic
sandstones
Possibly Upper Nambeet
Fm.
nd
Shale draped biohermal and
biostromal mound
Blina 1, oil
nd
Boronia 1, oil
Fault dependent closure at top Nita
Fm. level
Mirbelia 1, oil
Ordovician — Mowla Terrace and Barbwire Terrace
Goldwyer Fm.,
shales
Tilted fault block with internal fourway dip closure
Pictor 1, oil and gas
Fault dependent closure at top Nita
Fm. level
Dodonea 1, oil
Upper Nambeet
Fm. ?
Dodonea 1, gas
Ordovician — Broome Platform and Willara Sub-basin
Nita Fm., dolomite
nd
Acacia Ss. member
of Willara Fm.,
sandstone
nd
?Nita Fm.,
?carbonates
?Carribuddy Gp,
?shales and evaporites
NOTES:
Goldwyer Fm.,
shales in Kidson
Sub-basin
Broad, gentle anticlinal closure
Looma 1
?Goldwyer Fm.,
shales in Willara
Sub-basin
nd
Cudalgarra 1
* Grant Fm. – now called Grant Group
nd = no data
18
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity: Canning Basin
Other aspects of the Canning Basin relevant
to exploration
Infrastructure and markets
• The towns of Broome and Derby have air and shipping facilities.
• Broome also serves as the shipping terminal for refined petroleum (petrol
and diesel) for the region (Fig. 10). It was previously used for the export of oil
produced from the Blina and associated oilfields.
• Perth is the major market for Canning Basin petroleum resources, with
potential markets for local power generation in the Kimberley and Pilbara.
• The West Kimberley Power Project provides remote area electricity
generation. Liquefied natural gas from Karratha is trucked to storage facilities
in Broome, Derby, Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing and Looma. Gas-fired
generators provide electrical power for each of these local communities.
Initial capacity of gas-fired generators was 61 MW.
• A gas pipeline runs along the southern margin of the basin to Telfer, the site
of one of Australia’s largest gold mines.
• Buru Energy plans to build the Great Northern Pipeline to transport gas from
their Yulleroo and Valhalla discoveries and, to underpin this, has undertaken
a Gas Supply Agreement with Alcoa of Australia.
Land access, climate, and land use
• The sealed, all-weather Great Northern Highway runs along the west and
north of the basin, and links the Kimberley and Pilbara with the state’s
capital, Perth. It is used to truck oil from the basin to the Kwinana oil refinery
in the Perth metropolitan area, in the south of the state.
• The Savannah Way runs along the north of the basin, and links Broome with
Cairns in north Queensland.
• Tracks in the basin include the Kidson Track and the Canning Stock Route.
Only a regional network of unmaintained tracks exists in the central and
southern areas of the basin.
• Remote drilling locations have had roads specifically prepared to facilitate
operations.
• From December to March, heavy rainfall associated with cyclones can isolate
sections of the road network and restrict access.
• Many migratory dune systems also affect sections of roads and tracks
annually.
• Environmental and Land Access regulations apply to all petroleum titles,
under the Native Title Act, and Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources
Act 1967 (which includes private land holdings and pastoral leases) and
Environmental Protection Act. These processes are detailed further in the
2012 Explorer’s Guide.
• DMP conducts environmental assessments for each granted title and must
initiate a state Environmental Impact Assessment on proposals affecting
World Heritage properties; National Heritage places; wetlands of international
importance; Commonwealth marine areas; or areas with listed threatened
species or communities, and internationally protected migratory species.
• Environmentally sensitive areas in the Canning Basin include the Kimberley
National Heritage Area and the Gibson Desert Nature Reserve.
19
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity: Canning Basin
• Numerous Native Title groups and communities in the Canning Basin have a
long history of negotiation with petroleum explorers. These include multiple
claimant groups, as well as the Bardi & Jawi, Dambimangari, Gooniyandi,
Karajarri, Kiwirrkurra, Martu, Ngurrara, Ngururrpa, Noonkanbah, Rubibi,
Tjurabalan and Wanjina Determined Areas.
• Geothermal Exploration or Production Licences exist under the same system
and legislation as petroleum titles, and can co-exist over the same areas.
Currently only one geothermal license, GEP-43, has been granted in the
Canning Basin; as of November 2013 this license is pending surrender.
122°
126°
14°
Kalumburu
INDIAN
OCEAN
Wyndham
Kununurra
Ro
a
d
16°
KIMBERLEY
REGION
r
ve
Ri
P
Derby
P
Broome
P
Looma
P
Halls
Creek
P
Fitzroy
Crossing
y
wa
gh
i
H
Great Northern Pipeline (proposed)
rthe
rn
18°
Gibb
re
a
t
Rou
te
No
Zn Pb
CANNING BASIN
G
20°
Kids
on
Goldsworthy
Port
Hedland
Trac
k
Telfer
ck
Sto
Great Sandy Desert
Pi
e
lin
pe
Marble Bar
22°
Nullagine
Mn
Cu
Telfer
ng
nni
Ca
PILBARA REGION
Newman
Goldfields Gas
Transmission Pipleine
100 km
RB75
04/02/14
Mines
Gas pipeline
Precambrian
Gold
Proposed pipeline
Public airport
Phanerozoic basin
Base metals
Oil pipeline
Port
Diamonds
Sealed road
Iron
Unsealed road
Community
Other
Track
Town
P
West Kimberley
Power Project (LNG)
Railway
Figure 10. Simplified Canning Basin infrastructure, illustrating key transport routes, mines, towns and
pipelines.
20
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity: Canning Basin
Selected references*
General
Cook, P, Beck, V, Brereton, D, Clark, R, Fisher, B, Kentish, S, Toomey, J, and Williams, J 2013,
Engineering Energy: unconventional gas production. Melbourne Australia, Report for the
Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA).
Energy Information Administration 2011, World shale gas resources: An initial assessment of 14
regions outside the United States – a report prepared for U.S. Department of Energy: Advanced
Resources International Inc., Arlington, Virginia, USA.
Energy Information Administration 2013, Technically recoverable shale oil and shale gas resources:
An Assessment of 137 shale formations in 41 countries outside the United States – a report
prepared for U.S. Department of Energy: Advanced Resources International Inc., Arlington,
Virginia, USA.
Petroleum Division and Geological Survey of Western Australia 2012, Western Australia’s Petroleum
and Geothermal Explorer’s Guide —2012 Edition: Western Australia Department of Mines and
Petroleum, 140p.
Petroleum systems and geochemistry
Carlsen, GM and Ghori, KAR 2005, Canning Basin and global Palaeozoic petroleum systems — a
review: APPEA Journal, v. 45, p 349–364.
Edwards, DS, Summons, RE, Kennard, JM, Nicoll, RS, Bradshaw, J, Bradshaw, M, Foster, CB,
O’Brien, GW and Zumberge JE 1997, Geochemical characteristics of Palaeozoic petroleum
systems in northwestern Australia: APPEA Journal, v. 37, p. 351–379.
Ghori, KAR 2011, Petroleum geochemistry of the Canning Basin, Western Australia: basic analytical
data 2005–10: Geological Survey of Western Australia, Record 2011/13, 80p.
Ghori, KAR 2013, Petroleum geochemistry and petroleum systems modelling of the Canning Basin,
Western Australia: Geological Survey of Western Australia, Report 124, 33p.
Ghori, KAR and Haines, PW 2007, Paleozoic petroleum systems of the Canning Basin, Western
Australia: a review, in Extended abstracts: American Association of Petroleum Geologists; AAPG
International Conference and Exhibition, Perth, Western Australia, 5 November 2006, 6p.
Ghori, KAR and Haines, PW 2006, Petroleum geochemistry of the Canning Basin, Western Australia:
basic analytical data 2004–05: Geological Survey of Western Australia, Record 2006/7, 66p.
Basin-wide
Apak, SN and Carlsen, GM 1997, A compilation and review of data pertaining to the hydrocarbon
prospectivity of the Canning Basin: Geological Survey of Western Australia, Record 1996/10,
103p.
Cadman, SJ, Pain, L.Vuckovic, V and le Poidevin. SR 1993, Australian Petroleum Accumulation —
Canning Basin, WA: Bureau of Resource Sciences, Department of Primary Industries, Report 9,
88p.
Jonasson, KE 2001, Western Australia Atlas of Petroleum Fields, Onshore Canning Basin: Petroleum
Division, Mineral and Petroleum Resources Western Australia, v. 2, part 1, 72p.
SRK Consulting Pty Ltd 1998, Canning Basin Project, 1998. Report prepared for Shell Development
Australia: Geological Survey of Western Australia, petroleum exploration report†, P6353 R1 A5
(unpublished), 124p.
Hocking, RM, Playford, PE, Haines, PW and Mory, AJ 2008, Paleozoic geology of the Canning Basin
— a field guide: Geological Survey of Western Australia, Record 2008/18, 40p.
Zhan, Y and Mory. AJ 2013, Structural interpretation of the northern Canning Basin, Western
Australia, in The Sedimentary Basins of Western Australia edited by M Keep and SJ Moss: West
Australian Basins Symposium, Perth, WA, 18 August 2013, 18p.
* Geological Survey of Western Australia publications may be accessed here:
http://geodocs.dmp.wa.gov.au/document/documentSearchCriteria.do?from=topNav&cabinetId=1101
† Petroleum exploration reports may be accessed here: www.dmp.wa.gov.au/4187.aspx
21
Summary of Petroleum Prospectivity: Canning Basin
Central Canning Basin
D'Ercole, C, Gibbons, L and Ghori, KAR 2003, Prospects and leads, central Canning Basin, Western
Australia, 2003: Geological Survey of Western Australia, Record 2003/14, 89p.
Ferdinando, D 2003, Regional play analysis of the central Canning Basin: Department of Industry
and Resources, Petroleum in Western Australia, October 2003, p. 41–44.
Eastern Canning Basin
Burt, A, Champ, P and Parks, A 2002, Petroleum prospectivity of the eastern Canning Basin, WA: Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, 84p.
Young, H and Griffiths, C 2002, Sedsim simulation of the eastern Gregory Sub-basin, Canning Basin,
WA: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), 55p.
Permian–Carboniferous
Apak, SN and Backhouse, J 1999, Stratigraphy and petroleum exploration objectives of the Permo–
Carboniferous succession on the Barbwire Terrace and adjacent areas, northeast Canning Basin,
Western Australia: Geological Survey of Western Australia, Report 68, 30p.
Havord, PJ, Apak, SN and Carlsen, GM 1997, Permo–Carboniferous petroleum reservoir data,
selected wells, Canning Basin, Western Australia: Geological Survey of Western Australia,
Record 1996/11, 155p.
Redfern, J and Williams, BPJ 2002, Canning Basin Grant Group glaciogenic sediments: part of
the Gondwanan Permo–Carboniferous hydrocarbon province, in The Sedimentary Basins of
Western Australia 3 edited by M Keep and SJ Moss: Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia,
Western Australian Basins Symposium, Perth, Western Australia, 20 October 2002; Proceedings,
p. 851–871.
Margin, JR, Redfern, J and Williams, BPJ 2006, Unlocking the Potential of the Grant Group (Canning
Basin, West Australia), Part of the Gondwanan Glaciogenic Hydrocarbon Province, in Extended
Abstracts: American Association of Petroleum Geologists; AAPG International Conference and
Exhibition, Perth, Western Australia, 5 November 2006.
Mory, AJ 2009, A review of the mid-Carboniferous – Permian, Canning Basin, in GSWA 2009
extended abstracts: promoting the prospectivity of Western Australia: Geological Survey of
Western Australia, Record 2009/2, p. 17–18.
Mory, AJ 2010, A review of mid-Carboniferous to Triassic stratigraphy, Canning Basin, Western
Australia: Geological Survey of Western Australia, Report 107, 130p.
Devonian
Copp, IA 2000, Subsurface facies analysis of Devonian reef complexes, Lennard Shelf, Canning
Basin, Western Australia: Geological Survey of Western Australia, Report 58, 127p.
Playford, PE, Hocking, RM and Cockbain, AE 2009, Devonian reef complexes of the Canning Basin,
Western Australia: Geological Survey of Western Australia, Bulletin 145, 443p.
Silurian and Ordovician
Haines, PW 2004, Depositional facies and regional correlations of the Ordovician Goldwyer and
Nita Formations, Canning Basin, Western Australia, with implications for petroleum exploration:
Geological Survey of Western Australia, Record 2004/7, 45p.
Haines, PW 2009, The Carribuddy Group and Worral Formation, Canning Basin, Western Australia:
stratigraphy, sedimentology, and petroleum potential: Geological Survey of Western Australia,
Report 105, 60p.
Haines, PW and Ghori, KAR 2006, Rich oil-prone Ordovician source beds, Bongabinni Formation,
onshore Canning Basin, Western Australia, in Extended Abstracts: American Association of
Petroleum Geologists; AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Perth, Western Australia,
5 November 2006, 4p.
Taylor, D 1992, A Review of Ordovician source rocks, Canning Basin, Western Australia: Bureau of
Mineral Resources, BMR Record 1992/43, 149p.
22

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