Australia's premier shale basin: five plays, 1 000 000 000 years in the making

Abstract

The successful fracture stimulation and production test of the Amungee NW-1H well placed the Velkerri Shale play and the Beetaloo Sub-basin on Australia’s energy radar. The Velkerri Shale dry gas play is currently Australia’s most promising shale gas prospect; however, it is not the only prospect in the Beetaloo Sub-basin. Four additional potential plays have been identified, each with their own specific risk profile and relative benefits. These are the Velkerri Shale liquids rich gas play, the Kyalla Shale and hybrid liquids rich gas plays, and the Hayfield Sandstone oil/condensate play. Appraising each of these opportunities requires special attention to ensure efficient and appropriate deployment of capital. A framework approach allows for the high-level assessment and comparison of each of the discussed opportunities within the Beetaloo Sub-basin portfolio.

Comparisons of the Paleo-Mesoproterozoic large igneous provinces and black shales in the North China and North Australian cratons

“…The Kyalla Formation consists of medium bedded to thinly interbedded and interlaminated grey to black shale, silty shale, siltstone and fine sandstone [ 45 , 128 , 137 , 138 ]. This formation has significant potential for liquids-rich gas [143] . Seven hundred and three samples of black shales from this formation returned TOC contents in the range 0.03–8.97 wt% with an average of 1.08 wt% [138] .…”

Petroleum supersystems in the greater McArthur Basin, Northern Territory, Australia: prospectivity of the world’s oldest stacked systems with emphasis on the McArthur Supersystem

“…The results demonstrate that McArthur Supersystem gasses are all wet with varying concentrations of associated hydrocarbon liquids. Both dry and wet gasses are known from the younger Beetaloo Supersystem, with distinct play types modelled and mapped (Côté et al 2018;Hall et al 2020). This is likely a reflection of the limited petroleum wells testing the McArthur Supersystem.…”

“…The Beetaloo Sub-basin of the greater McArthur Basin is a 28 000 km 2 subsurface depocentre that contains Mesoproterozoic-aged shales of the Roper Group, which host the Territory's premier shale hydrocarbon plays (e.g. Jackson et al 1986;Warren et al 1998;Côté et al 2018;Williams 2019;Hall et al 2020). The sub-basin has been listed by the Australian Government as a key element of the Australian Government's gas-fired recovery strategy (Morrison et al 2020; Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources 2021).…”

“…Revie 2017;Cox et al 2022). Conventional oil and gas, as well as shale hydrocarbon discoveries, shows and fracture-stimulated flows are known from this supersystem(Côté et al 2018;Altmann et al 2020;Riddle 2021;Underwood 2021;Scrimgeour 2022). The Beetaloo Supersystem is part of the unconformity-bounded Wilton Package…”

Groundwater sources for the Mataranka Springs (Northern Territory, Australia)

“…The Cambrian Limestone Aquifer (CLA) is an extensive (474,000 km 2 ) regional groundwater system and provides water resources for social, economic and cultural activities for regional areas of the Northern Territory of Australia (NT) 1 – 3 . Additional groundwater extraction from the CLA is being considered to help promote economic development, including for hydraulic fracturing in Beetaloo Sub-basin, anticipated to be a world-class unconventional gas reserve 4 , 5 . The CLA has several distinct groundwater flow systems and, for hydraulic fracturing in Beetaloo Sub-basin, groundwater would be extracted from its Georgina flow path (Fig.…”