The Surat and Bowen Basins

Abstract

Exploration for petroleum in Queensland began in the Bowen and overlying Surat Basins in 1908. During the next 50 years a few small fields were found. The discovery of oil at Moonie in 1961 and a number of gas fields on the Roma Shelf during the 1960s triggered extensive seismic and drilling programs. This resulted in additional discoveries and the construction of an oil pipeline to Brisbane in 1964 and a gas pipeline in 1969. To date more than 680 exploration and 350 appraisal wells have been drilled. Approximately 16 × 109 m3 of gas and 5 × 106 ML of oil have been discovered. There is potential for an additional 16 × 109 m3 of gas and 2 × 106 ML of oil reserves to be found in the basins. There is a much greater risk in finding the oil reserves than the gas reserves. The oil and gas reserves occur within Permian, Triassic and Jurassic sandstone reservoirs.

The Geology of Fluvial Deposits

“…This technique has formed a key to the location of most of the Tuscaloosa fields in Mississippi (e.g., Hersch 1987;Garrison and Chancellor 1991) and is becoming of increasing importance in the Gippsland, Surat, Cooper, and other Australian basins, which are beginning to enter the mature exploration phase (e.g., Clark and Thomas 1988;Stanmore and Johnstone 1988;Elliott 1989). This technique has formed a key to the location of most of the Tuscaloosa fields in Mississippi (e.g., Hersch 1987;Garrison and Chancellor 1991) and is becoming of increasing importance in the Gippsland, Surat, Cooper, and other Australian basins, which are beginning to enter the mature exploration phase (e.g., Clark and Thomas 1988;Stanmore and Johnstone 1988;Elliott 1989).…”

Cleat mineralization of Upper Permian Baralaba/Rangal Coal Measures, Bowen Basin, Australia

“…Regional considerations support the idea of the Jurassic-Cretaceous period of subsidence associated with the formation of the Surat Basin (Exon 1976;Elliott 1989) as being responsible for carbonate mineralization. Regional uplift and erosion in middle Cretaceous times terminated sediment accumulation in the Surat Basin (Exon 1976;Elliott 1989;Elliott 1993).…”

“…Regional uplift and erosion in middle Cretaceous times terminated sediment accumulation in the Surat Basin (Exon 1976;Elliott 1989;Elliott 1993). During this second episode of subsidence, the estimated palaeogeothermal gradient of the Bowen Basin was significantly less than that of the Triassic (2.5°C/100m, calculated from Beeston's (1986) coalification gradient of the Surat Basin).…”

Fractionation processes of δ13C in a soil-shallow groundwater system of a potential CO2 sequestration site: Wandoan, QLD, Australia

“…1A). Deposition in the basin occurred during a period of passive thermal subsidence in eastern Australia (Cadman et al, 1998;Elliott, 1989;Exon, 1976;Korsch et al, 1998). Initially, during the Early Jurassic, deposition was predominantly fluvio-lacustrine which progressed to coal swamp environments by the Middle Jurassic across most of the basin, excluding the northern areas where fluvial sedimentation continued (Cadman et al, 1998;Elliott, 1989;Exon, 1976;Korsch et al, 1998).…”

“…Subsequently, in the Middle Jurassic, widespread fluvial sedimentation once again dominated deposition until the Early Cretaceous where a marine transgression occurred. Marine and paralic sediments were deposited which abruptly transformed back to fluvial, lacustrine and paludal environments before sedimentation was concluded in the Aptian (113-125 Ma) (Cadman et al, 1998;Elliott, 1989;Exon, 1976;Korsch et al, 1998). In the northern parts of the basin south-west dipping rocks were exposed to erosion and deposition from fluvial systems due to uplift during the Cenozoic (Exon, 1976).…”