Organic Geochemistry Database; an Australian National Hydrocarbon Geochemistry Data Collection

Geoscience Australia's Oracle organic geochemical database comprises analytical results for samples relevant to petroleum exploration, including source rocks, crude oils and natural gases collected across the Australian continent. The data comprises organic chemical analyses of hydrocarbon-bearing earth materials as well as including connectivity to some inorganic analyses. These data enable petroleum fluids to be typed into families and correlated to their source rock, from which depositional environment, age, and migration distances can be determined, and hence the extent of the total petroleum system can be mapped. This comprehensive data set is useful to government for evidence-based decision making on natural resources and the petroleum industry for de-risking conventional and unconventional petroleum exploration programs.


The data are produced by a wide range of analytical techniques. For example, source rocks are evaluated for their bulk compositional characteristics by programmed pyrolysis, pyrolysis-gas chromatography and organic petrology. Natural gases are analysed for their molecular and isotopic content by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-temperature conversion-mass spectrometry (GC-TC-IRMS). Crude oils and the extracts of source rocks are analysed for their bulk properties (API gravity; elemental analysis) and their molecular (biomarkers) and isotopic (carbon and hydrogen) content by GC, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) and GC-TC-IRMS.


The sample data originate from physical samples, well completion reports, and destructive analysis reports provided by the petroleum industry under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act (OPGGSA) 2006 and previous Petroleum (submerged Lands) Act (PSLA) 1967. The sample data are also sourced from geological sampling programs in Australia by Geoscience Australia and its predecessor organisation's Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO) and Bureau of Mineral Resources (BMR), and from the state and territory geological organisations. Geoscience Australia generates data from its own laboratories. Other open file data from publications, university theses and books are also included

Value: The organic geochemistry database enables digital discoverability and accessibility to key petroleum geochemical datasets. It delivers open file, raw petroleum-related analytical results to web map services and web feature services in Geoscience Australia’s portal. Derived datasets and value-add products are created based on calculated values and geological interpretations to provide information on the subsurface petroleum prospectivity of the Australian continent. For example, the ‘Oils of Australia’ series and the ‘characterisation of natural gas’ reports document the location, source and maturity of Australia’s petroleum resources. Details of the total petroleum systems of selected basins studied under the Exploring for the Future project can be found in the Petroleum Systems Summaries Tool in Geoscience Australia’s portal. Related Geoscience Australia Records and published papers can be obtained from eCat.

Scope:  The collection initially comprised organic geochemical and petrological data on organic-rich sedimentary rocks, crude oils and natural gas from petroleum wells drilled in the onshore and offshore Australian continent. Over time, other sample types (ground water, fluid inclusions, mineral veins, bitumen) from other borehole types (minerals, stratigraphic – including the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program), marine dredge samples and field sites (outcrop, mines, surface seepage samples) have been analysed for their hydrocarbon content and are captured in the database. Results for many of the oil and gas samples held in the Australian National Offshore Wells Data Collection are included in this database.

Tags: Biomarkers, Crude oil, Earth Sciences, HVC_144673, Macerals, Natural gas, Organic geochemistry, Organic petrology, Petroleum, Petroleum geochemistry, Published_External, Pyrolysis, Source rock, Stable carbon isotopes, Vitrinite reflectance
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network