bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
RECENT CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALAEOZOIC GEOLOGY IN THE SOUTH CANNING BASIN, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Authors: Koop W. J.
Published: August 2017

Regional aeromagnetic surveys of the interior Canning Basin, completed in 1964, showed a distinct pattern of deep sub-basins separated by relatively shallow platforms south of the Broome Platform. Seismic work on the margins of two of these basins-the Parda and Kidson Sub-basins--resulted in three drill sites. In 1965 WAPET drilled Sahara No. 1 in the Kidson Basin (suspended T.D. 6,956 feet in salt); Parda No. I near the southern margin of the Broome Platform (T.D. 6,256 feet in Basement); and Willara No. 1 in the Parda Basin (T.D. 12,806 feet in Ordovician). This paper is a preliminary report of the section encountered in these three wells.No commercial quantities of oil or gas were encountered in the recent wells but they have added significantly to our knowledge of the South Canning. The three major contributions to our stratigraphic knowledge are:The Ordovician thickens from about 2,000 feet to over 6,500 feet basinward from the Broome Platform (Parda No. 1) southward to the Parda Basin (Willara No. 1). This demonstrates that the Parda Basin was a depositional basin (mainly shale) during the Ordovician. An oil show was noted in the Goldwyer shale unit in Parda No. 1.A Redbed-Evaporite sequence with major amounts of rock salt occurs between the Middle Ordovician and the 1liddie Devonian. This sequence has not been previously encountered in the Canning Basin.The Sakmarian Grant Formation of the Lower Permian which is typically glacial and fluvioglacial includes an upper marine shaly member in two of the recent wells (Sahara No. 1 and Willara No. 1). It is suggested that an arm of the sea extended across large portions of the South Canning while adjacent areas were subjected to continental glaciation. A small hydrocarbon show was recorded in the Upper Grant in Willara No. 1.The significance of these drilling results to oil and gas exploration can be summarised as:A major Ordovician marine basin with rapid thickening and carbonate-shale facies changes in the South Canning presents attractive hydrocarbon prospects.The presence of widespread evaporites as an indicator of restricted marine conditions and as a seal to prevent the escape of hydrocarbons is a favourable factor.The presence of a marine shaly unit with porous sandstone beds in the Permian Grant Formation presents an additional shallow drilling target in the South Canning, especially in the light of the show encountered in Willara No. 1.
GAS FIELD DELIVERABILITY PREDICTIONS AND DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
Authors: Edgington A. N. , Cleland N. E.
Published: August 2017

Forecast of well deliverabilities are an absolute necessity for the realistic planning of the production, transmission and reticulation of natural gas.Gas well deliverability is a function of both natural and artificial limitations and both must be considered in a deliverability forecast.The direct prediction of the decline in wellhead deliverability during the life of a well is a relatively recent development and uses a wellhead relationship analogous to the formation open flow formula. This relationship, combined with the material balance pressure decline equation and the formula relating bottom-hole to wellhead conditions, forms the basis for deliverability forecasts.Compression is added to provide maximum well deliverability and wells may be drilled during the life of a project to maintain deliverability. New wells should meet certain minimum economic criteria before they can be justified. Suggested Criteria are:The net revenue to be earned by the new well must be a pre-selected multiple of the investment required,The present worth of the net revenue discounted at a pre-selected rate must be greater than the investment required.A computer programme has been written to carry out the tedious, repetitive and time-consuming calculations which are necessary for the solution to the problem of deliverability forecasting. This programme calculates the annual production and availability of pipeline gas as well as the number of welJs required to deplete the reserves efficiently. The average reservoir pressure and shut-in and flowing wellhead pressures are forecast and the amount of compression required is calculated. The computer output includes all the production data required for a complete economic analysis of a project involving the depletion of a gas field.
MOOMBA — A SOUTH AUSTRALIAN GAS FIELD
Authors: Martin C. A.
Published: August 2017

South Australia's Moomba gas field was discovered by Delhi Australian Petroleum Ltd. and Santos Limited during March, 1966. The discovery lies 460 miles north of Adelaide, and is on a broad, low relief subsurface structure. A good Permian section, structural position and potential for differential hydrocarbon entrapment led to the drilling of Moomba No. 1. The pay section is from the Upper Member of the Permian-Gidgealpa Formation. Sediments in this section are continental. Depositional environments include river flood plains, valley plains and swamps. Gas at Moomba is dry and contains carbon dioxide. There appears to be no limiting gas-water contact. Three wells have been drilled. Net effective pays of 86 and 67 feet were found in Moomba No. 1 and Moomba No. 2.
THE DEVONIAN OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL AUSTRALIA
Authors: Johnstone M. H. , Jones P. J. , Koop W. J. , Roberts J. , Gilbert-Tomlinson Joyee , Veevers J. J. , Wells A. T.
Published: August 2017

The Devonian of Western and Central Australia consists of sedimentary rocks deposited in intracratonic basins. No igneous activity is known. Devonian rocks are scattered over more than one million square miles and fall into three divisions:5,000 to 10,000 feet of mainly Upper Devonian marine platform limestones and sandstones in the three western basins with laterally equivalent siltstone and shale in the Canning and Bonaparte Gulf Basins;Upper Devonian terrestrial fish-bearing quartz sandstone and associated siltstone and conglomerate in the Amadeus Basin (12,000 feet) and Dulcie (500 feet) and Toko (unknown thickness) synclines; andpoorly known probable Lower and Middle Devonian red-beds and evaporites in the Canning Basin (8,000 feet), barren quartz sandstone in the Amadeus Basin (3,000 feet), and vertebrate-bearing quartz sandstone in the Dulcie (1,500 feet) and Toko (500 feet) synclines.Except fr the Amadeus Basin, all these rocks are flat-lying to moderately tilted, and high-angle faults are the chief structural elements. Metamorphism is wholly absent except adjacent to major faults. Steep dips in the Devonian of the Amadeus Basin are related to folding. The rocks of the first division represent part of a depositional phase which continues into the Lower Carboniferous; divisions (ii) and (iii) are probably the end phases of depositional cycles which started before the Devonian.Interesting features of these rocks are the well-exposed and essentially undeformed carbonate reef complexes of the northern Canning Basin and the Bonaparte Gulf Basin, the thick Frasnian sandstones of the Bonaparte Gulf Basin, and the thick redbed-evaporite sequence of the southern Canning Basin. The reef complexes with their associated basinal facies provide prospects for petroleum production.
DECISIONS AFFECTED BY SECTIONS 77A, 77AA AND 78 (I) (B) OF THE INCOME TAX ASSESSMENT ACT
Authors: Millard I. R. , Imber D. W.
Published: August 2017

IN raising capital funds from their shareholders, it is essential that oil exploration companies in Australia give consideration to the provisions of the Income Tax Act. Certain sections of the Act have been designed to encourage the Australian public to subscribe funds for use in exploration for oil and other minerals by allowing deductions to the shareholders of the exploration companies provided the circumstances suit the provisions of the legislation.The majority of the investing public of Australia are aware that they may claim a deduction for moneys subscribed to an oil or other mineral exploration company provided that company lodges a declaration under Section 77A or Section 77AA of the Income Tax Act. Most are also aware that one third of calls paid to mining companies is an allowable deduction.The speakers propose to explore the areas of decision that management should consider when allowing shareholders a deduction under any of these sections and offer an interpretation of some of the complexities contained in the operations of these sections. These are questions of importance to a company interested not only in direct income tax benefits to its shareholders, but also in conserving maximum deductions for itself having regard to the long term benefits of shareholders.The operation of Sections 77A and 77AA is limited to funds received by companies prior to June 30, 1970. In the past, these sections have been extended for periods of three years and their extension beyond that date is a matter of government policy.
GEOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE EASTERN OFFICER BASIN OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Authors: Krieg G.
Published: August 2017

The Eastern Officer basin in South Australia, consists of a deep, east-west trending trough that flanks the southern margin of the Musgrave block. From its northern margin south to its axis the basin deepens with a very steep gradient, then shallows steadily to its southern margin. Superimposed on this regional configuration is a number of anticlinal structures.The deepest part of the basin, indicated by geophysical exploration, occurs in the west and contains about 18,000 feet of basin fill. Drilling has penetrated 9,510 feet of these deposits which are no older than Silurian to Devonian. A Palaeozoic succession overlying Proterozoic sediments with marked angular unconformity is exposed along the eastern margin of the basin. The Palaeozoic succession consists of 2,000 feet of doubtful Cambrian sediments, 6,000 feet of Ordovician and Devonian sediments and an unknown thickness of a molasse-type sandstone of possible Carboniferous age.The presence of good porosity in the Ordovician outcrops, the probability of shaley caprock in the distal areas of the basin and the occurrence of anticlinal structures demonstrated by geophysical exploration are encouraging features for petroleum exploration in this area.
A NEW SYSTEM OF TOOLS FOR BETTER CONTROL AND INTERPRETATION OF DRILL STEM TESTS
Authors: EAST JOHN
Published: August 2017

The Multi-Flow Evaluator, MFE, is a new system of tools providing an original approach in drill stem testing. It improves control during the testing operation and gives a more accurate evaluation of the fluid recovered while providing additional pressure information for reservoir analysis.The tools are operated entirely by up and down motion of the drill stem. This up and down operation provides a positive means of control and offers easily observed surface indications of tool operating position. An unlimited number of shut- in and flow periods may be taken with this tool while in the hole.The key to the success of the MFE system of tools is the safety seal packer. Until this development, operation of the tools by up and down motion only, had proven unreliable. The success ratio of the MFE now exceeds the ratio achieved by conventional tools.The equipment includes a 2500 cc chamber In which a representative sample of the flowing formation fluid Is trapped at the end of the last flow period and brought to the surface under pressure. The sample can be evaluated at the well site or transferred under pressure for laboratory analysis.The sampling feature of the tool allows a sample to be obtained from a reservoir which has suffered minimum Influence from production. A representative sample can be obtained for laboratory or empirical analysis by employing a testing technique to minimise draw-down during flow periods.Interpretation methods to take advantage of this additional information are presented and supported by actual field examples.
EXPLORATION DEVELOPMENT IN INDONESIA
Authors: Trisulo Trisulo
Published: August 2017

Under the present Indonesia Oil Legislation foreign oil companies can operate only as contractors of the state enterprise. Except for a few companies, most operate under the terms of the "standard" production sharing agreement. This type of agreement was introduced in 1966.To date a total of 40 oil agreements have been concluded, covering onland and (mostly) offshore areas, as compared with 7 agreements prior to 1966. Most of the known prolific oilbasins in Indonesia are situated skirting the Sundaland area in an arcuate zone running from North Sumatra via Northwest Java and the islands in the Java Sea to South-east and East Kalimantan.Main production is obtained from the Tertiary infillings of these basins which may reach a maximum thickness of about 8000 metres. Trapping elements are mostly of the structural type with sandstones as prime reservoir rocks. Exploration activities since 1963 have to date resulted in twelve discoveries onland and two discoveries in the offshore areas.The future outlook would be increased activities and development of all phases of the petroleum industry in Indonesia. Australia could play an important contributory role in providing the requirements for the petroleum industry which until now has to be satisfied from other outside sources.
PROGRESS OF STUDIES, BASIN STUDY GROUP, BUREAU OF MINERAL RESOURCES
Authors: Smith K. G.
Published: August 2017

The Basins Study Group is part of the Subsurface Section of the Bureau's Petroleum Exploration Branch and was formed in 1962 to collect and review available basic data on the sedimentary basins of Australia and Papua-New Guinea. The Core and Cuttings Laboratory forms the second part of the Subsurface Section, and the Laboratory's technical staff contribute to basin reviews by carrying out analyses of various kinds, and assist in the collection of data principally by providing thin sections of various sedimentary formations.Recent activities of the Basins Study Group include a review of the Sydney Basin, and an increased effort to assemble basic data on all sedimentary basins, with particular emphasis on the Canning and Carnarvon Basins.The review of the Sydney Basin is nearing completion. It was undertaken with the co-operation of the Geological Survey of New South Wales and received generous support from petroleum exploration companies active in the Basin. The review included detailed petrological examination of twelve wells and selected outcrop samples. The results confirmed the previously-held opinions that the reservoir characteristics of Sydney Basin sediments are generally unfavourable. At present there are no indications of untested onshore areas where an improvement in reservoir properties may occur. The Bureau petrologists detected the rare mineral dawsonite in eight wells; the mineral occurred mostly in Permian sediments, both in marine and non-marine rocks, but it was recorded also from Triassic rocks in the Kurrajong Heights No. 1 well. The review of geophysical data from the Sydney Basin was concentrated mainly on seismic work. The magnetic tapes of three surveys were replayed and considerable improvement in records was effected. Record sections of all seismic surveys were reduced photographically to a horizontal scale of 1:50,000 and the reductions were spliced to provide easily-managed cross-sections. The geophysical review is nearing completion and structure contour maps and isochrons are in preparation.The collection of basic data is done for each sedimentary basin as it becomes available, but present emphasis is on assembling data from Western Australian basins: all seismic traverses in the onshore parts of the Canning and Carnarvon Basins have been plotted at 1:250,000 scale, and with the co-operation of the Geological Survey of Western Australia, bibliographies of the Canning, Carnarvon and Perth Basins have been compiled for issue as Open-file Records. Bibliographies of the Papuan and Ipswich-Clarence Basins have also been compiled.
EXPLORATION OF THE SOUTHWEST FLANK OF THE PAPUAN SASIN
Authors: Oppel T. W.
Published: August 2017

Since 1965, Tenneco Australia and Signal Pacific have been exploring three tenements totalling 30,082 square miles off the eastern coast of the Cape York Peninsula Queensland. The area is relatively unexplored but the recent drilling of the Anchor Cay well, along with seismic mapping, provides a vital link between the Papuan Basin and the Laura and other basins of the Queensland coast.The primary objective of the exploration venture was initially and remains, the Mesozoic age sandstones believed to exist in a near shore environment in the subject area. Carboniferous pyroclastics and Permian granites form the positive Cape York-Oriomo Platform. Mid-Mesozoic age sediments, are found east of this ridge, becoming thicker and more basinal regionally eastward. Tension faulting along the southwest flank of the basin has created several closed structures. Tertiary sediments are primarily carbonates and exist in a shelf, reef, forereef arrangement with petroliferous pinnacle reefs being located on bathymetrically favored structures.Seismic mapping directed at the northern portion of the tenements located several structures worthy of testing. The one with the maximum sedimentary column, the Anchor Cay structure, was chosen for a stratigraphic test and drilled in early 1969. No severe drilling problems were found at shallow depths but below 10,700 feet sloughing of cobbles into the borehole became a problem. The well was abandoned at 11,888 feet, still in sediments, where continued drilling became impracticable. The lithology encountered in this stratigraphic test was similar to that anticipated. A reef core of Pliocene rock was penetrated. Miocene rocks in a near back reef environment, and a thin Eocene carbonate section were penetrated. At approximately 7,000 feet an unconformity separated the Tertiary carbonates from the Mesozoic elastics. Immediately beneath the unconformity were reservoir quality sandstones of lower Cretaceous age. Volcanic and/or intrusive exotics became increasingly common in the Jurassic.Based on the facies encountered in the Anchor Cay stratigraphic test, it seems apparent that the most favored fairway for sandstone reservoir development is to the west where seismic shooting has indicated several structures. The initial basic concepts regarding this exploration venture are still valid and much more effort is required before a thorough evaluation can be made.
OFFSHORE DRILLING OPERATIONS IN THE GULF OF PAPUA
Authors: Spinks R. B.
Published: August 2017

Phillips Australian Oil Company, along with a group of partners, commenced drilling in the Gulf of Papua in October 1967 and drilled a total of eleven offshore wells before operations were shut down in June, 1969. All wells were drilled in Exploration Permits PNG/2P and PNC/3P, with operations being, conducted from a district office in Port Moresby. Global Marine Incorporated self-propelled drilling vessel, "Glomar Conception" was used throughout the program, this type of vessel being chosen largely because of its mobility and large storage capacity.The majority of the drilling materials were supplied to Port Moresby from U.S.A. and Japan, and were hauled to the drilling vessel utilizing two work boats, with cement and drilling mud weight material being handled on a bulk basis. Personnel transport was by fixed wing aircraft along the coast, then by helicopter to the rig. Weather conditions were generally good, with downtime amounting to only one or two percent of the entire program.
OVERFLOW OF SPACE AGE TECHNOLOGY INTO PETROLEUM EXPLORATION
Authors: Thralls H. M. , Allen S. J.
Published: August 2017

From the standpoint of time, the "Space Age" is generally shown as commencing October 4, 1957, with the orbiting of the first Sputnik Earth satellite, and extending up to the present moon surface exploration by members of the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 crews. The "Space Age" is also defined as an environment of mental disciplines and teamwork which has provided the creative approach leading to the greatest concentration of new technical developments and innovations of any comparable period in history. A combination of micro-electronic developments with applications of information theory has aided digital data recording and processing techniques, including the capability to retrieve weak signals from high level background noise. Applications of inertial accelerometers and of stabilized platforms have led to the development of a new shipboard gravity meter. A new gravity method has been developed using time-differentiation of doppler-derived spacecraft velocities. Magnetometers developed for petroleum exploration have been adapted for use in spacecraft. The development of an all-weather satellite navigation system and a doppler sonar system have provided accurate navigation systems for petroleum exploration which are free from geographic and weather limitations. Through the development of several "remote sensing" tools and techniques, such as side-looking radar, thermal-infrared imagery, and photography from satellites, the exploration geologist now has new measurements from new vantage points to aid in the interpretation of prospect areas. The VIBROSEIS' method is based on a chirp signal source and processing based on information theory concepts which have been in common use by Space Age programs, computer industry and petroleum exploration. With the advent of a coherent light source (laser), optical holography has become possible. Considerable research is now in progress to develop acoustic holographic techniques for petroleum exploration.
THE SEABED AND OCEAN FLOOR BEYOND THE LIMITS OF NATIONAL JURISDICTION-A REVIEW OF UNITED NATIONS DISCUSSIONS
Authors: Livermore J. B. R.
Published: August 2017

For countless centuries the activities of man were bounded, in the main, by the limits of the dry land on which he lived. Some of the more intrepid ventured out upon the seas and oceans — to fish, to explore, to trade, or to fight. In the twentieth century man has conquered the air and circled the globe in space.Now the world looks to another new frontier — the field of exploration of the seabed beneath the oceans. In recent decades there has been an awakening to the existence of natural resources in the seabed and ocean floor.Tliis prospect of discoiering, and more importantly producing, minerals from the deep ocean floor, appears to offer the potential of expanding the resource base of modern civilisation at a time when a growing world population, coupled with rising standards of living, are throwing increased demands on the world's known stock of natural resources.For three years the United Nations, following an initiative by the island state of Malta, has been discussing the reservation, exclusively for peaceful purposes, of the seabed and ocean floor beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, and the use of the resources of this area, in the interests of mankind as a whole.During these discussions diverse points of view have emerged: some would restrict the jurisdiction of a coastal state severely; others argue for extensive coastal state jurisdiction. Some want elaborate and comprehensive international machinery to control all activities on the seabed in accordance with a regime agreed internationally; others support more modest arrangements arguing that elaborate machinery would swallow up the financial benefits and leave little or nothing for the world community; still others contend that the regime and machinery should, initially at least, be resource oriented.The Australian delegation has put the view that any international arrangements for the deep seabed must be effective, credible and impartial. Such arrangements must not only command the support of the nations of the world regardless of geographical location or political system, they must also instil confidence in the minds of operators that rights granted can, and will, be upheld.Moves are developing for a further comprehensive law of the sea conference — perhaps within two or three years - which will tackle several outstanding matters including, importantly, that of a suitable regime and administrative machinery for the seabed and ocean floor beyond national jurisdiction. Inevitably this will involve consideration of the imprecision of the limits of the continental shelf as presently defined by the Geneva Convention of 1958. Other subjects requiring attention are the breadth of the territorial sea, rights of passage through straits and fisheries matters.Australia, an island continent with a long coastline and an extensive continental shelf, has a vital interest in the course of these deliberations.
THE STRATIGRAPHY OF THE OFFSHORE GIPPSLAND BASIN
Authors: James E. A. , Evans P. R.
Published: August 2017

The Gippsland Basin in south-eastern Australia mainly underlies the continental shelf between eastern Victoria and Tasmania. It is filled with Lower Cretaceous-Recent sediment and has become a major source of hydrocarbons for the Australian market.Forty-two wildcat and stepout wells, additional development wells and over 7,000 miles of seismic lines provide a framework on which to build the region's geological history. The time-stratigraphy of the basin is derived from extensive use of spore-pollen assemblages in the mainly non-marine Cretaceous-Eocene and foraminifera in the marine Oligocene-Pliocene, largely complemented by seismic and to a lesser extent electric log correlations. Ten Cretaceous and five Paleocene-Eocene spore-pollen zones and fourteen Oligocene-Pliocene foraminiferal zonules are recognized. Only broad-scale lithostratigraphic units, initially recognized along the northern, onshore margin of the basin are traceable offshore. The Lower Cretaceous is represented by at least 10,000 feet of non-marine greywacke of the Strzelecki Group. The Upper Cretaceous-Eocene, with a cumulative thickness of 15,000 feet is termed the Latrobe Group and consists mainly of lacustrine and fluviatile elastics. Channels dissected the top of the Latrobe Group during the Eocene and were filled with sediments recognizable as distinct sequences within the group and termed the Flounder and Turrum Formations. A destructive marine phase during latest Eocene time left the glauconitic Gurnard Formation as the youngest member of the Group.Subsequent marine inundation of the basin resulted in deposition of up to 1,500 feet of calcareous mudstone referred to the Lakes Entrance Formation and up to 5,000 feet of marl, calcarenite and limestone of the Gippsland Limestone during the Oligocene and Miocene. Up to 1,000 feet of Pliocene- Recent calcarenite, micrite and marl complete the sedimentary sequence.
OFFSHORE GIPPSLAND BASIN FIELDS
Authors: Griffith B. R. , Hodgson E. A.
Published: August 2017

The offshore Gippsland Basin, underlies the continental shelf and slope between eastern Victoria and Tasmania.The basin is filled with up to 25,000' of sediment, varying in age from Lower Cretaceous to Recent. The Lower Cretaceous section is represented by at least 10,000' of nonmarine greywackes of the Strzelecki Group. The overlying sediments of Upper Cretaceous to Eocene age comprise the interbedded sandstones, siltstones, shales and coals of the Latrobe Group, with a cumulative thickness of about 15,000'. Offshore, the Latrobe Group is overlain unconformably by up to 1500' of calcareous mudstones of the Lakes Entrance Formation and up to 5000' of Gippsland Limestone carbonates. Pliocene to Recent carbonates, reaching a maximum thickness of about 1000', complete the sedimentary section of the basin.Australia's first commercial offshore field, the Barracouta oil and gas field, was discovered in the Gippsland Basin in February 1965. Further exploratory drilling over the following two and a half years led to the discovery of the Marlin gas field and the Kingfish and Halibut oil fields.The principal hydrocarbon accumulations are reservoired by sediments of the Latrobe Group within closed structural highs on the Latrobe unconformity surface. Seal is provided by the mudstones and marls of the Lakes Entrance Formation and Gippsland Limestone.A field development programme was initiated immediately after Barracouta had been confirmed as a commercial gas reservoir. By the end of 1967, the Barracouta 'A' platform had been erected. Construction and positioning of the Marlin, Halibut and the two Kingfish platforms followed.To date development drilling has been completed on the Barracouta and Halibut fields, while development of the Marlin field has been temporarily suspended following completion of four wells. Development of the Kingfish oil field which commenced in March 1970, is still in a relatively early stage.The Barracouta field has been producing gas and oil since March and October, 1969 respectively. The Marlin gas field was put on stream in November, 1969 and the Halibut oil field in March 1970. As yet no wells drilled in the Kingfish oil field have been completed for production.The four fields provide a major source of hydrocarbons for the Australian market. By the end of September, 1970 cumulative production of sales quality gas from the Barracouta and Marlin fields was almost 23 BCF. Cumulative production of stabilised oil from Barracouta was 2 million barrels and over 26 million barrels from Halibut.
PROCESSING OF MARINE SEISMIC DATA FROM AREAS WITH LARGE AND RAPID VARIATION IN WATER DEPTH
Authors: Sabitay Al
Published: August 2017

The offshore search for oil and gas is progressively moving further out to sea as near-shore structures are delineated and drilled. Prospects that overlap the edge of the continental shelf and slope will more than likely present problems in the processing of marine seismic data because of large and rapid variation in water depth.Magellan Petroleum encountered such difficulties in the digital computer processing of its East Gippsland Basin Prospect which is located some 50 miles southeast of the Victoria coastline.A series of problems developed when an integrated computer program sequence or "package" was applied to the data. It was found that first break suppression schedules, deconvolution design gates, band-pass filter application gates and velocity functions could not be changed often enough due to program restrictions.Where the water bottom topography was rough, the restriction of submitting only three or four water depths to vary the velocity function and subsequent calculation of normal move-out corrections resulted in questionable accuracy for the corrected results.Sometimes, water bottom variations required individual trace static corrections which were not available in this particular "package" processing.Water bottom multiple periods vary as rapidly as the surface that generates them. A meticulous selection of the parameters of deconvolution programs is necessary to attenuate multiples under such conditions. Also close examination of the purposes and consequently methods of deconvolution computer programs is necessary to maximize the effectiveness of this powerful processing tool.Diffractions are frequently generated at points on an irregular sea bottom surface. Such detractions mask true water bottom reflections in deeper water and thus decrease the geophysicist's ability to process data accurately where computer programs require true water bottom depth.Presentation of record sections which illustrate problems and their probable solutions comprise a major part of this paper.
A NEW SEISMIC SOURCE: VAPORCHOC
Authors: Staron P.
Published: August 2017

A very important drawback of the quasi totality of impulse marine seismic sources is the secondary emission of bubble pulses following the useful impulse.The intensity of these parasitic pulses can be of the same order of magnitude as that of the main pulse in the seismic frequency band. This phenomenon is due to the physical nature of the system in which energy is deposited, i.e. the source itself, the surrounding medium and their inter-reaction.The Vaporchoc illustrates one way to modify the system so as to prevent, at one moment, the accumulation of potential energy in an elastic medium, so far getting a total transfer of the energy to acoustic form.To reach this goal, a mass of superheated steam is released in water through a special valve; this steam creates a growing bubble, while giving during this phase a very small part of its energy into an acoustic pulse.A few moments later, steam is condensed due to both adiabatic expansion and thermal exchanges. The bubble becoming empty begins to collapse; near the end of the collapse phase, the kinetic energy of water flowing toward the centre of the bubble is converted into an intense acoustic pulse, due to the non linearity of the mechanical system. No further evolution of the system is possible as there remains no compressed gas acting like a spring to recycle the system.There is a major difference in the emitting processes of conventional explosives or compressed air systems and of Vaporchoc.In compressed air or explosives systems, the main acoustic emission takes place within the first pulse, the presence of air or gases acting as a spring gives successive bubble pulses.In Vaporchoc, on the contrary, there is a small acoustic radiation due to the first pulse, as the steam is released smoothly; the main acoustic emission takes place within the second pulse and, as steam is condensed before this second pulse, no gas can act like a spring and there are no other pulses.The conversion into acoustic energy is made near the centre of the bubble and the apparatus is not submitted to the very high pressure which takes place in the emitting zone.This new source can be operated at the highest repetition rate compatible with record length allowing high order common depth point methods.
THE WISE USE OF RESERVOIR MODELS
Authors: Poollen H. K. van
Published: August 2017

Over the last number of years various mathematical reservoir models have been introduced to the industry. This paper will briefly review the basic fundamentals of reservoir modelling. It will discuss the assumptions made, limitations and applications of this tool.
GEOLOGIC EVOLUTION AND HYDROCARBON HABITAT GIPPSLAND BASIN
Authors: Hocking J. Barry
Published: August 2017

The Gippsland Basin of southeastern Australia is a post-orogenic, continental margin type of basin of Upper Cretaceous-Cainozoic age.Gippsland Basin evolution can be traced back to the establishment of the Strzelecki Basin, or ancestral Gippsland Basin, during the Jurassic. Gippsland Basin sedimentation commenced in the middle to late Cretaceous and is represented as a gross transgressive-regressive cycle consisting of the continental Latrobe Valley Group (Upper Cretaceous to Eocene or Miocene), the marine Seaspray Group (Oligocene to Pliocene or Recent), and finally the continental Sale Group (Pliocene to Recent).The hydrocarbons of the Gippsland Shelf petroleum province were generated within the Latrobe Valley Group and are trapped in porous fluvio-deltaic sandstones of the Latrobe. At Lakes Entrance, however, oil and gas are present in a marginal sandy facies of the Lakes Entrance Formation (Seaspray Group).The buried Strzelecki Basin has played a fundamental role in the development and distribution of the Cainozoic fold belt in the northern Gippsland Basin. The Gippsland Shelf hydrocarbon accumulations fall within this belt and are primarily structural traps. The apparent lack of structural accumulations onshore in Gippsland is largely due to a Plio-Pleistocene episode of cratonic uplift that was accompanied by basinward tilting of structures and meteoric water influx.The non-commercial Lakes Entrance field, located on the stable northern flank of the basin, is a stratigraphic trap and may serve as a guide for future exploration.
THE NGALIA BASIN, NORTHERN TERRITORY — RECENT GEOLOGICAL AND GEOPHYSICAL INFORMATION UPGRADES PETROLEUM PROSPECTS
Authors: Wells A.T. , Moss F.J. , Sabitay A.
Published: August 2017

The Ngalia Basin has been the subject of systematic geological and geophysical investigation by the Bureau of Mineral Resources since 1967 and by Magellan Petroleum Australia Ltd. since 1968. The Ngalia Basin is an intracratonic structural depression, containing a small accumulation of late Precambrian and Palaeozoic sediments in the southern part of the Northern Territory. It covers an area of about 6000 sq.mi. and contains shallow marine, glacial and continental rocks of Adelaidean, Cambrian, Ordovician and Carboniferous age. It is asymmetrical in north-south cross-section with the thickest sediments preserved near the faulted northern margin. These sediments can be correlated with those of the prospective Amadeus Basin, but they are yet to be tested for hydrocarbons by exploratory drilling.Within the basin, where outcrops are sparse, seismic and gravity data provide valuable information pertaining to the depositional and tectonic history. The geological and geophysical studies have upgraded the hydrocarbon potential of the area. Structural traps are thought to exist, particularly in the western part of the basin, associated with folded faults developed over slightly dipping thin thrust plates. Further detailed interpretation of the geophysical results is under way directed towards defining drillable prospects.
THE FUNDING OF OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION COMPANIES
Authors: Ranson A.E.
Published: August 2017

The initial funding of an independent exploration company with relatively unexplored acreage, or less, is virtually impossible under current conditions. The Government's policies on crude prices and taxation deductions are significant factors in this situation.Established companies have a variety of funding methods available and the most appropriate method will depend on the companies' circumstances. All of the available methods should be thoroughly examined and evaluated before the final decision is made.The ability of companies to raise money from the public will continue to be unpredictable while present conditions prevail. Those companies which mean to stay in business should avail themselves of the opportunity to raise money when it is available.In any changes to the Income Tax Laws to re-introduce incentives for the public to contribute to exploration companies, consideration should be given to the fact that the professional market dealers who used to subscribe to marginal situations will not be interested if the taxation deduction is limited to some arbitrary amount.
INSURANCE AND THE EXPLORER
Authors: Agnew J.D.
Published: August 2017

The physical risks and liabilities associated with oil exploration, particularly in off shore areas, are potentially disastrous to the smaller exploration company. To the larger organization with ample funds and massive capital support the possibility of being financially crippled by unexpected occurrences is more remote. Nevertheless, sound business principles dictate that in both cases, the company protects itself, its shareholders and its employees from unncessary loss. This is effected through a carefully planned insurance programme which takes into account risk management and the economics of arranging insurance cover.Some risks are considered to be normal business hazards which should not or cannot be insured. Others, which may be insured, are divided into three general classes: protection of assets; insurance of liabilities under contract, at common law and under statute; insurance against extraordinary expenses for regaining control of wells following blow out. In each class the basic forms of insurance are reviewed, the cover explained and the principal exclusions in standard policies highlighted.One of the features of modern business is the practice of, and problems created by, the transfer of responsibilities to or from other parties by contract. The effect of such transfers by hold -harmless agreements and the like are far reaching and the insurance implications should be studied and assessed in each instance.The necessary insurance may be arranged in Australia or overseas - with insurance companies, or with Lloyds Underwriters in London. Where and with whom it is placed depends on the scope of cover required and the establishment of a competitive market. All of the negotiations with exploration companies and insurers will, in the ordinary course of events, be handled by an insurance broker who is professionally responsible for the economic, efficient and adequate protection of his client - the explorer.
CONTINENTAL DRIFT AND BASIN DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH EASTERN AUSTRALIA
Authors: Elliott John L.
Published: August 2017

The Gippsland, Bass and Otway Basins in southeastern Australia are filled with sediments ranging in age from earliest Cretaceous to Recent. These basins were formed from the processes and forces which fragmented the Pacific margin of Gondwanaland. Their sedimentary histories and tectonic styles locate and date the movement of those continental masses now detached.An Early Cretaceous rift valley extended from the Otway Basin through the Gippsland Basin and on to Lord Howe Rise, (a part of eastern Australia at that time). A transform fault separated Tasmania and Antarctica resulting in the continuing detachment of Antarctica.During the Late Cretaceous, Australia drifted from Antarctica sufficiently to allow the Southern Indian Ocean to invade the Otway Basin and the build-out of river deltas. The Otway continental crust was further stretched, resulting in normal faulting and block rotation. Crustal tension continued in the Gippsland Basin and opened the Bass Basin. Fluvial sediments were deposited in both basins. The Tasman Basin was opened.During the Early Tertiary, crustal tension continued to shape the Bass and Gippsland Basins, where thick, fluvial sediments were deposited. The first marine indicators in Gippsland are Paleocene in age and, during the Eocene, two large submarine valleys were cut and filled and a regional unconformity was developed. Early Tertiary marine elastics prograded into the Southern Indian Ocean.Mid-Tertiary marine shales, marls and limestones formed the continental margin of the Otway Basin and gently filled the Bass Basin. In the Gippsland Basin the same -aged sediments unconformably truncated and sealed Early Tertiary sandstones and contructed the continental slope into the Tasman Sea, while a right lateral shear formed the producing structures.
THE CONTINENTAL ACCRETION AND FOLDING OF AUSTRALIA BY PACIFIC SEA FLOOR UNDERSPREADING
Authors: Laing A.C.M.
Published: August 2017

The theory of continental drift is criticised for being based on a number of fallacies.The fallacies discussed include polar wandering and Permian glaciation in Australia. Both are regarded as nonexistent. Data are presented to indicate firstly that Australia has grown by continental accretion and secondly that this growth has taken place under a horizontal stress directed outwards from the Pacific Basin. It is postulated that this horizontal stress is caused by a gradually intensifying bump in the liquid core of the earth, which is believed to have formed in the condensation and accretion stage of the solar system, mainly from two lumps of different composition and properties, one now constituting the Pacific Basin, the other the remainder of the Earth.A corollary to this hypothesis is that the structural equivalents of the petroliferous basins of North America lie under the Tasman, Coral, and Timor seas.
ATTRACTIVE QUEENSLAND ONSHORE BASINS
Authors: Allen R. J.
Published: August 2017

Basin studies by the Geological Survey of Queensland indicate that for a variety of reasons, the Permian strata of the southern Bowen Basin, the Galilee Basin and the Queensland portion of the Cooper Basin have considerable hydrocarbon potential. The Devonian strata of the Adavale Basin are also attractive; their relatively great depth (3,640 m at Gilmore) markedly increases drilling costs, but larger reserves could compensate for this. Interesting prospects on a smaller scale exist in the Jurassic strata of the Surat Basin and Triassic strata of the underlying southern Bowen Basin; the availability of relatively close well and seismic control plus pipeline infrastructure makes this area attractive to smaller operators. In addition to collating data lodged by petroleum explorers, the Geological Survey is actively assisting in the search by drilling core holes to a maximum depth of 1,220 m for stratigraphic information.
CRUDE OIL CORRELATIONS IN THE PERTH AND CARNARVON BASINS
Authors: Powell T. G. , McKirdy D. M.
Published: August 2017

It is possible to group oils discovered in the Dandaragan Trough of the Perth Basin and the Barrow and Dampier Sub-basins of the Carnarvon Basin into distinct families according to the nature of the source material and its degree of maturity.Oils recovered from the Dandaragan Trough are unique and virtually identical in composition, even though they are found in various reservoirs ranging in age from Permian to Jurassic. They are characterised by a high wax content and a low gasoline yield which can be explained by the immaturity of the source material. Condensates from equivalent strati-graphic levels in the Gingin and Walyering fields are similar in composition.Two families of oils occur in the Barrow Sub-basin of the Carnarvon Basin. Oils recovered from Cretaceous sediments (viz. Windalia Radiolarite, Muderong Greensand and Birdrong Sand) are naphthenic to aromatic whereas those produced from the Jurassic Dingo Group are high wax oils of paraffinic to naphthenic base. A similar grouping of oil families occurs in the Dampier Sub-basin.Condensates within Jurassic reservoirs in the Angel field are virtually identical in composition to the condensates and oil in Triassic reservoirs along the Rankin trend. In turn they are also similar in composition to the Jurassic oils of the Barrow Sub-basin and it appears likely that a common Jurassic source exists for these hydrocarbons. Oil recovered from the Toolonga Calcilutite in the North Rankin 1 well strongly resembles the Windalia oil at Barrow Island.