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Geology and hydrocarbon prospectivity of the northern Houtman Sub-basin – Extended Abstract 2017 APPEA Conference

Created 16/10/2025

Updated 16/10/2025

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New 2D seismic data, acquired by Geoscience Australia in the northern Houtman Sub-basin of the Perth Basin, provides important information on the prospectivity of this frontier area. To date, lack of quality seismic data and limited geological understanding led to the perception that the hydrocarbon potential of the area is very low. However, interpretation of the newly collected data suggests that the northern Houtman depocentre contains up to 15 km of pre-breakup sediments composed of Permian, Triassic and Jurassic successions, which potentially contain multiple source rock, reservoir and seal intervals. The Permian synrift succession is confined to a series of large half-graben that are controlled by basement-involved faults separating the Houtman depocentre from the Bernier Platform. This succession is up to 10 km thick and is mapped throughout the inboard part of the new seismic grid. A prominent unconformity at the top of the Permian synrift sequence is overlain by a thick (up to 1800 m) and regionally extensive Kockatea Shale sequence, which has been tied to the regional interpretation of the basin. The thickness of the overlying Triassic succession ranges from about 1 km in the inboard part of the basin to up to 5 km further outboard. The Jurassic succession is thickest (up to 4 km) in the outboard part of the basin and is interpreted to contain sequences corresponding to the Cattamarra, Cadda and Yarragadee formations. Our study integrates new results from regional mapping, geophysical modelling and petroleum systems analysis, which enables a more accurate prospectivity assessment of this frontier basin.

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Field Value
Title Geology and hydrocarbon prospectivity of the northern Houtman Sub-basin – Extended Abstract 2017 APPEA Conference
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/en/dataset/b9176ae5-5754-465e-9934-32de76fe3593
Contact Point
Geoscience Australia Data
clientservices@ga.gov.au
Reference Period 20/04/2018
Geospatial Coverage
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
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Data Portal Geoscience Australia

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Geoscience Australia "Geology and hydrocarbon prospectivity of the northern Houtman Sub-basin – Extended Abstract 2017 APPEA Conference". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/geology-and-hydrocarbon-prospectivity-of-the-northern-houtman-sub-basin-extended-abstract-2017-