Academic literature on the topic 'Arckaringa basin'

Potential shale gas bearing basins in SA are primarily dominated by thermogenic play types and span the Neoproterozoic to Cretaceous. Whilst companies have only recently commenced exploring for shale gas in the Permian Cooper Basin, strong gas shows have been routinely observed and recorded since exploration commenced in the basin in 1959. The regionally extensive Roseneath and Murteree shales represent the primary exploration focus and reach maximum thicknesses of 103 m and 86 m respectively with TOC values up to 9%. These shales are in the gas window in large parts of the basin, particularly in the Patchawarra and Nappamerri troughs. Outside the Cooper Basin, thick shale sequences in the Crayfish Subgroup of the Otway Basin, in particular the Upper and Lower Sawpit shales and to a lesser extent the Laira Formation, have good shale gas potential in the deeper portions of the basin. TOC averages up to 3% are recorded in these shales in the Penola Trough; maturities in the range of 1.3–1.5% have been modelled. Thick Permian marine shales of the Arckaringa Basin have excellent source rock characteristics, with TOC’s ranging 4.1–7.4% and averaging 5.2% over an interval exceeding 150 m in the Phillipson Trough; however, these Type II source rocks are not sufficiently mature for gas generation anywhere in the Arckaringa Basin. Shale gas has the potential to rival CSM in eastern Australia; its potential is now being explored in SA.

The Onshore Energy Security Program—funded by the Australian Government and conducted by Geoscience Australia—has acquired deep seismic reflection data in conjunction with state and territory geological surveys, across several frontier sedimentary basins to stimulate petroleum exploration in onshore Australia. Here, we present data from two seismic lines collected in SA and NT. Seismic line 08GA-OM1 crossed the Arckaringa and Officer basins in SA and the southern-most Amadeus Basin in NT. Seismic line 09GA-GA1 crossed the northeastern part of the Amadeus Basin and the complete width of the southern Georgina Basin in NT. Structural and sequence stratigraphic interpretations of the seismic lines will be presented here, followed by an assessment of the petroleum potential of the basins. Seismic line 08GA-OM1 also crosses the Neoproterozoic to Devonian eastern Officer Basin. The basin is structurally complex in this area, being dominated by south-directed thrust faults and fault-related folds—providing potential for underthrust petroleum plays. The northern margin of the basin is overthrust to the south by the Mesoproterozoic Musgrave Province. To the north, the Moorilyanna Trough of the Officer Basin is a major depocentre of up to 7,000 m deep. Both seismic lines cross parts of the eastern Amadeus Basin. Seismic line 08GA-OM1 shows that the southern margin of the basin is overthrust to the north by the Musgrave Province with the main movement during the Petermann Orogeny. In the northeast, seismic line 09GA-GA1 crosses two parts of the basin separated by the Paleoproteroozic to Mesoproterozoic Casey Inlier (part of the Arunta Region). The northern margin of the basin is imaged seismically as a southward-verging, thinned-skinned thrust belt, showing considerable structural thickening of the stratigraphic succession. Seismic line 09GA-GA1 was positioned to cross that part of the southern Georgina Basin that was considered previously to be in the oil window. Here, the basin has a complex southern margin, with Neoproterozoic stratigraphy being thrust interleaved with basement rocks of the Arunta Region. The main part of the basin, containing a Neoproterozoic to Devonian succession, is asymmetric, thinning to the north where it overlies the Paleoproterozoic Davenport Province. The well, Phillip–2, drilled adjacent to the seismic line, intersected basement at a depth of 1,489 m, and has been used to map the stratigraphic sequences across the basin.

A study of chloride and 4He profiles through an aquitard that separates the Great Artesian Basin from the underlying Arckaringa Basin in central Australia is presented. The aquitard separates two aquifers with long water residence times, due to low recharge rates in the arid climate. One-dimensional solute transport models were used to determine the advective flux of groundwater across the aquitard as well as establish any major changes in past hydrological conditions recorded by variations of the pore water composition. This in situ study showed that both diffusion and slow downward advection (vz=0.7 mm/yr) control solute transport. Numerical simulations show that an increase in chloride concentration in the upper part of the profile is due to a reduction in recharge in the upper aquifer for at least 3000 years. Groundwater extraction since 2008 has likely increased chloride and 4He concentrations in the lower aquifer by pulling up water from deeper layers; however, there has been insufficient time for upward solute transport into the pore water profile by diffusion against downward advection. The transport model of 4He and chloride provides insight into how the two aquifers interact through the aquitard and how climate change is being recorded in the aquitard profile.

The commercial production of coal seam gas (CSG) in Australia commenced in 1996. Since then its production has grown up significantly, particularly in the last five years, to become an integral part of the upstream gas industry in eastern Australia. The major growth in both CSG reserves and production has been in the Bowen and Surat basins in Queensland. Active exploration and appraisal programs with the first pilot operations were established in the Galilee Basin in 2008; however, an important reserve base has been built up in New South Wales in the Clarence-Moreton, Gloucester, Gunnedah and Sydney basins. There has been modest CSG production from the Sydney Basin for some years with commercial production expected to commence in the other three basins by or during 2010. Exploration for CSG has been undertaken in Victoria and Tasmania while programs are being developed in South Australia focussing on the Arckaringa Basin. Elsewhere in Australia planning is being undertaken for CSG exploration programs for the Pedirka Basin in the Northern Territory and the Perth Basin in Western Australia. CSG was being supplied into the eastern Australian natural gas market at 31 December 2008 at a rate of approximately 458 TJ per day (167 PJ per year). Queensland is currently producing 96.7% of this total. Approximately 88% of the natural gas used in Queensland is CSG. Currently, CSG accounts for nearly 25% of the eastern Australian natural gas market, estimated at 670 PJ per year. The production of CSG is now a mature activity that has achieved commercial acceptability, especially for coal seam derived gas from the Bowen and Surat basins. The recent proposals by a number of local CSG producers—in joint venture arrangements with major international groups—to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) from CSG along with a number of merger and acquisition proposals, is testimony to the growing economic and commercial significance of the CSG sector. Should all of the proposed CSG based LNG projects eventuate, LNG output would be approximately 40 million tones per year. This will require raw CSG production to increase to approximately 2,600 PJ per year, resulting in a four fold increase from the present natural gas consumption in eastern Australia. The proved and probable (2P) reserves of CSG in eastern Australia at 31 December 2008 were 17,011 PJ or 60.2% of the total independently audited 2P natural gas reserves of 28,252 PJ. The Bowen and Surat basins with 16,120 PJ have the largest onshore gas reserves eastern Australia. In New South Wales, the 2P CSG reserves at the end of 2008 were 892 PJ, though this is expected to increase significantly over the next 12 months. Major upstream natural gas producers such as Origin Energy Limited and Santos Limited both hold over 50% of their Australian 2P gas reserves as CSG. The 1P reserves of CSG in eastern Australia at 31 December were reported as 4,197 PJ while the 3P reserves of CSG at the same date were 40,480 PJ. Most companies in the CSG sector are undertaking development work to upgrade their 3P reserves (and contingent resources) into the 2P category. The CSG resource in eastern Australia is very large. Companies with interests in CSG have reported in excess of 200,000 PJ as gas in place in the Bowen, Clarence-Moreton, Galilee, Gloucester, Gunnedah, Queensland Coastal, Surat and Sydney basins. The 2P reserves of CSG are expected to exceed 20,000 PJ by the end of 2009. A significant part of the expected large increase in 2P reserves of gas initially will be dedicated to the proposed LNG projects being considered for Gladstone. The major issues confronting the CSG industry and its rapid growth are concerned with land access, overlapping tenure (particularly in Queensland with underground coal gasification) the management and beneficial use of co-product formation water and gas production ramp up factors associated with the proposed LNG projects.

Thesis (B. Sc.(Hons.))--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Geology and Geophysics, 1997?
Five folded Range Charts enclosed in pocket inside back cover. National Grid sheet (1:250 000) Warrina (Hanns Knob #1 and Birribiana #1) and Innaminka (Moorari #4, Moorari #5 and Fly Lake #1), Dalhousie (Mount Hammersley #1 and Dalmatia #1). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-49).

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The controls on organic carbon preservation in sediments are poorly understood, however there is a first order association between high total organic carbon concentration (TOC), warm climates and fine grained sediments with mature mineralogy in the geologic record. Permo-Carboniferous marine sediments in the Arckaringa Basin, however, present an exception with anomalous organic carbon concentration (<11% TOC) occurring within mineralogically immature siltstones deposited in deep, narrow (marine) fjords during glacial conditions. Organic matter (OM) is not refractory terrigenous material, but rather hydrogen-rich and labile, thus identifying an active preservational mechanism that differs from conventional organic carbon enrichment controlled by mineral preservation effects. Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS) reveal an association between labile OM and high sulphur concentrations, and EDS mineral mapping identifies a cyclic millimetre alteration between sulphur/OM rich laminae and manganese carbonate (kutnohorite) laminae, identifying oscillating benthic redox conditions similar to annual varves in proglacial environments. Framboidal pyrite (<5 µm) is abundant only within organic-rich laminae, indicating sulphate reduction in euxinic conditions resulting from restricted sea water exchange and the development of strong density stratification. Seisimic profiles indicate that deposition occurred in fjord-shaped troughs, with restriction resulting from end moraines acting as sills to the open ocean. Thus, organic carbon enrichment is attributed to restriction in the ancient fjords, leading to periods of hydrogen sulphide build up within the water column that were annually flushed with seasonal change in temperature and runoff. The reducing conditions of the fjord provided a chemical trap for S leading to its enrichment in organic matter. Similarly, Mn within carbonates was enriched in the same manner. Excess dissolved sulphur build up in the water column and sediments resulted in vulcanization (sulfurization) reactions polymerizing labile organic compounds (lipids and carbohydrates) and their preservation as organosulphur compounds during early diagenesis.
Thesis (B.Sc.(Hons)) -- University of Adelaide, School of Physical Sciences, 2014

The majority of southern Australia was covered in ice during the Gondwanan Permo-Carboniferous glaciation. Glacigene sequences associated with this event are preserved within basins including the Late Palaeozoic sediments of the Arckaringa and Troubridge basins in South Australia. In this study, detailed sedimentology, geochronology and geochemistry of these sediments is used to inform an improved palaeogeographic reconstruction of South Australia during the late Palaeozoic and to understand background geochemistry relevant to their use as geochemical exploration media. Diamictite units with rounded to angular, locally-derived clasts are observed throughout the Troubridge Basin and the south Arckaringa Basin. These are consistent with deposition by ice tongues and icesheets. Diamictite units with subrounded to rounded clasts with both locally- and distally-derived clasts are observed in the eastern margin Arckaringa Basin. These are consistent with sedimentary rocks deposited by valley glaciers. Alternating clay and sandstone beds with lesser diamictite beds are observed in discrete exposures in the Troubridge Basin. These are consistent with a glacial environment where meltwater streams have alternating energy and sediment load. This is due to the periodic melting of the ice mass which fed into glacial lakes. The increasing frequency of diamictite beds up-sequence is indicative of the rapid retreat and melting of the ice mass. Massive to bedded, green glaciomarine clays observed in the Troubridge Basin are consistent with sedimentary rocks deposited in a transitional glacial to marine to deepening glaciomarine setting. Sedimentary rocks deposited during the marine regression are interbedded with increasingly fluvial sedimentary rocks suggesting that freshwater streams were active during the waning stages of the regression. The resulting terrestrial environment consisted of alternating fluvial and lacustrine environment with intermittent formation of coal swamps. Alternating clay and sandstone beds with minor carbonaceous beds are observed in the upper succession of the Arckaringa Basin. These are consistent with sedimentary rocks deposited in an environment where post-glacial isostatic rebound causes alternating fluvial and lacustrine conditions. Zircon provenance spectra of the glacigene sedimentary rocks of the Troubridge Basin are dominated by ages between ca 500 to 600 Ma. These ages correlate with proximal rock packages of the Kanmantoo Group (Adelaide Rift Complex) and the Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica. These sources are likely from sources adjacent to and from the south which is consistent with deposition via an icesheet and ice tongue. The zircon provenance spectra for the glacigene sedimentary rocks of the Arckaringa Basin are dominated by ages of ca 900 to 1200 Ma and ca 1700 to 1900 Ma. These ages are typical of rocks from the nearby Adelaide Rift Complex and the Gawler Craton as well as the distal Kanmantoo Group, Transantarctic Mountains, Musgrave Province and Arunta Region. These sources are likely from adjacent highlands and consistent with being deposited via valley glaciers formed in nearby alpine glacial systems. Major and trace element geochemistry of the minimally weathered clay and silt packages interbedded with diamictite in the Troubridge and Arckaringa basins are similar to PAAS and likely sourced from of the Kanmantoo Group. The depositional setting of the glacigene sediment is shown in SiO2:Al2O3 ratios. High silica end members represent sand-rich lithologies and high Al end members represent clay-rich lithologies. The Al-rich end members include clay matrix diamictites that are most likely the result of glacial deposition (rock flour + clasts). The Si-rich end members represent lithologies where fluvial processes removed the fine-grained clay-rich component. The complexity of the observed geochemical trends and the influence of weathering on the concentration of potential mineral exploration pathfinder (trace) elements highlights the necessity of understanding depositional and post-depositional influences on geochemistry. Weathering processes largely control the major and trace element geochemistry of weathered and indurated glacigene sedimentary rocks. These weathering processes include terraneous weathering (carbonate, sulphate and dolomite), ferruginous weathering and kaolinitic weathering. The sedimentology, geochronology and geochemistry of the late Palaeozoic glacigene sedimentary rocks of the Troubridge and Arckaringa basins are used to interpret a three-stage model of evolution of the late Palaeozoic glaciation. Stage 1: Glacial advance (late Palaeozoic). During the Permo-Carboniferous glaciation, the South Australian landscape was dominated by both continental and alpine glaciation. The continental ice sheet spread rapidly north from Antarctica into central South Australia, extending to southern margin of the Arckaringa Basin at the glacial maximum at the Asselian. Ice tongues at the front of the ice sheet scoured, eroded and polished the exposed landscape, forming U-shaped valleys and polished, glaciated pavements. At paleolatitudes north of the continental icesheet alpine glaciers occupied the highlands and valley glaciers transported debris into lowlying depocentres adjacent to the highlands. Stage 2: Glacial retreat and marine transgression (Sakmarian). The ice sheet rapidly melted and retreated from northern South Australia shedding debris into the Troubridge Basin. Melting slowed as it retreated further south. The retreat of the ice mass from northern South Australia opened a seaway into which marine waters entered from the west initiating a marine transgression in northern South Australia. When the marine transgression was at its maximum most of South Australia was inundated with only the eastern Gawler Craton Highlands remaining above seawater. Stage 3: Post-glacial isostatic rebound (late Sakmarian to early Artinskian). During this time the seaway contracted toward the south (Troubridge Basin) and there was a transition to fluviolacustrine conditions in the north (Arckaringa Basin).
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Physical Sciences, 2018