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Summary
The recent oil, gas and condensate discoveries in the Bedout Sub-basin have triggered a change in thinking in this hitherto underexplored region. Recent drilling at Phoenix South-1 (2014), Roc-1 (2015) and Dorado-1 (2018) all found success within the Triassic Lower Keraudren Formation. These discoveries suggest new play concepts need to be developed that may have previously been overlooked or deemed nonprospective. Their success also suggests that, apart from the charge system, entrapment and sealing mechanisms are the key to exploration success. Dorado-1 is a classic example where vintage seismic data failed to reveal an entrapment and sealing mechanism, while the modern Bilby Non-Exclusive 2D seismic data clearly shows the trap geometry, as well as reservoir-seal content through geophysical quantitative interpretation (QI) techniques.
Although the Mesozoic has been the primary exploration target, the understanding of the prospectivity of the Paleozoic remains limited. Inadequate knowledge of the Paleozoic stratigraphy is attributed to the lack of well penetration and paucity of seismic data. The Paleozoic sequences for the region are best described from the Onshore Canning Basin where several commercial hydrocarbon fields have been discovered. Here they are over 11,000 m thick in the Fitzroy Trough, thinning to <5,000 m on the Broome Platform.
Integration of the Onshore Canning data with regional geology and the Bilby 2D seismic data reveals the Paleozoic potential, e.g. Carboniferous carbonates and clastics, Devonian reefs, and Permian carbonates, as well as several potential reservoir-seal pairs. This paper discusses the unexplored Paleozoic hydrocarbon potential in the Offshore Canning area, inspired by the recent landmark oil, gas and condensate discoveries in the Bedout Sub-basin and extension of the Onshore Canning Basin geology.