Proven and possible petroleum plays of the northern Cooper and Eromanga basins, South Australia

Summary

PIRSA recently released vacant acreage in the northern Cooper and Eromanga basins, South Australia. The release has focused attention on the proven and untested petroleum plays of this area.

This paper summarises the current knowledge of source rocks, hydrocarbon generation, migration and traps. The importance of the Patchawarra Formation in the Cooper Basin and the Birkhead Formation in the Eromanga Basin are emphasised. A variety of oil and gas plays are discussed.

Key words::

• Cooper Basin
• Eromanga Basin
• hydrocarbon
• petroleum play
• stratigraphic trap
• coal seam gas
• shale gas
• tight gas