A regional review of the offshore Gippsland Basin

Brief description

Petroleum exploration carried out in the offshore Gippsland Basin between March 1976 and June 1987 has been reviewed to provide an overview of the distribution of the petroleum accumulation with reference to the major tectonic subdivisions delineated by the compiled and synthesised seismic structure contour maps based on interpretive company data. These maps, together with the geological cross - sections, give an indication of the formation and evolution of the Gippsland Basin during Early Cretaceous and Late Cretaceous to Tertiary tectonic events and the change from a largely extensional to a compressive tectonic regime during the Eocene. Most of the traps at the top of the Latrobe Group, and some of the traps in the intra-Latrobe Group section, that are easily mappable by the prevailing seismic technology have already been found. However, it is likely that undetected prospects exist in areas of currently poor quality seismic data and/or severe seismic interpretation problems. In the northwestern part of the basin, the poor quality of seismic data below the Eocene beds is attributed to the absorption of seismic energy caused by the presence of shallow, thick coal seams. In the central part of the basin, errors in time-depth conversion are caused by the presence of Miocene channels filled with high velocity sediments, and in the eastern and southeastern deep water parts of the basin, by the presence of submarine canyons. It is suggested that the application of recent developments in seismic technology will enable the delineation of additional prospects in these areas.

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