ABSTRACT: Offshore Canning Oil Potential, North West Shelf, Australia

SARLE, LAURA L., and GEORGE J. KASTRITIS, Amoco Production Company, Houston, TX, and MICHAEL P. SMITH and DON L. HALL, Amoco Production Research Center, Tulsa, OK

The Offshore Canning basin has been considered the least prospective basin on the North West Shelf of Australia. The lack of oil shows and the immaturity of the section penetrated suggest the absence of a mature oil source. Gas shows and limited geochemical data imply potential source rocks are gas prone at best. basin modeling and the presence of hydrocarbon-filled fluid inclusions support a potential oil play in the basin. The presence of hydrocarbon-filled fluid inclusions indicates that oil has migrated through Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous age section. Results from basin modeling studies and analysis of the structural configuration of the basin indicate both the Triassic and Jurassic have generated oil. As a result of this work, we therefore believe that the perceived low po ential of the offshore Canning is due more to a lack of exploration rather than a lack of hydrocarbon potential.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91015©1992 AAPG International Conference, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia, August 2-5, 1992 (2009)