Geochemical Overview of Gippsland Basin Hydrocarbon Accumulations, 1965-2012

16.5 TCF of gas and over 4 billion barrels of oil have been discovered in Australia's Gippsland Basin since 1965. This report from Geoscience Australia, presented at the AAPG/SEG 2015 conference, uses geochemical fingerprinting to analyze the multiple source rocks and migration pathways for these hydrocarbons. It addresses uncertainties in the petroleum system to inform future exploration and carbon sequestration risk mitigation.

Use Cases

• Modeling petroleum systems based on described geochemical correlations between oils and specific geological formations.
• Assessing exploration prospectivity in the eastern Gippsland Basin based on the analysis of source rock distribution.
• Evaluating risks for carbon dioxide sequestration projects along the basin's flanks using the geological framework.
• Correlating hydrocarbon fluids to source rocks like the Golden Beach Subgroup or Strzelecki Group based on biomarker and isotopic signatures mentioned.

Strengths

• Provides specific resource estimates: 16.5 TCF gas, 4026 MMbbl oil, 385 MMbbl condensate, 752 MMbbl LPG (Estimated Ultimate Recovery as of end 2012).
• Identifies concrete geological correlations, such as between the Anemone-1A oil and the Anemone Formation.
• Authored by Geoscience Australia, a national geological survey, and presented at a major industry conference (AAPG/SEG 2015).

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Geochemical analysis and synthesis of exploration data, likely from well samples and seismic interpretation.

Time Range

Covers discoveries and production from 1965 to at least 2012, with analysis presented in 2015.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 12:54:21.936922; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Gippsland Basin, offshore southeastern Australia.