Browse Basin Hydrocarbon Source Rock Analysis and Petroleum Systems Modeling

Four Mesozoic petroleum systems have been identified in Australia's Browse Basin through integrated petroleum systems analysis. The study maps source rock richness, thickness, and quality from well control and models maturity and expelled fluid composition using basin-specific kinetics and 3D surfaces. The principal source rocks are Early-Middle Jurassic fluvio-deltaic coaly shales and marine shales from the Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, which have transformed most kerogen into hydrocarbons.

Use Cases

• Mapping hydrocarbon generation potential based on source rock richness, thickness, and quality maps.
• Modeling petroleum phase behavior based on integrated petroleum systems analysis and geochemical studies.
• Identifying oil rim formation conditions based on fluid migration and dew point pressure analysis.
• Assessing basin oil potential based on the maturity and composition of gas-prone source rocks.

Strengths

• Identifies four distinct Mesozoic petroleum systems within the basin.
• Integrates multiple data types: source rock property maps, basin-specific kinetics, 1D burial history models, and regional 3D surfaces.

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.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to data_gov_au, focusing solely on the Browse Basin.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Petroleum systems analysis combining geochemical studies of source rocks and fluids with basin modeling.

Time Range

Mesozoic era, with primary hydrocarbon expulsion from the Late Cretaceous until present.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-16 22:13:35.542887; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Browse Basin, offshore Australia's North West Shelf.