Offshore Northern Perth Basin Petroleum Prospectivity Assessment

Geoscience Australia assessed the petroleum prospectivity of Release Area W11-18, a large offshore block covering parts of the Abrolhos, Houtman, and Vlaming sub-basins. The assessment synthesizes data from fourteen new wildcat wells drilled since 2001 and interprets new regional 2D seismic data from a 2008-2009 survey. It provides a refined tectono-stratigraphic model and identifies multiple petroleum systems and plays, predominantly in water depths less than 200 meters.

Use Cases

• Evaluate petroleum prospectivity based on the synthesis of fourteen new wildcat wells.
• Model basin evolution based on the refined tectono-stratigraphic framework.
• Identify exploration plays based on interpreted seismic data and proven petroleum systems.
• Assess resource potential based on evidence for active Permian and Jurassic petroleum systems.

Strengths

• Assessment includes data from fourteen new wildcat wells drilled since 2001.
• Incorporates interpretation of new regional 2D seismic data from a dedicated 2008-2009 survey.
• Identifies three petroleum discoveries within the release area and relates them to known source rocks.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is provided as PDF and HTML reports, requiring extraction for computational analysis.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia via the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Synthesis of well data and interpretation of seismic surveys as part of the Offshore Energy Security Program.

Time Range

Well data from post-2001; seismic data from 2008-2009.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 18:22:58.844728; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Offshore Northern Perth Basin, Release Area W11-18, covering parts of the Abrolhos, Houtman, and Vlaming sub-basins.