Permit No. 39: Marine Seismic Survey Data from the Gulf of Papua, 1966

A 1505 line mile marine reflection seismic survey was conducted in the Gulf of Papua between January and April 1966. Western Geophysical Company of America performed the work for a consortium of oil companies including Phillips Australian Oil Company. The objective was to obtain detailed structural information to determine potential drilling sites.

Use Cases

• Mapping subsurface geological structures based on seismic reflection data.
• Identifying potential hydrocarbon drilling targets based on structural analysis.
• Extending regional geological reconnaissance in the Gulf of Papua area.
• Historical analysis of mid-20th century oil exploration techniques.

Strengths

• Survey covered a specific, large area of 1505 line miles.
• Data collection was conducted over a defined period from 22 January to 24 April 1966.
• The survey had a clear objective to inform drilling site selection.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect temporal bias inherent to its 1966 collection date.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

A detailed marine reflection seismic survey carried out by Western Geophysical Company of America.

Time Range

22 January 1966 to 24 April 1966

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-04 08:42:18.345071; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Gulf of Papua, Papuan Basin, within Oil Permits Nos 39 and 42, and Oil Licence No. 4