Research Cruise Proposal : Light Hydrocarbon Geochemistry of the Bass, Otway, Stansbury an

A 30-day research cruise conducted between February 1 and March 2, 1989, measured light hydrocarbon gases in the water column over offshore sedimentary basins. The survey was a cooperative project between the Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources and Transglobal Exploration and Geoscience. Work focused on the Gippsland, Bass, Otway, Stansbury Basins and the Torquay Sub-basin.

Use Cases

• Identify potential petroleum accumulation zones based on water column hydrocarbon concentrations.
• Assess hydrocarbon source rock maturity and type based on molecular composition data.
• Evaluate the applicability of 'sniffer' survey techniques for Australian offshore exploration.
• Correlate surface geochemical anomalies with known subsurface oil and gas fields.

Strengths

• Survey conducted over a specific 30-day period in 1989.
• Covers five distinct geological basins and sub-basins in southeastern Australia.
• Includes both regional survey lines and detailed proprietary programs.

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

Water column measurements using a towed hydrocarbon 'sniffer' and gas chromatography, with sediment sampling.

Time Range

February 1 to March 2, 1989

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 04:45:47.760110; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Gippsland, Bass, Otway, Stansbury Basins and Torquay Sub-basin, Southeastern Australia