Hydrocarbon Sniffer Survey Data from Southeastern Australia, 1989

A 30-day research cruise from February 1 to March 2, 1989, conducted by the Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources and Transglobal Exploration and Geoscience. It measured light hydrocarbon gas concentrations in the water column over several offshore sedimentary basins in southeastern Australia to assess petroleum potential. The survey included regional lines and detailed proprietary programs in the Gippsland, Bass, Otway, Stansbury Basins, and Torquay Sub-basin.

Use Cases

• Predicting likely locations for petroleum accumulation based on water column hydrocarbon gas concentrations.
• Assessing hydrocarbon source rock maturity and type using molecular composition data.
• Evaluating the applicability of 'sniffer' survey techniques for Australian offshore basins.
• Correlating water column geochemistry with known oil and gas field locations in the Gippsland Basin.

Strengths

• Data collection occurred over a defined 30-day period with specific start and end dates.
• Survey covered multiple distinct geological basins and a sub-basin in southeastern Australia.
• Description includes a detailed proprietary program component conducted with an industry partner.

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 a single survey in 1989.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Data gathered via a research cruise using a towed hydrocarbon 'sniffer' and gas chromatography.

Time Range

February 1 to March 2, 1989

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-25 15:44:09.447352; freshness should be verified

Geography

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