Middle Cambrian Petroleum Systems in the Georgina Basin, Australia

Geoscience Australia's evaluation of unconventional shale gas and oil potential in the ~325,000 sq. km Georgina Basin. The assessment uses methodology from the United States Geological Survey, relying on updated stratigraphy, tectonic history, petrography, and petroleum systems modelling. Source rock analysis includes the Middle Cambrian Thorntonia Limestone and Arthur Creek Formation, with a 'hot shale' unit showing TOC up to 15.5% and HI up to 500 mg hydrocarbons/g TOC.

Use Cases

• Modeling petroleum systems based on described stratigraphy, tectonic history, and geochemistry.
• Assessing source rock richness and maturity using Rock Eval, saturated/aromatic hydrocarbons, and isotopic relationships mentioned.
• Identifying potential drilling targets for unconventional hydrocarbons based on geochemical prerequisites and unit descriptions.
• Comparing the Georgina Basin's Middle Cambrian systems to global analogues for shale gas and oil exploration.

Strengths

• Covers a large geographic area of approximately 325,000 square kilometers.
• Includes specific geochemical measurements, such as TOC up to 15.5% and Hydrogen Index up to 500 mg hydrocarbons/g TOC.
• Based on a systematic evaluation methodology developed by the United States Geological Survey.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data files are in PDF and HTML formats, which may require extraction for computational analysis.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Systematic evaluation using USGS methodology, incorporating stratigraphy, tectonic history, petrography, geochemistry, and petroleum systems modelling.

Time Range

Middle Cambrian geological period.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 15:02:47.258822; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Georgina Basin in south-central Australia.