Unconventional Middle Cambrian Petroleum Systems in the Georgina Basin

Geoscience Australia's assessment of shale gas and oil potential in the Georgina Basin, covering approximately 325,000 square kilometers in south-central Australia. The evaluation relies on stratigraphy, tectonic history, petrography, geochemistry, and petroleum systems modeling, with a focus on Middle Cambrian source rocks. The dataset includes geochemical characterizations of oil stains and source rock properties, such as TOC values up to 15.5%.

Use Cases

• Estimating shale gas resource potential based on geochemical data and basin-wide oil staining.
• Modeling petroleum systems using stratigraphy, tectonic history, and source rock maturity levels.
• Identifying hydrocarbon migration patterns based on the composition of residual free hydrocarbons.
• Assessing source rock quality using Rock Eval data, TOC, and Hydrogen Index (HI) values.

Strengths

• Covers a large geographic area of approximately 325,000 square kilometers.
• Includes specific geochemical measurements, such as TOC up to 15.5% and HI up to 500 mg hydrocarbons/g TOC.
• Focuses on a defined geological period (Middle Cambrian) and specific formations (Thorntonia Limestone, Arthur Creek Formation).

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 geographic bias inherent to the Georgina Basin.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia via Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Systematic evaluation using methodology developed by the United States Geological Survey, incorporating basin analogues, updated stratigraphy, petrography, and geochemistry.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-16 20:54:45.238175; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Georgina Basin, south-central Australia