OFFSHORE PETROLEUM EXPLORATION
ACREAGE RELEASE  AUSTRALIA 2014
Release Area W14-19,
Eyre Sub-basin, Bight Basin,
Western Australia
Highlights
Work program bids close 2 April 2015
Figure 1

Under-explored frontier Jurassic–Cretaceous
rift-basin

Water depths 100–2800 m

Adjacent to active exploration permits in
Ceduna Sub-basin

Deltaic and shallow marine depositional
systems

Regional 2D seismic coverage

Well control provided by Jerboa 1

Special Notices apply, refer to Guidance Notes
Location of the 2014 Release Area in the
Eyre Sub-basin of the Bight Basin
Release Area W14-19 is located 75 to 200 km off the south coast of Western Australia, approximately 400 km east of
Esperance, and comprises 360 graticular blocks covering the entire Eyre Sub-basin. The sub-basin represents an
offshore frontier where only one exploration phase occurred in the late 1970s to early 1980s, culminating in the well
Jerboa 1 which encountered minor residual oil indications.
The Eyre Sub-basin is located in the eastern Bight Basin and comprises a series of Middle Jurassic–Early Cretaceous
east-northeast-striking en-echelon half graben. The sub-basin covers an area of approximately 9200 km2, and contains
up to 3500 m of Jurassic–Cretaceous sediments. Geological understanding of the Eyre Sub-basin is based on
interpretation of a generally good quality, regional scale, 2D seismic data set, which has a line spacing of approximately
20–40 km, and the Jerboa 1 well, drilled by Esso Australia in 1980, which provides valuable stratigraphic control and
constraint on seismic-based facies interpretation. Additional stratigraphic information for the Cenozoic section is provided
by the results of Ocean Drilling Program Site 182 wells (Feary et al, 2000, 2004).
.
AUSTRALIA 2014
Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release
DISCLAIMER: This document has been developed as a guide only. Explorers should not rely solely on this information when making commercial decisions.
Image courtesy of BHP Billiton Petroleum Pty Ltd.
1
Figure 2
Main structural elements of the Eyre Sub-basin showing well coverage, the location of the seismic
section and the 2014 Release Area
AUSTRALIA 2014
Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release
2
Figure 3
Stratigraphy of the Eyre Sub-basin, based on the Bight Basin Biozonation and Stratigraphy Chart (Mantle et al, 2009). Geologic Time Scale after Gradstein et al (2012)
AUSTRALIA 2014
Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release
3
Figure 4
Seismic line DWGAB-28 across the Eyre Sub-basin. Location of the line is shown in Figure 2
AUSTRALIA 2014
Figure 5
Seismic and well data coverage in the vicinity of Release Area W14-19 in the Eyre Sub-basin, Bight Basin
AUSTRALIA 2014
Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release
5
Petroleum systems elements
Eyre Sub-basin
Sources
Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous syn-rift lacustrine shales
Early Cretaceous lacustrine deposits and coal
Reservoirs
Sandy facies at base of Early Cretaceous supersequences




Southern Right
Bronze Whaler
Blue Whale
White Pointer
Highstand and lowstand sediments at base of Paleogene

Seals
Wobbegong Supersequence
Shale facies


Upper Minke Supersequence
Southern Right Supersequence
Fault seal




Traps
Bronze Whaler Supersequence
Sea Lion Supersequence
Minke Supersequence
White Pointer Supersequence
Structural

Footwall blocks of half-graben bounding faults
Stratigraphic



Onlap onto hanging wall blocks and relay ramps
Reactivation anticlines
Progradational sandy facies within Wobbegong Supersequence
Infrastructure and markets
The Eyre Sub-basin is an offshore frontier near the border of Western Australia and South Australia and awaits its first
hydrocarbon discovery. Current large scale exploration activity in the adjacent Ceduna Sub-basin will require a
supportive infrastructure which could be expanded to cater for future activities in the 2014 Release Area.
Critical risks
A key prospectivity risk in the Eyre Sub-basin is the lack of hydrocarbon charge in areas where the basin fill is less than
2500–3000 m. Ruble et al. (2001) argued that timing of trap formation, generation, expulsion and reactivation are all
critical issues for the prospectivity. This particularly applies to the timing of migration and accumulation relative to the
period of uplift and erosion in the latest Cretaceous–early Paleocene. Given the localised nature of potential source
kitchens, accumulation size may also be an issue in the sub-basin.
Jerboa 1 is considered to have been a valid structural test of a drape structure over a basement block, and the cause of
failure is likely to be breaching of the trap following the accumulation of the hydrocarbon column (Messent, 1998).
Seismic data shows that a group of small faults branch upwards from the half-graben bounding fault, the result of Late
Cretaceous fault reactivation (possibly related to the period of uplift), as well as compaction.
AUSTRALIA 2014
Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release
6
Data sets
For the Wells Data Listing go to
http://www.petroleum-acreage.gov.au/2014/support/geo.html
For the Seismic Surveys Listing go to
http://www.ga.gov.au/energy/projects/acreage-release-and-promotion/2014.html#data-packages
Geoscience Australia products
Regional geology and seismic

Australian Southern Margin Synthesis, Project GA70, 2008. GEOCAT 68892

Basement structure and its influence on the pattern and geometry of continental rifting and breakup along Australia's
southern rift margin, 2012. GEOCAT 74031
Stratigraphy

Geoscience Australia’s Basin Biozonation and Stratigraphy Chart Series: Bight Basin Biozonation and
Biostratigraphy Chart 35, 2014. GEOCAT 76687
Contact Geoscience Australia’s Sales Centre for more information or to order these reports or products,
phone +61 (0)2 6249 9966, email sales@ga.gov.au
AUSTRALIA 2014
Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release
7
Key references
Bein, J. and Taylor, M.L., 1981. The Eyre Sub-basin: recent exploration results. The APEA Journal, 21(1), 91–98.
Blevin, J.E., Totterdell, J.M., Logan, G.A., Kennard, J.M., Struckmeyer, H.I.M. and Colwell, J.B., 2000. Hydrocarbon
prospectivity of the Bight Basin—petroleum systems analysis in a frontier basin. In: 2nd Sprigg Symposium – Frontier
Basins, Frontier Ideas, Adelaide, 29–30 June, 2000. Geological Society of Australia, Abstracts 60, 24–29.
Boreham, C.J., Krassay, A.A. and Totterdell, J.M., 2001. Geochemical comparisons between asphaltites on the southern
Australian margin and Cretaceous source rock analogues. In: Hill, K.C. and Bernecker, T. (eds), Eastern Australasian
Basins Symposium: a refocused energy perspective for the future. Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia, Special
Publication, 531–541.
Bradshaw, B.E., Rollet, N., Totterdell, J.M. and Borissova, I., 2003. A revised structural framework for frontier basins on
the southern and southwestern Australian continental margin. Geoscience Australia Record 2003/03.
Feary, D.A. and James, N.P., 1998. Seismic stratigraphy and geological evolution of the Cenozoic, cool-water Eucla
Platform, Great Australian Bight. AAPG Bulletin, 82 (5A), 792–816.
Feary, D.A., Hine, A.C., Malone, M.J. et al., 2000. Leg 182 summary: Great Australian Bight—Cenozoic cool-water
carbonates. Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Initial Reports Volume 182.
Feary, D.A., Hine, A.C., James, N.P. and Malone, M.J., 2004. Leg 182 synthesis: exposed secrets of the Great
Australian Bight. Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results, Volume 182.
Liu, K. and Eadington, P.J. 1998. Hydrocarbon petrography of Jerboa-1, Eyre Sub-basin, The Great Australian Bight.
CSIRO Petroleum Confidential Report 98-031 (unpublished).
Messent, B.E.J., Wilson, C. and Flynn, K., 1996. Assessment of the seal potential of Tertiary carbonates, Duntroon
Basin, South Australia. The APPEA Journal, 36 (1), 233–247.
Morgan, R.P., 1999. Palynology review of the pre-Tertiary of the Bight–Duntroon basins. Report for Primary Industries
and Resources South Australia (unpublished).
Quinn, D.M.T., 1999. An evaluation of seals, reservoirs, and fault sealing potential in the Eyre Sub-basin, Great
Australian Bight. BSc Honours Thesis, University of Adelaide, National Centre for Petroleum Geology and Geophysics
(unpublished).
Ruble, T.E., Logan, G.A., Blevin, J.E., Struckmeyer, H.I.M., Liu, K., Ahmed, M., Eadington, P.J. and Quezada, R.A.,
2001. Geochemistry and charge history of a palaeo-oil column: Jerboa-1, Eyre Sub-basin, Great Australian Bight. In: Hill,
K.C. and Bernecker, T. (Eds), Eastern Australasian Basins Symposium: a refocused energy perspective for the future.
Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia, Special Publication, 521–530.
Stagg, H.M.V., Cockshell, C.D., Willcox, J.B., Hill, A.J., Needham, D.V.L., Thomas, B., O’Brien, G.W. and Hough, L.P.,
1990. Basins of the Great Australian Bight region, geology and petroleum potential. Bureau of Mineral Resources,
Australia, Continental Margins Program Folio 5.
Struckmeyer, H.I.M., Totterdell, J.M., Blevin, J.E., Logan, G.A., Boreham, C.J., Deighton, I., Krassay, A.A. and
Bradshaw, M.T., 2001. Character, maturity and distribution of potential Cretaceous oil source rocks in the Ceduna
Sub-basin, Bight Basin, Great Australian Bight. In: Hill, K.C. and Bernecker, T. (eds), Eastern Australian Basin
Symposium: a refocused energy perspective for the future. Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia, Special
Publication, 543–552.
Totterdell, J.M., Blevin, J.E., Struckmeyer, H.I.M., Bradshaw, B.E., Colwell, J.B. and Kennard, J.M., 2000. A new
sequence framework for the Great Australian Bight: starting with a clean slate. The APPEA Journal, 40(1), 95–117.
Totterdell, J.M. and Krassay, A.A., 2003. Sequence stratigraphic correlation of onshore and offshore Bight Basin
successions. Geoscience Australia Record 2003/02.
Totterdell, J.M. and Mitchell, C. (editors), 2009. Bight Basin geological sampling and seepage survey, R/V Southern
Surveyor Survey SS01/2007: post-survey report. Geoscience Australia Record 2009/24.
Wilcox, J.B., Stagg, H.M.J., Davies, H.L. Shipboard Party. Rig Seismic research cruises 10 and 11: geology of the
central Great Australian Bight region. Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics, Report 286.
AUSTRALIA 2014
Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release
8