OFFSHORE PETROLEUM EXPLORATION
ACREAGE RELEASE  AUSTRALIA 2014
Release Area AC14-1,
Vulcan Sub-basin, Bonaparte Basin,
Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Highlights
Work program bids close 2 April 2015
Figure 1
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Adjacent to proven oil-producing province
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Development planned for nearby
Cash/Maple gas accumulation
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Shallow to deep water depths, 50–500 m
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Release Area flanks Jurassic depocentre
with oil- and gas-prone source rocks
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Potential for structural and stratigraphic
plays in Jurassic–Triassic, Cretaceous and
Paleogene sandstones
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Special Notices apply, refer to Guidance
Notes
Location of the 2014 Release Area in the
Vulcan Sub-basin, Bonaparte Basin
Release Area AC14-1 is located in the western Bonaparte Basin in the Timor Sea approximately 300 km offshore and
650 km from Darwin. It overlaps the western Vulcan Sub-basin and the northeastern Ashmore Platform.
The Vulcan Sub-basin is a northeast-oriented Mesozoic extensional depocentre in the western part of the Bonaparte
Basin. The sub-basin is flanked by the Permo–Triassic platforms of the Ashmore Platform and the Londonderry High.
The Vulcan Sub-basin is a proven Jurassic hydrocarbon province containing depleted oil fields, the producing Montara oil
field, and the Cash/Maple gas accumulation which is currently under development. Upper Jurassic fan delta/submarine
fan and Upper Cretaceous submarine fan sandstones are proven exploration targets. Structural traps containing Triassic
to Jurassic reservoir sandstones are sealed by Lower Cretaceous claystones. On the Ashmore Platform, up to 1500 m of
flat-lying Cretaceous and Cenozoic strata overlie up to 4500 m of heavily faulted and folded Permo-Triassic sediments.
Exploration of the Ashmore Platform has focused on Cretaceous and Triassic reservoirs and hydrocarbons sourced from
the adjacent Vulcan Sub-basin. However, Miocene and Lower Cretaceous reef structures, and Permo-Triassic and
Lower Cretaceous equivalents of proven source rocks in other areas of the Bonaparte Basin and Caswell Sub-basin
could represent elements of a petroleum system indigenous to the Ashmore Platform.
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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
Structural elements of the western Bonaparte Basin showing petroleum fields and discoveries, the location of
the regional seismic line and the 2014 Release Area
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Figure 3
Stratigraphy and hydrocarbon discoveries of the Vulcan Sub-basin and Ashmore Platform based on the Bonaparte Basin Biozonation and Stratigraphy Chart 34
(Kelman et al, 2014). Geologic Time Scale after Gradstein et al (2012). Regional seismic horizons after AGSO (2001)
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Figure 4
Seismic line 98/r02 across the Ashmore Platform, Vulcan Sub-basin and Londonderry High. Interpretation after AGSO (2001). Location of the seismic line is shown in
Figure 2. Regional seismic horizons are shown in Figure 3
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Figure 5
Seismic and well data in the vicinity of the Release Area on the Ashmore Platform, Londonderry High and in
the Petrel Sub-basin, Bonaparte Basin
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Petroleum systems elements
Vulcan Sub-basin
Sources
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Middle–Upper Jurassic transgressive marine shales of the Montara and lower Vulcan formations
Lower–Middle Jurassic fluvio-deltaic Plover Formation
Permo-Triassic marine-deltaic shales of the Kinmore Group including the Fossil Head and Ascalon
formations
Reservoirs
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Upper Cretaceous submarine fan sandstones of the Puffin Formation
Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous submarine fan sandstones of the Vulcan Formation
Middle–Upper Jurassic marine shoreface/barrier bar sandstones of the Montara Formation
Lower–Upper Jurassic fluvio-deltaic Plover Formation
Upper Triassic estuarine to intertidal Challis Formation and deltaic Nome Formation and equivalents
Paleogene carbonates of the Oliver Sandstone Member, Oliver Formation and Cartier Formation
(Woodbine Group)
Seals
Regional seals
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Paleocene marine carbonates of the Johnson Formation
Lower Cretaceous marine claystones of the Echuca Shoals Formation
Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous marine claystones of the Vulcan Formation
Intraformational seals
Traps
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Paleogene–Neogene Woodbine Group carbonates
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Stratigraphic traps including submarine fan sandstones, reefs, pinchouts and unconformities
Structural traps consisting of tilted fault blocks, horst blocks and anticlines
Infrastructure and markets
Release Area AC14-1 is proximal to the Cash/Maple gas accumulation currently being developed by PTTEP.
The closest fixed infrastructure are the Bayu/Undan and Ichthys pipelines approximately 200 km to the east and
southeast, respectively.
Critical risks
Structural complexity as a result of fault reactivation has meant adequately imaging trap and seal structures has proved
challenging. Significant erosion has also removed much of the Jurassic succession across the Ashmore Platform portion
of the Release Area, restricting the spatial extent of reservoir and seal units and reducing the likelihood of widespread
Jurassic reservoirs/source rocks as seen in the adjacent Vulcan Sub-basin. Improved 3D seismic data coverage and
processing is progressively improving knowledge of trap integrity, as well as source and reservoir potential.
Long-distance migration pathways for Swan and Paqualin graben sourced hydrocarbons to the Ashmore Platform are
poorly understood and present risks for plays charged by Jurassic sources. Limited drilling in, and near, the Release
Area means that indigenous Ashmore Platform Permo-Triassic petroleum systems are poorly understood.
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
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Geoscience Australia products
Regional geology and seismic
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1996 Vulcan Sub-basin Airborne Laser Fluorosensor Survey Interpretation Report (WGC Vulcan Graben Survey
Number 1113). GEOCAT 31806
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Interpreted Horizons and Faults for Seismic Survey 98. Vulcan Basin, 2001. GEOCAT 35237
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Line Drawings of AGSO – Geoscience Australia’s Regional Seismic Profiles, Offshore Northern and Northwestern
Australia, 2001. GEOCAT 36353
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Vulcan Sub-basin Composite Well Log, 1999. GEOCAT 25307
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Vulcan Sub-basin, Offshore WA, 1989 (P556). GEOCAT 60009
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Vulcan Sub-basin, Timor Sea Survey 97: High Resolution Seismic Reflection Profiling and Direct Hydrocarbon
Detection (Vulcan I): Post-Cruise Report: Project 121.19, 1991. GEOCAT 14503
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Vulcan Tertiary Tie (VTT) Basin Study, Vulcan Sub-basin, Timor Sea, Northwestern Australia, 1996.
GEOCAT 25189
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Basement and Crustal Structure of the Bonaparte - Browse Basins, 2003. GEOCAT 41976
Stratigraphy
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Geoscience Australia’s Basin Biozonation and Stratigraphy Chart Series: Bonaparte Basin Biozonation and
Biostratigraphy Chart 34, 2014. GEOCAT 76687
Petroleum systems and accumulations
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AGSO Marine Survey 176 Direct Hydrocarbon Detection North-West Australia: Yampi Shelf; Southern Vulcan SubBasin; Sahul Platform (July/September 1996) - Operational Report and Data Compendium. GEOCAT 33928

Ashmore-Cartier prospectivity package: an analysis of the petroleum prospectivity of vacant areas overlying the
Ashmore Platform, Vulcan Sub-basin, Jabiru Terrace and northern Browse Basin, 1991. GEOCAT 14475

Bonaparte Basin, Northern Territory (NT), Western Australia (WA), Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Adjacent Area (AC), Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA), 2004. GEOCAT 60865
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Characterisation of Natural Gases from West Australian Basins, 2012. GEOCAT 33569
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Light Hydrocarbon Geochemistry of the Vulcan Sub-basin, Timor Sea: Rig Seismic Survey 97: Project 121.19, 1992.
GEOCAT 14570
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Oils of Western Australia II, 2005. GEOCAT 37512
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Source Rock Distributions and Petroleum Fluid Bulk Compositional Predictions on the Vulcan Sub-basin, Offshore
Western Australia, 2009. GEOCAT 69210
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Source Rock Time-slice Maps, Offshore Northwest Australia, 2004. GEOCAT 61179

The Petroleum Systems of the Bonaparte Basin, 2004. GEOCAT 61365

Vulcan Sub-basin – Hydrocarbon Shows Analyses, 2001. GEOCAT 37020
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
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Key references
AGSO, 2001—Line drawings of AGSO – Geoscience Australia’s regional seismic profiles, offshore northern and
northwestern Australia. Australian Geological Survey Organisation Record, 2001/36, 174pp.
AHMAD, M. AND MUNSON, T.J., 2013—Chapter 36: Bonaparte Basin. In: Ahmad, M. and Munson, T.J. (compilers),
Geology and mineral resources of the Northern Territory, Northern Territory Geological Survey, Special Publication 5.
BAXTER, K., COOPER, G.T., HILL, K.C. AND O'BRIEN, G.W., 1999—Late Jurassic subsidence and passive margin
evolution in the Vulcan Sub-basin, north-west Australia; constraints from basin modelling. Basin Research, 11, 97–111.
BEARDSMORE, G.R. AND O’SULLIVAN, P.B., 1995—Uplift and erosion on the Ashmore Platform, North West Shelf;
conflicting evidence from maturation indicators. The APEA Journal, 35(1), 333–343.
BOTTEN, P.R., ROSSER, J. AND GORTER, J., 1992—Comparisons in the structural and stratigraphic evolution of the
Vulcan Graben and basins in the eastern Timor Sea and ramifications for hydrocarbon exploration. Annual Meeting
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BOURDET, J., EADINGTON, P., VOLK, H., GEORGE, S.C., PIRONON, J. AND KEMPTON, R., 2012—Chemical
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Marine and Petroleum Geology, 36, 118–139.
BOURNE, J.D. AND FAEHRMANN, P.A., 1991—The Talbot Oilfield, Vulcan Sub-basin, Timor Sea; a Triassic oil
discovery. The APEA Journal, 31, 42–54.
CHEN, G., HILL, K.C. AND HOFFMAN, N., 2002—3D structural analysis of hydrocarbon migration in the Vulcan
Sub-basin, Timor Sea In: Keep, M. and Moss, S.J. (eds), 2002, The Sedimentary Basins of Western Australia 3:
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DAWSON, D., GRICE, K., ALEXANDER, R. AND EDWARDS, D., 2007—The effect of source and maturity on the stable
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EDWARDS, D.S., PRESTON, J.C., KENNARD, J.M., BOREHAM, C.J., VAN AARSSEN, B.G.K., SUMMONS, R.E. AND
ZUMBERGE, J.E., 2004—Geochemical characteristics of hydrocarbons from the Vulcan Sub-basin, western Bonaparte
Basin, Australia. In: Ellis, G.K., Baillie, P.W. and Munson, T.J. (eds). Timor Sea Petroleum Geoscience, Proceedings of
the Timor Sea Symposium, Darwin, 19–20 June 2003. Northern Territory Geological Survey, Special Publication, 1, 169–
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FUJII, T., O’BRIEN, G.W., TINGATE, P. AND CHEN, G., 2004—Using 2D and 3D basin modelling to investigate controls
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GEORGE, S.C., LISK, M., EADINGTON, P.J., KRIEGER, F.W., QUEZADA, R.A., GREENWOOD, P.F. AND WILSON,
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66–71.
HIGGINS, R.I. AND O'BRIEN, G.W., 1998—Fault linkage across the Yampi Shelf-Vulcan Graben transition, Timor Sea.
Geological Society of Australia Abstracts, 49, 210.
HILL, K.C., O'BRIEN, G.W., COOPER, G.T. AND GANG, C., 1999—2D and 3D structural restoration, trap integrity, and
fluid migration in the Vulcan Sub-basin, Timor Sea, Australia. The APPEA Journal, 39(1), 725.
HILLIS, R.R., MILDREN, S.D., PIGRAM, C.J. AND WILLOUGHBY, D.R., 1997—Rotation of horizontal stresses in the
Australian North West continental shelf due to the collision of the Indo-Australian and Eurasian plates. Tectonics 16,
323–335.
KENNARD, J.M., DEIGHTON, I., EDWARDS, D.S., COLWELL, J.B., O'BRIEN, G.W. AND BOREHAM, C.J., 1999—
Thermal history modelling and transient heat pulses: new insights into hydrocarbon expulsion and "hot flushes" in the
Vulcan Sub-Basin, Timor Sea. The APPEA Journal, 39(1), 177–207.
KIVIOR, T., KALDI, J.G. AND LANG, S.C., 2002—Seal potential in Cretaceous and Late Jurassic rocks of the Vulcan
Sub-basin, North West Shelf, Australia. The APPEA Journal, 42(1), 203–224.
LISK, M., BRINCAT, M.P., EADINGTON, P.J. AND O'BRIEN, G.W., 1998—Hydrocarbon charge in the Vulcan
Sub-basin. In: Purcell P.G. & Purcell R.R. (eds). The sedimentary basins of Western Australia 2, Petroleum Exploration
Society of Australia, Perth, 287–303.
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LIU, K., FENTON, S., BASTOW, T., VAN AARSSEN, B. AND EADINGTON, P., 2005—Geochemical evidence of
multiple hydrocarbon charges and long distance oil migration in the Vulcan Sub-basin, Timor Sea. The APPEA Journal,
45(1), 493–509.
LORENZO, J.M., TANDON, K. & BOEHNE, R., 1994—Pliocene flexural extension over the Vulcan sub-basin (Timor
Sea, North West Shelf, Australia); observations and elastic modeling. Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union,
75, 332.
MILDREN, S.D., HILLIS, R.R., KIVIOR, T. AND KALDI, J.G., 2004—Integrated seal assessment and geologic risk with
application to the Skua Field, Timor Sea, Australia. In: Ellis, G.K., Baillie, P.W. and Munson, T.J. (eds), Timor Sea
Petroleum Geoscience, Proceedings of the Timor Sea Symposium, Darwin, Northern Territory, 19–20 June 2003,
Northern Territory Geological Survey, Special Publication, 1, 275–294.
MORY, A.J., 1991—Geology of the Offshore Bonaparte Basin, Northwestern Australia. Geological Survey of Western
Australia Report 29, 47pp.
O’BRIEN, G.W., LISK, M., DUDDY, I.R., HAMILTON, J., WOODS, P. AND COWLEY, R., 1999—Plate convergence,
foreland development and fault reactivation: primary controls on brine migration, thermal histories and trap breach in the
Timor Sea, Australia. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 16, 533–560.
PATTILLO, J. AND NICHOLLS, P.J., 1990—A tectonostratigraphic framework for the Vulcan Graben, Timor Sea Region.
The APEA Journal, 30(1), 27–51.
PERESSON, H., WOODS, E.P. AND FINK, P., 2004—Fault architecture along the southeastern margin of the Cartier
Trough, Vulcan Sub-basin, North West Shelf, Australia; implications for hydrocarbon exploration. In: Ellis, G.K., Baillie,
P.W. and Munson, T.J. (eds), Timor Sea Petroleum Geoscience: Proceedings of the Timor Sea Symposium, Darwin,
Northern Territory, 19–20 June 2003. Northern Territory Geological Survey, Special Publication, 1, 156–167.
PETKOVIC, P., COLLINS, C.D.N. AND FINLAYSON, D.M., 2000—Crustal structure across the Vulcan Sub-basin from
seismic refraction and gravity data. Exploration Geophysics, 31, 287–294.
SMITH, P.M., 1991—Discovery of salt in the Vulcan Graben; a geophysical and geological evaluation. The APEA
Journal, 31(1), 229–243.
TOPHAM, B.D., LIU, K. AND EADINGTON, P.J., 2003—Relationships between V-shale, petrographic character and
petrophysical data from the Jurassic reservoir sandstones in the southern Vulcan Sub-basin. Petrophysics, 44, 36–47.
WANG, Z.X., ZHU, G.H., PANG, L.A. AND TANG, W.L., 2012—An oil and gas resource assessment of the Bonaparte
Basin, northwest shelf of Australia. Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology, 60(3), 218–226.
WELLMAN, P. AND O'BRIEN, G.W., 1991—Vulcan Graben, Timor Sea; regional structure from a magnetic survey.
Geological Society of Australia Abstracts, 30, 87–88.
WOODS, E.P., 2004—Twenty years of Vulcan Sub-basin exploration since Jabiru; what lessons have been learnt?
In: Ellis, G.K., Baillie, P.W. and Munson, T.J. (eds), Timor Sea petroleum geoscience; proceedings of the Timor Sea
symposium, Darwin, Northern Territory, 2003 Northern Territory Geological Survey, Special Publication, 1, 88–93.
WOODS, E.P. AND MAXWELL, A.J., 2004—The significance of the Tenacious oil discovery, Vulcan Sub-basin,
Australia. In: Ellis, G.K., Baillie, P.W. and Munson, T.J. (eds). Timor Sea petroleum geoscience; proceedings of the
Timor Sea symposium, Darwin, Northern Territory, 2003 Northern Territory Geological Survey, Special Publication, 1,
471–482.
WORMALD, G.B., 1988—The geology of the Challis oilfield - Timor Sea, Australia. The North West Shelf, Australia.
In: Purcell, P.G. and Purcell, R.R. (eds), Proceedings of the North West Shelf Symposium, Perth, Western Australia, 10–
12 August, 1988, Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia, Perth, 425–437.
YASSIR, N. AND OTTO, C.J., 1997—Hydrodynamics and fault seal assessment in the Vulcan Sub-basin, Timor Sea.
The APPEA Journal, 37(1), 380–389.
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