Combined analysis of different logs in quantification of exhumation and its implications for hydrocarbon exploration, a case study from Australia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1344/105.000000349Keywords:
Eromanga basin, Compaction, Adjusted sonic log, Density log, Neutron log, Source rock maturityAbstract
Exhumation in the Eromanga Basin of South Australia and Queensland has been quantified using the compaction methodology. The standard method of estimating exhumation using the sonic log has been modified and the adjusted sonic, the bulk density and neutron logs, have been used to estimate exhumation. Additionally the use of a single shale has not been adopted, and seven units, ranging in age from Cretaceous to Jurassic have been analysed. All units yield similar results; and burial at depth greater than currently observed is the most likely cause of overcompaction. The use of the adjusted sonic, bulk and neutron logs have been justified. This study has major implications for hydrocarbon exploration since predicted maturation of source rocks will be greater for any given geothermal history if exhumation is incorporated in maturation modelling.
References
Bowering, O.J.W., 1982. Hydrodynamics and hydrocarbon migration. A model for the Eromanga Basin. Australian Petroleum Exploration Association Journal, 22, 227-236.
Bulat, J., Stoker, S.J., 1987. Uplift determination from interval velocity studies, UK southern North Sea. In: Brooks, J., Glennie, K. (eds.). Petroleum Geology of North West Europe. London, Graham and Trotman, 293-305.
England, P., Molnar, P., 1990. Surface uplift, uplift of rocks, and exhumation of rocks. Geology, 18, 1173-1177.
Goetz, J.F., Dupal, L., Bowler, J., 1979. An investigation into discrepancies between sonic log and seismic check shot velocities. Australian Petroleum Exploration Association Journal, 19, 131-141.
Harland, W.B., Armstrong, R.L., Cox, A.V., Craig, L.E., Smith, A.G., Smith, D.G., 1989. A Geological Time Scale. Cambridge University Press, 263 pp.
Hawkins, P.J., Almond, C.S., Carmichael, D.C., Smith, R.J., Williams, L.J., 1989. Kerogen characterisation and organic and mineral diagenesis of potential source rocks in Jurassic units, southern Eromanga Basin, Queensland. In: O’Neil, B.J. (ed.). The Cooper and Eromanga Basins, Australia. Proceedings of the Cooper and Eromanga Basins Conference, Adelaide. Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists (South Australia Branches), 583-599 pp.
Hillis, R.R., 1991. Chalk porosity and Tertiary uplift, Western Approaches Trough, SW UK and NW French continental shelves. Journal of the Geological Society of London, 148, 669-679.
Hillis, R.R., 1993. Quantifying erosion in sedimentary basins from sonic velocities in shales and sandstones. Exploration Geophysics, 24, 561-566.
Hillis, R.R., 1995a. Quantification of Tertiary Exhumation in the United Kingdom. Southern North Sea Using Sonic Velocity Data. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 79, 130-152.
Hillis, R.R., 1995b. Regional Tertiary Exhumation in and around the United Kingdom. Basin Inversion. Geological Society of London Special Publication, 88, 167-190.
Hillis, R.R., Thomson, K., Underhill, J.R., 1994. Quantification of Tertiary erosion in the Inner Moray Firth using sonic velocity data from the Chalk and Kimmeridge Clay. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 11, 283-293.
Hsu, K., Burridge, R., Walsh, J., 1992. P-wave and S-wave drifts in a slow formation. Society of Exploration Geophysics, 62nd Annual International Meeting, Austin, Expanded Abstracts, 185-188.
Issler, D.R., 1992. A New Approach to Shale Compaction and Stratigraphic Restoration, Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin and Mackenzie Corridor, Northern Canada. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 76, 1170-1189.
Japsen, P., 1993. Influence of Lithology and Neogene Uplift on Seismic Velocities in Denmark: Implications for Depth Conversion of Maps. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 77, 194-211.
Jenkins, C.C., 1989. Geochemical correlation of source rocks and crude oils from the Cooper and Eromanga Basins. In: O’Neil, B.J. (ed.). The Cooper and Eromanga Basins, Australia. Proceedings of the Cooper and Eromanga Basins Conference, Adelaide. Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists (South Australia Branches), 525-540.
Magara, K., 1976. Thickness of Removed Sedimentary Rocks, Paleopore Pressure, and Paleotemperature, Southwestern Part of Western Canada Basin. American Association of
Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 60, 554-565.
Mavromatidis, A., 1997. Quantification of Exhumation in the Cooper-Eromanga basins and its implications for hydrocarbon exploration. Doctoral Thesis. The University of Adelaide, 330 pp.
Mavromatidis, A., Hillis, R.R., 2005. Quantification of exhumation in the Eromanga Basin and its implications for hydrocarbon exploration. Petroleum Geoscience, 11, 79-92.
Menpes, R.J., Hillis, R.R., 1995. Quantification of Tertiary exhumation from sonic velocity data, Celtic Sea/South - Western Approaches. Basin Inversion. Geological Society of London Special Publication, 88, 191-207.
Michaelsen, B.H., McKirdy, D.M., 1989. Organic facies and petroleum geochemistry of the lacustrine Murta Member (Mooga Formation) in the Eromanga Basin, Australia. In: O’Neil, B.J. (ed.). The Cooper and Eromanga Basins, Australia. Proceedings of the Cooper and Eromanga Basins Conference, Adelaide. Petroleum Exploration, Society of Australia, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists (South Australia Branches), 541-558.
Moore, P.S., 1986. An exploration overview of the Eromanga Basin. In: Gravestock, D.I., Moore, P.S., Pitt, G.M. (eds.). Contributions to the geology and hydrocarbon potential of the Eromanga Basin. Geological Society of Australia Special Publication, 12, 1-8.
Perrier, R., Quiblier, J., 1974. Thickness Changes in Sedimentary Layers During Compaction History; Methods for Quantitative Evaluation. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 58, 507-520.
Schulz-Rojahn, J.P., 1993. Calcite-cemented zones in the Eromanga Basin: Clues to petroleum migration and entrapment. Australian Petroleum Exploration Association Journal, 33, 63-76.
Schlumberger, 1989. Log Interpretation Principles/Applications. Schlumberger Educational Services, Houston, Texas, 250 pp.
Sclater, J.G., Christie, P.A.F., 1980. Continental stretching: an explanation of the post-mid - Cretaceous subsidence of the Central North Sea Basin. Journal of Geophysical Research, B85, 3711-3739.
Sweeney, J.J., Burnham, A.K., 1990. Evaluation of a Simple Model of Vitrinite Reflectance Based on Chemical Kinetics. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 74, 1559-1570.
Thornton, R.C.N., 1979. Regional stratigraphic analysis of the Gidgealpa Group, southern Cooper Basin, Australia. Australian Geological Survey, 49, 110 pp.
Till, R., 1974. Statistical Methods for the Earth Scientist. London, Macmillan, 154 pp.
Wells, P.E., 1990. Porosities and seismic velocities of mudstones from Wairarapa and oil wells of North Island, New Zealand, and their use in determining burial history. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 33, 29-39.
Wyllie, M.R.J., Gregory, A.R., Gardner, L.W., 1956. Theory of propagation of elastic waves in a fluid saturated porous solid. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 28, 168-191.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright
Geologica Acta is the property of the UB, GEO3BCN, IDAEA and UAB. Geologica Acta must be cited for any partial or full reproduction. Papers are distributed under the Attribution-Share Alike Creative Commons License. This license allows anyone to reproduce and disseminate the content of the journal and even make derivative works crediting authorship and provenance and distributing possible derivative works under the same or an equivalent license.
Author Rights
Authors retain the copyright on their papers and are authorized to post them on their own web pages or institutional repositories. The copyright was retained by the journal from the year 2003 until 2009. In all cases, the complete citation and a link to the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) of the article must be included.
The authors can use excerpts or reproduce illustrations of their papers in other works without prior permission from Geologica Acta provided the source of the paper including the complete citation is fully acknowledged.
