The highly prospective McArthur Basin, Beetaloo Sub-basin and onshore Bonaparte Basin contain multiple conventional and unconventional petroleum systems defined by relatively advanced stage exploration.
The McArthur Basin, including the completely sub-surface Beetaloo Sub-basin, and onshore Bonaparte Basin contain contingent gas resources and large prospective resources. All have reported gas discoveries and have relatively good seismic and well coverage.
Geology and petroleum systems
The greater McArthur Basin contains a number of conventional and unconventional systems, within four petroleum supersystems. Gas and oil resources in the McArthur Supersystem are in the late Palaeoproterozoic McArthur Group within the Batten Fault Zone in the southern McArthur Basin. The Barney Creek Formation is a significant source rock and shale gas and -oil prospect, with a publicly announced 2C Contingent Resource of 6.0 bcf of gas from the Glyde-1 well. Conventional gas is also reservoired in relatively low-permeability rocks in the Lynott Formation and Reward Dolostone. Updated definitions are discussed in the recent Petroleum supersystems within the greater McArthur Basin. View the McArthur Basin inventory .
The Beetaloo Sub-basin is the Northern Territory’s premier shale gas play, with substantial shale gas resources in place hosted within the Mesoproterozoic Roper Group. The sub-surface Beetaloo Sub-basin represents a structural sub-basin of the McArthur Basin contains four conventional and unconventional petroleum systems within the Beetaloo Supersystem. The most prospective shale units in the Roper Group occur within the Velkerri and Kyalla formations. Wells drilled to date by industry indicate 2C Contingent resources of 7.1 Tcf gas for the Velkerri B-shale, with the additional potential for liquids-rich gas in the basin. View the Beetaloo Sub-basin inventory .
The onshore Bonaparte Basin is an extension of the Phanerozoic Bonaparte Basin, a well established oil and gas province, with proven resources and a number of currently producing fields in offshore areas. The onshore Bonaparte Basin contains a number of petroleum systems including the Weaber gas field, and oil and gas shows have also been recorded from a number of other wells, with a publicly announced 2C Contingent Resource of 11.5 bscf of natural gas at Weaber field within Retention Lease RL-1. View the Onshore Bonaparte Basin inventory .
To view the distribution of petroleum wells and seismic lines across these basins and to download attributed spatial data, please visit the Northern Territory Geological Survey's (NTGS) online web mapping system STRIKE.
