www.dmp.wa.gov.auPetroleum Division
Government of Western AustraliaDepartment of Mines and Petroleum
SHALE GAS POTENTIAL
AUGUST 2013
Three of the five potentially prospective Perth Basin shales, the Kockatea and Carynginia Formations and the Irwin River Coal Measures, were classified as high-quality source rocks based on geochemical, lithological and reservoir properties. The best potential seal in the Perth Basin is the Kockatea Shale, partly because it is a true shale in places, with very little silt or sand, and partly because, unlike all other potential seals, it is a thick, fairly monotonous unit that overlies the basal sands. It consists of dark shale, micaceous siltstone, and minor sandstone and limestone. The Kockatea Shale overlies the Permain Carynginia Formation and is conformably overlain by the Woodada Formation. The Carynginia Formation extends throughout the subsurface of much of the northern Perth Basin and consists of black to grey, micaceous, jarositic shale and siltstone with lesser inter-bedded sandstone and conglomerate. The basal marine shales and claystones of the Carynginia Formation have moderately good source potential. The third shale layer, the Irwin River Coal Measures (IRCM) lies conformably between ‘paralic’ strata of the High Cliff Sandstone (below), and marine siltstones of the Carynginia Formation (above). The formation consists of a mixed succession of sandstone, siltstone, carbonaceous shale and coal. It is about 66 m thick in the type section but reaches 288 m in the subsurface west of the Urella Fault. The main source rock interval is 20 to 150 m thick and between 1000 m and 5000 m in depth.
Western Australia (WA) has the potential to be one of the first states with commercially viable shale oil/gas production in Australia. Recently estimated volumes in the Canning and Perth Basins of WA are estimated at 1227 and 221 Tcf of risked shale gas respectively.
Shale Gas/Oil Potential in Western Australia
The Canning Basin shows potential for vast shale and tight gas resources in Paleozoic marine shales that correlate both in lithology and in geochemical characteristics with numerous US plays (e.g. the Bakken, Barnett, and Marcellus Formations). An assessment of the potential shale gas resource in the Canning Basin was carried out using all currently available data and a combined modelling approach (U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Petroleum Resources Management System (PMRS). Shales in the basin source conventional accumulations of oil and gas, including those at Ungani, Valhalla, Blina, etc., but no attempt has yet been made to produce oil and gas directly from them. Results include high-grading of two of the ten potentially prospective Canning Basin shales, the Goldwyer and Laurel Formations, as high-quality source rocks based on geochemical, lithological and reservoir properties, and estimation of GIIP for each (the third independent assessment of Canning Basin shale gas volumes).
Canning Basin
Perth Basin
COMPARISON OF VOLUME ESTIMATES FOR CANNING BASIN SHALE GASGoldwyer Formation Laurel Formation
Triche and BaharACOLA
2013EIA 2011 EIA 2013
Triche and BaharALCOLA
2013Deterministic Probabilistic Deterministic Probabilistic
GIIP (Tcf) 783.9 867.4 2580 2547 2547 194 271.5 420
Recoverable Resource 117.6 130.1 387 374.4 382 29 40.7 63
Risked GIIP(50%) 392.0 433.7 1290 1248 1227 97 136 210
Risked GIIP (30%) 235.2 260.2 774 748.7 764 58 81.5 126
RRR (30% RF, ReF 15 %) 35.3 39.0 116.1 1123 115 8.7 122 18.9
RRR (30% RF, 20% ReF) 47.0 52.0 154.8 149.7 153 11.6 16.3 25.2
RRR (30% RF, 30% ReF) 70.6 78.1 232.2 224.6 229 17.4 24.5 37.8
COMPARISON OF VOLUME ESTIMATES FOR PERTH BASIN SHALE GAS
Kockatea FM Carynginia FMIrwin
River CM
Bahar et al EIA 2013ACOLA 2013
Bahar et al EIA 2013ACOLA
2013Bahar et al
GIIP (Tcf) 36 44 100 101 124 98 86
Recoverable Resource 5.4 8 30 15 25 29 13
Risked GIIP(50%) 18 22 50 50.5 62 49 43
Risked GIIP (30%) 10.8 13.2 30 30.3 37.2 29.4 25.8
RRR(30%RF,ReF15 %) 1.6 2 4.5 4.6 5.6 4.4 3.9
RRR(30%RF,20%ReF) 2.16 2.6 6 6.1 7.4 5.9 5.2
RRR(30% RF,30%ReF) 3.24 4 9 9.1 11.2 8.8 7.7
ARROWSMITH 2 SEAL
PE
RIO
DC
RE
TA
C-
EO
US
Ea
rly
EP
OC
H
JU
RA
SS
IC
La
teM
idd
leE
arly
La
teM
idd
leTR
IAS
SIC
EL
ate
Ea
rly
PE
RM
IAN
MAIN SOURCEROCKS
oil gas
HYDROCARBONS
? ?Warro Dandaragan
Ocean Hill
Gingin, WalyeringNorth
Yardanogo
Erregulla
Mt Horner DongaraWye
Mt HornerErregulla
N. Erregulla
Dongara Erregulla
Mt Bridge
STRATIGRAPHY
Carnac Fm
Otorowiri FmParmelia Group
YarragadeeFormation
Cadda Formation
CattamarraCoal Measures
EneabbaFormation
LesueurSandstone
WoodadaFormation
Dongara
Beekeeper
Sandstone
Formation
Holmwood Shale
RESERVOIR
regionallocal
Mt Horner
?
Dongara, Hovea
Yardarino, Beharra Sps,Mondarra, Woodada,Beharra Sp. North
Mt Horner, Cliff Head
Dongara,Elegans
Carynginia Formation
High Cliff Sandstone
Nangetty Formation
Gas well Oil well Oil show
N. Erregulla
Wicherina Ss. Mbr
Gas show,abandoned
Oil and gas show,abandoned
KockateaShale Bookara Ss. Mbr
Irwin RiverCoal Measures
basement(undifferentiated)
Oil and gas well
AJM530 12.07.04
Arranoo Ss.Mbr
CANNING BASIN POTENTIAL SHALE LAYERS
Lower Laurel Formation maturity mapGoldwyer Formatoin maturity map
?
?
?
BreakupUnconformity
Jura
ssic
–Cre
tace
ous
exte
nsio
nal e
vent
s of
fsho
re
FitzroyTranspression
maj
or o
ffsho
resu
bsi
den
ce
Meda Tran-spression
exte
nsio
nal
mov
emen
ts
Price CreekMovement
Samphire MarshMovement
Alic
e S
pri
ng
s O
rog
eny
Petaluma 1, Aristida 1A,Sundown 1
Sundown oilfield, West Terrace oilfield,Boundary 1
Lloyd oilfield, West Kora 1
Point Torment 1
Yulleroo 1,2Valhalla 1,2St GeorgesRange 1Blina oilfield
Chestnut 1 Blina oilfield
Logue 1, Dampiera 1A,Mt Wynne 1,3, Goodenia 1,Eremophila 1,2, Crab Creek 1,Leo 1, Willara 1, Crimson Lake 1
Goodenia 1, Fitzroy River 1
Frome Rocks 2,Babrongan 1,Eremophila 1, Aristida 1A, Dampiera 1A, Janpam North 1,Boronia 1, Wattle 1
Mirbelia 1
Pictor 1,2 Dodonea 1,2Edgar Range 1
Looma 1 Canopus 1
Matches Springs 1
Lovell's Pocket 1, Looma 1, Canopus 1
Dodonea 1 Acacia 2
Crystal Creek 1Lovell's Pocket 1
Looma 1
Acacia 1
Petaluma 1
Fitzroy River 1
Kora 1
Meda 1, Terrace 1,East Yeeda 1, Ellendale 1
Pictor East 1
Ungani 1
Fm. Formation
GroupGp
Oil and gas show
Oil show
Gas show
Oil well or field
Gas well
SandstoneSs.
Visean
Tournaisian
Framennian
Frasnian
Middle
Lower
Llandovery
Upper
Middle
Lower
WenlockLudlow
Pridoli
Mis
siss
ippi
anU
pper
Car
boni
fero
us
Cambrian
?
?
359
416
444
488
Dev
onia
nS
iluria
nO
rdov
icia
n
TandalgooFm.
WorralFm.
CarranyaFm.
PricesCreek Gp
Nita Fm.
Mallowa Salt
Car
ribud
dyG
roup
ReefComplex
Fairfield Group
Southwest Northeast
252
65
145
200
Stratigraphy
Upper
Lower
Upper
Middle
Lower
Upper
Middle
LowerLopingian
Guadalupian
Cisuralian
Pennsylvanian
Serpukhovian
Cre
tace
ous
Jura
ssic
Tria
ssic
Per
mia
n
Reeves Fm.
Grant Group
Poole Sandstone
Lightjack Fm.
Blina Sh.
ErskineSS.
Broome Sandstone
EpochMa
Per
iod
299
Bejah Claystone Anketell Fm.
Samuel Fm.
Frezier Ss.
Parda Fm.
Melligo Ss.
CroninFms.
Callawa/
Alexander Fm.
Wallal Ss.Barbwire Ss.
Blina ShaleMillyit Ss.
Liveringa Gp.
Noonkanbah Fm.
AndersonFm.
Yellow Drum Fm.Gumhole Fm.
MellinjerieFm.Clapp Ridge
Fm.
Sahara Fm.
Nibil Fm.Minjoo Salt
Bongabinni Fm.
Goldwyer Fm.Willara Fm.
Fm.Wilson Cliffs
Lampe andLake George Fms
Precambrian
Laurel Fm.
Jarlema Fm.
Tectonic events
Sou
rce
Res
ervo
ir
Sea
l Selectedhydrocarbon occurrences
Sandstone
Shale
Mixed siliciclasticand coal
Carbonate
Carbonate–shale,marl
Evaporite
Basement
Sandstone
Shale
Conglomerate
Diamictite
Dominant lithology
Secondary lithology
Legend
AJM881
NambeetSs.
?
Cross-section through the northern Perth Basin showing typical shale layers
SW NE
Cross-section through the northern Canning Basin showing typical well penetrations, estimated thicknesses of major depositional intervals and shale of interest
PERTH BASIN POTENTIAL SHALE LAYERS
Carynginia Formation maturity mapKockatea Formation maturity map