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Journal of Australian Energy Producers
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Non peer reviewed)

The Cretaceous-Cenozoic volcanic record of the Gippsland Basin: origin, nature and significance for the energy transition

Simon Holford A * , Fun Meeuws A , Ernest Swierczek A , Nick Schofield B and Mark Bunch A
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A School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences, University of Adelaide, SA, Australia.

B School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.

* Correspondence to: simon.holford@adelaide.edu.au

The APPEA Journal 63 S243-S246 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ22059
Accepted: 24 February 2023   Published: 11 May 2023

© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of APPEA.

Abstract

Mafic volcanic rocks, typically basalts of mainly late Cretaceous age, have been intersected by Gippsland Basin wells. Intersections of volcanic rocks primarily occur along the basin-bounding Rosedale Fault System in the northern part of the basin, where they exhibit a close spatial correspondence with high-CO2 content gas accumulations. Though petrographic data indicates that the basalts have been variably altered to clays and carbonates, they provide the top seals to numerous hydrocarbon accumulations, most notably at the Kipper Field. Despite the widespread distribution of these volcanics and their relevance to petroleum systems, they have received only sporadic attention over the past few decades. Here we combine petrophysical, geomechanical, geophysical and geochemical datasets to elucidate the origin of the volcanic record of the Gippsland Basin, and to evaluate their potential role in the decarbonisation of the basin, for example through providing opportunities for intra and sub-basaltic storage of CO2.

Keywords: carbon capture and storage, igneous intrusions, sedimentary basins, volcanism.

Professor Simon Holford is South Australian State Chair of Petroleum Geoscience in the Discipline of Earth Sciences, University of Adelaide. Simon has published approximately 130 papers on the prospectivity and tectonics of rifted margins, petroleum geomechanics and magmatism in basins. Simon has won multiple awards, including Best Paper prizes at APPEA 2012 and AEGC 2019, Best Extended Abstract at APPEA 2021 and the Geological Society of Australia’s Walter Howchin and ES Hills medals.

Fun Meeuws is a post-doctoral researcher at the School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences at the University of Adelaide, working on igneous geochemistry and mineralisation potential of the Peak Ranges, Queensland. She obtained her PhD in 2019 which detailed Meso-Cenozoic intraplate magmatism onshore Tasmania and offshore the Gippsland and Bass Basin, using 3D seismic analyses and igneous geochemistry. She graduated with an MSc at the University of Ghent in 2009.

Ernest Swierczek is a geoscientist with research interests in the integration of geological and geophysical data to build valid structural models. He holds an MSc in Petroleum Geoscience from AGH University of Science and Technology (Poland) and is working towards his PhD from University of Adelaide. He currently works as Structural Modelling Geologist at BHP in Brisbane.

Professor Nick Schofield is Chair in Igneous and Petroleum Geology at the University of Aberdeen. He gained his undergraduate degree in Geology from the University of Edinburgh, before undertaking a PhD at the University of Birmingham investigating the emplacement of sill intrusions. He has worked and published extensively on intrusive and extrusive volcanism within sedimentary basins globally.

Mark Bunch is a Senior Lecturer in Energy Geoscience at the University of Adelaide. He graduated with a BSc-Hons from Durham University in 2000, before completing an MSc in 2001 then a PhD in 2006 at the University of Birmingham. His research interests include the application of AI and machine learning to petroleum industry problems, formation evaluation and seismic geomorphology.


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