Publication Name: The North West Shelf Australia
Authors: P.G. & R.R. Purcell
Date Published: July 1988
Number of Pages: 24
Reference Type: Book Section
Abstract:
The North West Shelf of Australia extends c2400 km along the northwest margin of the continent. It is a geographic province rather than a physiographic feature sensu stricto, and includes the continental shelf proper and the marginal platforms and plateaus, out to about the 2000 m isobath.Four major sedimentary basins occur along the shelf: Carnarvon, Offshore Canning, Browse and Bonaparte, from south to north respectively. These basins contain a thick Phanerozoic section, ranging to 17, 000 m or more, and made up of several superimposed basin sequences. The development of these basins can be related to successive cycles of rifting and break-up of the Gondwana supercontinent.
The undiscovered reserves in the North West Shelf basins are estimated at 1500 million barrels of oil and 20 TCF of gas. Major gas and oil accumulations have been discovered in the Carnarvon, Browse and Bonaparte basins; commercial oil production has been established in the Carnarvon and Bonaparte basins. Discovery and development of the hydrocarbon resources of the North West Shelf is vital to Australia's future. In the short term, the oil production will contribute to the nation's dwindling supplies, and LNG exports will help offset oil import costs. In the longer term, the development of the North is essential for Australia's security and welfare in the 21st Century.