Publication Name: Central Australian Basins Symposium IV
Authors: Paul C. Strong
Publication Volume: 2
Date Published: August 2024
Number of Pages: 12
https://doi.org/10.36404/BCHO5432
Abstract:
The Pedirka Basin-Poolowanna Trough region in central Australia covers over 100,000 km2, just over half of which is in South Australia and most of the remainder in the Northern Territory. Petroleum exploration commenced in the 1950s when licences covering the Cooper and Eromanga basins were first acquired by Santos Limited. After decades of exploration oil was discovered in the Poolowanna Trough in 1977 with flows from Early Jurassic and Triassic sediments in Poolowanna 1, although these were uneconomic to produce due to the small volumes. Exploration activity subsequently intensified in the Pedirka Basin-Poolowanna Trough region in the 1980s, however no further discoveries were made even though many of the wells in the region encountered hydrocarbons.