Evidence for marine influence in the Lower Jurassic Precipice Sandstone, Surat Basin, eastern Australia

Martin, M.; Wakefield, Matthew I.; Bianchi, Valeria; Esterle, Joan; Zhou, Fengde

doi:10.1080/08120099.2018.1402821

Cited by 29 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The Evergreen Formation was previously considered as deposits of meandering rivers and freshwater lakes (Mollan et al 1972;Exon 1976;Cosgrove and Mogg 1985). The most recent effort has been to update paleodepositional interpretations as sedimentological, ichnological, and palynological data has pointed towards substantial marine influence in the Surat during the early Jurassic (Bianchi et al 2018;Martin et al 2018;La Croix et al 2019). This has important implications for the orientation, size, and connectivity of geobodies that comprise flow units.…”

Section: Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing geological and hydrogeological understanding of the Precipice Sandstone aquifer of the Surat Basin, Great Artesian Basin, Australia, through model inversion of managed aquifer recharge datasets

et al. 2019

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The Precipice Sandstone is a major Great Artesian Basin aquifer in the Surat Basin, Queensland, Australia, which is used for water supply and production of oil and gas. This report describes use of observed groundwater pressure responses to managed aquifer recharge (MAR) at a regional scale to test recent geological descriptions of Precipice Sandstone extent, and to inform its hydrogeological conceptualisation. Since 2015, two MAR schemes have injected over 20 GL of treated water from coal seam gas production into the Precipice Sandstone, with pressure responses rapidly propagating over 100 km, indicating high aquifer diffusivity. Groundwater modelling of injection and inversion of pressure signals using PEST software shows the spatial variability of aquifer properties, and indicates that basin in-situ stresses and faulting exert control on permeability. Extremely high permeability, up to 200 m/day, occurs in heavily fractured regions with a dual-porosity flow regime. The broader-scale estimates of permeability approach an order of magnitude higher than previous studies, which has implications for the management of water resources in the Precipice Sandstone. Results also show the Precipice Sandstone to have broadly isotropic permeability. The results also support a recent geological interpretation of the Precipice Sandstone as having more limited lateral extent than initially considered. The study shows the effective use of MAR injection data to improve geological and hydrogeological understanding through groundwater model inversion. It also demonstrates the utility of combining hydrogeological and reservoir-engineer datasets in areas explored and developed for both groundwater resources and oil and gas resources.

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Section: Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing geological and hydrogeological understanding of the Precipice Sandstone aquifer of the Surat Basin, Great Artesian Basin, Australia, through model inversion of managed aquifer recharge datasets

et al. 2019

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“…It further highlighted the distribution of swelling clays (fines), which impact on gas production behaviour of these unconventional reservoirs. This work built upon and extended westward published geological studies by Hamilton et al (2014), Shields & Esterle (2015) and Bianchi et al (2017), and was complimented by studies conducted in parallel on the chrono-and biostratigraphy of the Walloon Subgroup 2017) and provenance of stratigraphically related units (Bein, 2016). Zhou et al, 2017).…”

Section: 1! Overviewmentioning

confidence: 59%

“…Hitherto, the Walloon Subgroup was considered nonmarine; however, this is contestable based on evidence of marine influence in the underlying strata previously thought to be non-marine (Martin, 2017). U-Pb geochronology of the Walloon Subgroup and the overlying Springbok Sandstone has shown that these units show a different provenance trend with additional input from the Mossman Orogen (Hentschel et al, 2017).…”

Section: The Hutton Sandstone Records Earlymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this context, the formation of chamosite is sometimes associated with brackish or shallow marine influence. It is generally agreed that the Walloon Subgroup was deposited in an entirely terrestrial setting; however, this is contestable as marine influence was detected in underlying units, such as the Precipice Sandstone (Martin, 2017). 4 %).…”

Section: 2! Petrographic and Stable Carbon Isotopic Composition Of mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Limited CA-TIMS depositional ages for the Springbok Sandstone east of the Hutton Wallumbilla Fault have been published thus far (<153 Ma; Wainman et al, 2017), placing the Springbok Sandstone in the Kimmeridgian -Tithonian of the Late Jurassic. The Walloon Subgroup on the eastern side of the basin was determined to be deposited between 165-158 Ma (Callovian of the Middle Jurassic -Oxfordian of the Late Jurassic) through CA-TIMS dating of tuffs2017). Accordingly, the hiatus at the unconformable base of the Springbok Sandstone could be approximately 5 Myr in duration and the Hutton Sandstone, the unit underlying the Walloon Subgroup, should be older than 165 Ma (Callovian of the Middle Jurassic and older).In this study, we estimate the depositional age near the top of the Hutton Sandstone based on "youngest detrital zircon age' (YDZ;Dickinson & Gehrels, 2009) to be approximately 169 +7-8 Ma (Middle Jurassic) for the sample from the eastern side of the Surat Basin (Chinchilla 4; Table 5-3 and Figure 5-9).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Integrating coal petrology, geochemistry and geochronology to understand spatial variation in the Walloon Subgroup

Hentschel¹

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The Jurassic Walloon Subgroup in the Surat Basin is a prolific source of coal seam gas (CSG) in Queensland. Production of CSG commenced from the fairway along the north-eastern basin margin, but despite decreasing unit-and net coal thickness of the Walloon Subgroup, exploration and production rapidly extended across to the Roma Shelf towards the Nebine Ridge in the west. This ridge separates the Surat and Eromanga basins, across which the Walloon Subgroup and the overlying Springbok Sandstone are correlated to transition into the Birkhead Formation and Adori Sandstone respectively. A regional lithostratigraphic model of the Walloon Subgroup based on wireline data, highlights westward thinning of the unit through pinching of the lower (Taroom) coal measures, and thinning or erosion of the upper (Juandah) coal measures by the overlying Springbok Sandstone. The dis-or unconformable surface represents a change in gradient within the basin, between the rising to stable base levels (the coal measures) and falling base levels, the timing and mechanisms of which are debated. This thesis tests the lithostratigraphic framework model of the Walloon Subgroup by providing alternative markers and trends within the coal maceral and carbon isotopic composition, coupled with vertical and lateral variation in the mineralogy and zircon provenance of the interburden strata. A petrographic and stable carbon isotope study of eight wells from east to west of the basin, records a transition from a wet, herbaceous marsh or fen environment during the deposition of the Taroom and Lower Juandah Coal Measures to a more arid system, as indicated by a characteristic oxidized material-rich (inertinite) signature of the Upper Juandah Coal Measures. In each well across the basin, the organic stable carbon isotopes show a positive excursion from the Lower to Upper Juandah CoalMeasures that sets in well before the increased inertinite content, followed by a shift to more negative compositions in coals interpreted to occur within the Springbok Sandstone. The positive excursion in organic stable carbon isotope composition represents a global trend, and in the Surat Basin, a shift to drier conditions, which ultimately could have caused a drop in regional base level and the creation of exposed surfaces, resulting in the Springbok unconformity. The δ 13 C trend including the positive excursion was applied as a tool to test the current lithostratigraphic framework of the Walloon Subgroup, and in particular, its relationship with the overlying Springbok Sandstone. On the Roma Shelf in the west, this positive excursion, as well as its turning point, occur within the Juandah Coal Measures, rather than across the Springbok Unconformity as observed in the east.

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Long term reactivity of CO2 in a low salinity reservoir-seal complex

Pearce

Croix

Underschultz

et al. 2020

Applied Geochemistry

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Evidence for marine influence in the Lower Jurassic Precipice Sandstone, Surat Basin, eastern Australia

Cited by 29 publications

References 24 publications

Enhancing geological and hydrogeological understanding of the Precipice Sandstone aquifer of the Surat Basin, Great Artesian Basin, Australia, through model inversion of managed aquifer recharge datasets

Enhancing geological and hydrogeological understanding of the Precipice Sandstone aquifer of the Surat Basin, Great Artesian Basin, Australia, through model inversion of managed aquifer recharge datasets

Integrating coal petrology, geochemistry and geochronology to understand spatial variation in the Walloon Subgroup

Long term reactivity of CO2 in a low salinity reservoir-seal complex

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