Resource assessment of North Carnarvon Basin on the northwest shelf of Australia

The Carnarvon Basin is one of the major oil and gas enriched basins in the northwest shelf of Australia. The petroleum system and oil and gas distribution characteristics were recognized by analysis of petroleum accumulation elements based on new data and research results. Through the detailed division of assessment units, the resources of each assessment unit were forecasted by a Monte Carlo simulation method. Assessment parameters were determined by multiple methods, such as improved field size sequence and so on. According to the resource assessment of each assessment unit, the resource potential and exploration direction of the North Carnarvon Basin were studied. There are 2 petroleum systems, including the Jurassic Dingo-Jurassic/Cretaceous petroleum system and the Triassic Locker/Mungaroo-Triassic petroleum system. Oil and gas distribution indicated that oil was enriched in grabens and gas was enriched in horsts. Resource evaluation results indicate that the North Carnarvon Basin has great resource potential. The forecasted undiscovered recoverable resources of the basin are 1 560 MMbbl oil, 34 978 Bcf gas and 3 497 MMbbl condensate. Based on comprehensive analysis, the Exmouth Plateau is a favorable exploration area for gas exploration in the future.