A study of the publicly available data from the offshore northern Australian continental shelf has shown that three prospective sedimentary sequences are present. A Cenozoic basin possibly containing Miocene reefal carbonates exists in the west part of the region, a structurally distinct Mesozoic basin containing thick sandstone intervals underlies the Cenozoic, and a thick Paleozoic basin, possibly containing Devonian reefs and younger Paleozoic sandstone intervals, lies southeast of the Aru Archipelago and east of a north-northeast-trending ridge located along the eastern edges of the Aru and Timor Troughs. Paleozoic sediments also underlie the Mesozoic west of this ridge. The Cenozoic and Mesozoic basins and the western Paleozoic subbasin are separated by major sequenc boundaries.

All the basins present hydrocarbon potential to a greater or lesser extent. The Mesozoic basin will probably be the prime target for exploration over the next few years, but secondary objectives in Cenozoic and Paleozoic sediments should not be ignored. The numerous different play types identified in this study, the positive signs from exploration in the early 1970s, the recent neighboring discoveries, and improvements in seismic data quality provide an incentive for oil companies to conduct detailed exploration of the area.