Interest in the petroleum potential of the central Eromanga basin area has been simulated by recent discoveries of oil and gas in the Eromanga and Cooper basin sequences in southwestern Queensland.

The Bureau of Mineral Resources, in cooperation with the Geological Survey of Queensland, is assisting in petroleum exploration of this area by providing new regional information on the structural and depositional history of the Eromanga and underlying Cooper, Galilee, and Adavale basins. Several regional seismic reflection traverses up to 186 mi (300 km) long are being recorded over major structural features in the Eromanga basin, over the eastern margin of the Cooper basin, the southwestern Galilee basin, and the underlying Adavale basin. The seismic surveys are tied to existing seismic data to provide good quality structural and stratigraphic information. Seismic refraction, gravity, and magnetic, and magneto-telluric surveys are providing additional information on both sedimentary and basement structures; Landsat imagery studies are providing new perspectives on many regional features; and geochemical and source rock maturation studies are providing a basis on which a sound assessment of the petroleum prospectivity of the areas can be made.

End_of_Article - Last_Page 977------------