Abstract

The Bremer Basin is a deep to ultra-deep water frontier basin located off the southern coast of Western Australia. It is covered by 2 large petroleum exploration permits held by Arcadia and Cathay Petroleum since 2008. The Bremer Basin is a Mesozoic rift basin which formed over an older pre-rift salt basin. During late Jurassic- mid Cretaceous rifting and break-up salt from the pre-rift strata was mobilized which produced widespread salt structures and associated large structural and stratigraphic traps. Early-mid Cretaceous post rifting subsidence generated several large salt withdrawal depocenters that were infilled by deep water lacustrine deposits and a southeasterly prograding delta complex. These post-rift lacustrine shales are a key source rock interval and regional seal for underlying lacustrine and fluvial sands. Supporting evidence for the presence of hydrocarbons comes from repeat slicks detected on SAR data in areas with good geological context and or seismic indications for seepage.

Keywords: Valanginian • Arpenteur Depocenter • Penguin High • Colonna Depocenter • Arpenteur Fault • West Colonna Fault • Eclipse Depocenter • Kingfisher High • West Herschel High • Zephyr Depocenter • West Zephyr Fault • East Herschel High • South Harlequin Fault Zone • North

Presented at: 2013 South East Asia Petroleum Exploration Society (SEAPEX) Conference, Singapore, 2013