News:- 17 August 2010: Finder has entered into a farm out agreement which provides for Apache Northwest Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Apache Corporation, to earn 75% and to assume operatorship in WA-450-P.
A Play Rich block in Australia’s Oil and Gas “heartland”
25% Finder Exploration
75% Apache Northwest Pty Ltd & Operator
Surface area: ~80 km2
Water depth: less 560 to 720 metres
Finder Exploration was awarded Exploration Permit WA-450-P on 18 June 2010 (which was gazetted as W09-11 in the 2009 acreage release round). The Permit is located on the western flank of Rankin Platform of the Carnarvon Basin and is approximately 125 km from the coastline of Western Australia and approximately 35 km from the gas pipeline that joins the East Spar field to the domestic gas network. The giant Gorgon and Clio gas fields are ~10 km to the north of gazettal area. The producing Woollybutt and Griffin-Chinook-Scindian oil fields are approximately 30 km to the southwest and 40 km to the south, respectively. WA-450-P sits within the central part of the Northern Carnarvon Basin straddling the boundaries of three major tectonic elements, the gas rich Exmouth Plateau in the north, Alpha Arch in the east and the Exmouth Sub-Basin in the south.
Potential Play-Concepts
(i) Gas Play – DHI supported Triassic fluvio-deltaic Mungaroo and Brigadier Formation sandstones (eg Gorgon, Clio, Zeepaard and Achilles gas discoveries);
(ii) Oil Play - Berriasian age basin floor fan sandstones, ie Lower Barrow Delta equivalent;
(iii) Oil Play - Mardie Greensand, Birdrong and Flag sandstones, ie Upper Barrow Delta equivalent (eg Lauda-1 oil discovery);
(iv) Oil Play - Upper Jurassic basin floor fan sandstones, ie Dupuy Formation (eg Enfield and Laverda Oil Fields); and
(v) Gas Play – Oxfordian transgressive sandstones in a pinchout play onto the flanks of the Triassic structures (eg 2008-2010 Hess gas discoveries in WA-390-P).
Geology of the Northern Carnarvon Basin
The geological setting of the Northern Carnarvon Basin (and its deep water portion known collectively as the Exmouth Plateau) is the result of multiple periods of extension, subsidence and some compression, associated with the fragmentation of eastern Gondwana followed by compression in the latest Miocene. The Northern Carnarvon Basin developed by repeated reactivation of basement structures during Palaeozoic and Mesozoic tectonism where the Archean and Proterozoic structures plus Gondwanan plate tectonics controlled the shape of the Palaeozoic sub-basins. As more sediments were deposited into the basin the pre-existing north-eastern to south-western orientation tectonic fabric was overprinted on the younger Mesozoic basins. Structurally the area is dominated by multiple extensional episodes with the Oxfordian rifting preserved as the Barrow-Dampier-Exmouth Basins which is interpreted as a failed rift arm that formed during the Argo Land rift. The Valanginian rifting associated with the KV regional break-up unconformity and separation of the Greater India landmass is also superimposed on top of previous rifting episodes. The Carnarvon Basin is arguably Australia’s premier oil and gas province, with significant oil and gas discoveries and production infrastructure. Refer to the image below for an overview of the WA-450-P Olympus prospect.