Carnarvon Basin
Encyclopedia
The Carnarvon Basin is a geological basin
located in the north west
of Western Australia
. This is the main geological feature that makes up the North West Shelf
The onshore part of the Carnarvon Basin covers about 115,000 km² and the offshore part covers approximately 535,000 km² with water depths up to 3,500 metres
It is separated into two major areas - the Northern Carnarvon Basin, and the Southern Carnarvon Basin.
The main sub-basins for petroleum exploration in the basin have been Dampier, Exmouth and Barrow
Sedimentary basin
The term sedimentary basin is used to refer to any geographical feature exhibiting subsidence and consequent infilling by sedimentation. As the sediments are buried, they are subjected to increasing pressure and begin the process of lithification...
located in the north west
North West Australia
The terms North West Australia, The North West and North Western Australia have been used as a regular label for the region of the North of Western Australia and the West of the Northern Territory.- Early 20th century gold rush:...
of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. This is the main geological feature that makes up the North West Shelf
North West Shelf
The North West Shelf of Western Australia is an extensive oil and gas region off the North West Australia coast in the Pilbara region.It has a considerable number of oil and gas wells, pipelines, production areas and support facilities.- Location :...
The onshore part of the Carnarvon Basin covers about 115,000 km² and the offshore part covers approximately 535,000 km² with water depths up to 3,500 metres
It is separated into two major areas - the Northern Carnarvon Basin, and the Southern Carnarvon Basin.
Northern Carnarvon Basin
The Northern Carnarvon Basin includes the Exmouth Plateau, Wombat Plateau (on the northern part of the Exmouth Plateau), Investigator Sub-basin, Rankin Platform, Exmouth Sub-basin, Barrow Sub-basin, Dampier Sub-basin, Beagle Sub-basin, Enderby Terrace, Peedamullah Shelf and the Lambert Shelf.The main sub-basins for petroleum exploration in the basin have been Dampier, Exmouth and Barrow
Southern Carnarvon Basin
The Southern basin consists of the Gascoyne, Merlinleigh, Bidgemia and Byro Sub-basins and Bernier Platform and is flanked to the east by the Archaean Pilbara Block. <Further reading
- Jonasson, Karina E.(2001) Western Australia atlas of petroleum fields. Volume 2. Perth, W.A. Dept. of Minerals and Energy W.A. Petroleum Division. ISBN 1877065005