MATURATION PATTERNS IN THE PERTH BASIN

Vitrinite reflectance data from wells drilled in the Perth Basin show that major variations exist in the pattern of rank distribution within the basin. Generally, rank gradients are low and near linear, but some wells show curvature of the rank profile in the Early Jurassic and Triassic parts of their sections. Curvature of the rank profile is generally associated with a shallow depth to basement, but the presence of very high ranks in parts of the Permian section on the Beagle Ridge suggests that a Permian to Jurassic thermal event associated with local igneous activity or the initiation of rifting, or both, may also be a controlling factor. Low, linear rank gradients from parts of the basin such as the Bunbury Trough and the thick Upper Jurassic sections of some of the deeper sub-basins are taken to indicate that low geothermal gradients have operated since the Permian,in the former instance and certainly since the Jurassic in the latter. Such conditions imply slow generation of hydrocarbons. Higher geothermal gradients and rank gradients in parts of the basin as in the north Dandaragan Trough and Vlaming Sub-basin imply enhanced hydrocarbon generation, particularly as calculated palaeotemperatures indicate that the advent of higher geothermal gradients is likely to have been relatively recent. Potential source rocks occur throughout the basin and provided that suitable structural and reservoir conditions can be delineated, the prospects of discovering more commercial hydrocarbon deposits are high.