6a4c6053-edcb-4892-8c13-22b893724ebb urn:uuid eng UTF-8 nonGeographicDataset nonGeographicDataset 2025-10-17T05:20:08 creation ISO 19115 2016 First Acreage Release in Frontier Mentelle Basin 6a4c6053-edcb-4892-8c13-22b893724ebb In 2010 the Australian Government offered for the first time a large exploration block for acreage release in the frontier Mentelle Basin. This large sedimentary basin (36, 000 m2) is located about 150 km to the west of Cape Leeuwin. It lies beneath the continental slope off the Yallingup Shelf and the Naturaliste Though, a bathymetric saddle, separating the Australian margin from the Naturaliste Plateau. Water depths range from 500-1500 on the continental slope to almost 4000 m in the central part of the Naturaliste Trough. To enable petroleum prospectivity assessment of this frontier basin in 2008-09 Geoscience Australia acquired 2570 km of industry standard seismic, as well as gravity and magnetic data during the Southwest Margins seismic survey 310. Interpretation of the new seismic data resulted in mapping of the main structures and supersequences and led to a better undertsanding of the Mentelle Basin geology. Petroleum prospectivity assessment of the Mentelle Basin confirmed that the Mentelle Basin has a significant potential to become a new petroleum province. The work undertaken by Geoscience Australia team suggests that the Mentelle Basin has at least one active petroleum system. The basin is likely to contain multiple source rock intervals associated with coals and carbonaceous shales, as well as regionally extensive reservoirs and seals within fluvial, lacustrine and marine strata. A wide range of play types have been identified in the Mentelle Basin, including faulted anticlines and highside fault blocks, sub-basalt anticlines and fault blocks, drape and forced fold plays, and a large range of stratigraphic and unconformity plays. AUSGeo News Article Earth Sciences GA Publication Published_External continental margins hydrocarbons prospectivity sedimentary basins Related Product documentDigital View the online article First acreage release in frontier Mentelle Basin [AusGeoNews 98, 12-15 HTML Unnamed resource documentDigital HTML