Great South Basin

Basin Summary

The Great South Basin is a large, prospective, little-explored basin with a thick sedimentary sequence, a range of source and reservoir facies, a sub-commercial discovery, and a proven petroleum system. There are large, relatively gentle structures and thick mudstone- and marl-dominated cover to seal them. Whether or not the basin hosts a significant oil and gas resource is still unknown.

• Great South Basin Fact File [1.1 MB PDF]
• Great South Basin Map [446 kB JPEG]
   

Key facts

Location An offshore basin of about 130,000 sq km near the southeast coast of the South Island. Geology The Great South Basin is a large, prospective, little-explored basin with a thick sedimentary sequence, a range of source and reservoir facies, a sub-commercial discovery, and a proven petroleum system. There are large, relatively gentle structures and thick mudstone- and marl-dominated cover to seal them. Whether or not the basin hosts a significant oil and gas resource is still unknown. Wells Seven wells drilled in main basin and one at the northern margin (late 1970s to early 1980s).

Hydrocarbons

Sub-commercial gas-condensate discovery in Kawau-1A; shows in three other wells; oil seep at Stewart Island.

Prospects

Numerous undrilled structures with targets of Cretaceous, Paleogene and Neogene ages.

Source rocks

Cretaceous coal-bearing units; Late Cretaceous and Paleogene marine shales, including Waipawa Formation.

Reservoir rocks

Cretaceous to Eocene fluvio-deltaic and transgressive marine sandstones; Paleogene turbidite sandstones.

Port facilities

South Port
www.southport.co.nz

Port of Otago
www.portotago.co.nz

• New Zealand Infrastructure and Port Facilities [1.25 MB PDF]
   

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