The Gunnedah Basin New South Wales

Abstract

The Gunnedah Basin is known to contain substantial energy resources. These energy resources may be used to augment future energy supplies in New South Wales, particularly coal. Additionally, the basin has potential for petroleum discoveries and the establishment of a coal seam methane extraction industry. Active exploration is underway. A coal industry is already established in the Gunnedah region on the eastern side of the basin and a number of other large coal projects are close to commitment for development. The Department of Mineral Resources has made a multi-million dollar investment in the evaluation of the Gunnedah Basin over the last decade, through regional coal exploration, individual deposit evaluation, sedimentary studies and basin analysis. The coal industry and petroleum exploration companies have also generated significant information. As a result a large volume of data has accumulated. The Gunnedah Basin Memoir brings under one cover the current knowledge of the basin. It contains a wealth of information ranging from basic data to interpretation and application of modem basin analysis techniques. The Memoir will form a valuable source of information for research workers on the basin's tectonic, stmctural and depositional history and to industry on the fossil fuel resources in the basin. Looking to the future, the Memoir will form the foundation stone for workers in industry, for explorers and research workers. The models presented in the Memoir have been tested and proved to be extremely useful in exploration and resource evaluation.