Regional Geology of the Bight Basin

The Bight Basin formed during the break-up of eastern Gondwana in the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous. It extends for ~2000 km along the Australian southern margin (Figure 1) and comprises a series of extensional depocentres. No significant hydrocarbons have been found in the basin, which remains Australia’s largest exploration frontier. Renewed exploration activity is currently focused on the Ceduna Sub-basin in the eastern Bight Basin, which hosts a large deltaic system in which oil-prone source rocks have been identified.