http://www.misa.net.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/134803/203918_...

http://www.misa.net.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/134803/203918_007_web_shalegas.pdf

Potential shale gas bearing basins in South Australia are primarily dominated by thermogenic play types and span the Neoproterozoicto Cretaceous.

Whilst several companies (Beach Energy, Santos & Stuart Petroleum) have only recently commenced exploring for shale gas in the Permian Cooper Basin, strong gas shows have been routinely observed and recorded in thick shale since exploration commenced in the basin in 1959.

Outside the Cooper Basin, thick shale sequences within the Crayfish Subgroup of the Otway Basin, in particular the Upper and Lower Sawpit shales and to a lesser extent the Laira Formation, have good shale gas potential in the deeper portions of the basin. TOC averages up to 3% are recorded in these shales in the Penola Trough, and maturities in the range of 1.3 to 1.5% have been modelled.

Thick Permian marine shales of the Arckaringa Basin have excellent source rock characteristics, with TOC’s ranging 4.1 – 7.4% and averaging 5.2% over an interval exceeding 150m in the Phillipson Trough. However these Type II source rocks are not sufficiently mature for gas generation any where in the Arckaringa Baisn.
Shale gas has the potential to rival CSG in eastern Australia, and its potential is now being explored in South Australia.