What Is the Cooper Basin?

The Cooper Basin is a major onshore sedimentary basin located primarily in South Australia and southwestern Queensland. It is one of Australia’s most significant oil and gas producing regions, particularly for conventional oil and associated gas.

📍 Geographic scope:

Extends across parts of South Australia and Queensland
Roughly 130,000+ square kilometers of productive sedimentary rocks

Oil in the Cooper Basin

🛢 Strong Historical Production

The Cooper Basin has been one of Australia’s primary onshore oil-producing areas for decades.
It produces conventional crude oil rather than unconventional shale oil.

🛢 Production Characteristics

Much of the oil is found in sandstone reservoirs at depths commonly between ~1,000–3,000 meters.
Connected natural gas is often produced alongside crude oil.
Production is generally mature but still ongoing, with output declining from earlier peaks.

🛢 Key Crude Types

Relatively medium to light crude oils
Mixed benzene content depending on field and reservoir
Suitable for refining into transportation fuels and petrochemical feedstocks

Infrastructure & Processing

🛢 Drilling and Wells

Hundreds of wells have been drilled across the basin’s petroleum fields over several decades.
Production wells are connected by access roads and pipelines to facilities.

🛠 Oil Gathering & Processing

Fields have gathering stations where crude oil and associated gas are stabilized and processed.
Produced gas may be used for onsite power generation or supplied into regional pipelines.

🛢 Transport

Crude oil from the Cooper Basin is typically transported via pipelines or trucking to market or refining locations.
Gas is transported via pipeline networks to industrial users or export facilities.

Key Operators & Activity

Santos — one of the largest leaseholders and operators in the basin
Beach Energy — significant producer with numerous wells and fields
Origin Energy — active in both oil and gas production
Other independents — smaller entities operating under joint ventures

These operators engage in:

Exploration
Drilling and production
Field development planning
Resource optimization and enhanced recovery methods

Production Trends & Outlook

📉 Mature Basin

The Cooper Basin is a mature petroleum province — meaning many fields have been producing for decades.
Production has declined from earlier peaks but remains significant.

⚙️ Ongoing Investment

Operators continue to invest in:
- drilling new wells
- well workovers
- improved reservoir management
Natural gas remains an important portion of the basin’s output.

🛢 Role in National Supply

The basin contributes a steady share of Australia’s domestic oil supply.
While smaller than offshore basins in Western Australia, it remains crucial for onshore activity.

Relationship with Gas Production

The Cooper Basin is also one of Australia’s major natural gas provinces:

Gas produced with oil often supports onsite energy use
Conventional gas production is significant, with pipelines linking to eastern Australian markets

This dual oil-gas profile has made the basin central to domestic energy supply.

What are Tar Sands.

Tar sands — also called oil sands or bituminous sands — are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit where bitumen (a heavy, viscous form of crude oil) is mixed with sand, clay, and water.
Unlike conventional oil, the bitumen must be extracted and upgraded before refining.

Tar Sands in the Jordan Dead Sea Area

The Dead Sea region, especially around central and southern Jordan, has geological formations containing bitumen-rich sediments.
These are not globally large in comparison to major tar sand deposits like Canada’s Athabasca, but they represent a notable unconventional hydrocarbon occurrence in the Middle East.

The tar sands in this area were recognized through:

Geological surveys
Hydrocarbon exploration drilling
Geochemical analysis of sediments

These deposits are generally found in:

Sedimentary basins with organic-rich rocks
Layers of sandstone and shale containing bituminous material

Geological Setting

Dead Sea Rift and Sedimentary Basins

The Jordan Dead Sea region lies within the Dead Sea Rift System, a tectonic depression that influenced sediment deposition over millions of years.
Thick sequences of lacustrine (lake) and fluvial (river) sediments were deposited during geological history — some of which contain organic material that can generate hydrocarbons.
Tar sands occur in sandstone layers where the bitumen migrated and became trapped.

🧪 Types of Materials

Bitumen-rich sands (tar sands)
Kerogen-bearing rocks (possible oil shale)
Conventional hydrocarbon shows in some well logs

Exploration and Research History

📍 Early Geological Surveys

Starting in the mid-20th century, geological mapping and oil exploration in Jordan identified:
- Hydrocarbon shows in rocks
- Bitumen stains in sandstones
- Geochemical evidence of organic richness

🎯 1970s–1990s Exploration

Various oil and gas exploration efforts were conducted by:
- The Natural Resources Authority (NRA) of Jordan
- International exploration companies under license
Some drilling encountered heavy oil and bitumen, leading to interest in evaluating tar sands resources.

🧠 Resource Estimates

Resource assessments indicated potentially significant unconventional bitumen occurrences, but:
- Precise quantification has been limited
- Estimates vary based on method and data quality

Current Status

As of now, the Dead Sea tar sands in Jordan are not extensively developed commercially.
They are recognized primarily through geological exploration rather than large-scale production.
Most oil and gas operations in Jordan focus on:
- Conventional exploration
- Gas discoveries, particularly in eastern Jordan

However, the presence of tar sands remains of scientific and strategic interest.