An integrated ichnological and sedimentological comparison of non-deltaic shoreface and subaqueous delta deposits in Permian reservoir units of Australia

Abstract Permian sequences in the Denison Trough of Queensland, eastern Australia, are productive conventional gas reservoirs. Previous attempts to interpret the reservoir bodies in terms of depositional environments have relied largely on sedimentary facies analysis and palynology. Sequences have been re-evaluated from a detailed, integrated ichnological and sedimentological perspective, resulting in a significant increase in the precision and resolution of the palaeoenvironmental interpretation. Various marine, coastal and upper delta plain deposits are recognized. Ichnological signatures have facilitated the differentiation of subaqueous delta deposits from those deposited in non-deltaic offshore and shoreface environments. Delta front facies are further subdivided by integrating ichnological and sedimentological data. Permian offshore and shoreface successions in the Denison Trough contain ichnological signatures that exhibit high diversities (25 ichnogenera comprising 32 ichnospecies), moderate to intense levels of bioturbation, uniformity of burrowing, and a wide variety of structures representing specialized feeding strategies. Examples from an additional reservoir dataset, the Tern Formation from the offshore Bonaparte Basin in north Western Australia, also clearly demonstrate the ichnological complexity of Permian shoreface successions. In contrast, Permian deltaic deposits contain ichnological signatures that reflect stressed environmental conditions. Assemblage diversity is reduced (16 ichnospecies), bioturbation intensity is significantly reduced, and uniformity of burrowing is sporadic.