Australia’s longest single continuous onshore seismic line has been completed in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, running 872km from Kiwirrkurra to Marble Bar. The survey of the Kidson Sub-basin took 52 days and involved 40 crew, a convoy of three vibrator (Vibroseis) trucks and associated back-up vehicles. 

The survey was conducted by the WA Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety’s Geological Survey of WA (GSWA) and Geoscience Australia to identify the deep geological structures of the region and boost resource exploration investment in WA. 

The $4.75 million survey was co-funded by the Australian Government’s $100.5 million Exploring for the Future program and Western Australia’s Exploration Incentive Scheme. 

The raw data, acquired by the survey, will be processed and Geoscience Australia plans to release the results at the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association’s annual Oil and Gas conference in Brisbane in May 2019. 

A crucial part of the survey was stakeholder engagement, particularly with the remote Kiwirrkurra, Kunawarritji and Punmu Aboriginal communities.