The Sydney Basin regional geological synthesis study with 4-D model will be released for general purchase on October 18.

The results have already been released to sponsors, among them Xstrata Coal, Anglo Coal Australia, Excel Coal, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Centennial Coal, Whitehaven Coal, Sydney Gas and the CSIRO Petroleum Division.

The project follows on from an initial study for the Basin completed in 2003.

SRK said the primary strength of the study had been the collation and integration of a range of disparate data sets, relevant to regional and local scale geological risk studies.

The study brings together new data from contributing companies and public domain sources.

“The SRK study has added value to our geological understanding of the Basin by compiling a number of information and data sets into a single workspace that can readily be analysed,” SRK principal consultant Dr Stuart Munroe said.

“It contains a series of geological and structural interpretive layers and provides the data that these have been derived from as a check for future work.

“At the same time, the study also potentially adds interest to the Basin, by making the data and analyses accessible to industry.

“For example, the coal and gas exploration sectors now have a more integrated, leading edge analysis tool for ongoing exploration, mine planning, hydrocarbon reservoir analysis and more general geological-based risk studies,” Munroe said.

The product includes the first 3-D view of the basins as well as an interpretation of the underlying geology and structure (or basement) that provided the foundation onto which the sediments were deposited.

SRK has divided the Basin into four areas that broadly coincide with the four main coalfield areas. Buyers have the choice of acquiring datasets for one or more of the modules.