OTWAY BASIN
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
The Otway Basin is approximately 500km long from Cape Jaffa in South Australia to north-west Tasmania, covering both onshore and offshore.
Beach Energy is the permit holder of Petroleum Production License 62 (PPL62) where it operates the Katnook Gas Processing Facility, just south of Penola.
Beach’s operations in the South Australian Otway Basin have been supported by grants from the South Australian Government’s PACE scheme, and the Commonwealth Government’s GAP scheme – both with objectives to bring new gas into the local energy market.

Otway Basin South AUstralia
GEOLOGY OF THE OTWAY BASIN
The Otway Basin is a northwest-striking, rifted passive continental margin located along the southern margin of the Australian continent. It forms part of the Australian Southern Rift System, a zone that has resulted from Jurassic-Tertiary rifting and break-up between the Australian and Antarctic plates.
In the onshore portion of the Otway Basin, five major depocentres related to rifting events have been identified including the Robe, Penola, Tantanoola, St Clair and Rivoli Troughs. These geological provinces are filled (up to 5km deep) with thick sediments of the Crayfish Group – a package of sedimentological rock sequences deposited over millions of years.
The Penola Trough, where Beach Energy holds the majority of its exploration licenses in the South East has been explored for hydrocarbons for over 100 years. Hydrocarbons are generated in the Casterton Formation, and have migrated over time into the reservoirs of the Sawpit and Pretty Hill Sandstones, which have been the main reservoir targets for oil and gas exploration and production.
Further information
To learn more about Beach’s operations in the South Australian Otway Basin, contact our Community Relations team:
Community Relations team
community@beachenergy.com.au
Ph: 1800 797 011
For more information on the petroleum industry regulatory processes in South Australia please visit: