Esso Australia, The University of Sydney and Monash University will develop an "Atlas" that will allow geoscientists to visualise and better understand all components of a sedimentary basin as a single system, and illustrate changes that occur over time in these basins.

The three-year project will develop the "Thermo-Mechanical Interactive Atlas of Basin Evolution", which will compliment the existing, basin analysis models currently used by the oil and gas industry.

They will be able to analyse how a basin evolved through time, predict where oil and gas may have formed and where it may now be trapped in the geological strata.

The partners feel the project may increase the chances of exploration success especially in 'frontier' areas, such as deepwater, where little or no drilling has previously occurred.

"Our recent work in the deepwater Carnarvon Basin off northwest Western Australia led to the discovery of 'Jansz', the nation's largest ever gas discovery.

"We believe the results of this collaborative research project will further enhance our ability to be successful in frontier areas like the Carnarvon Basin," said ExxonMobil Australian Exploration Director Dr. Doug Schwebel.

Funding for the three-year project will be: ExxonMobil: $460,000, Australian Research Council: $474,000.