The early to middle Permian Roseneath-Epsilon-Murteree (REM) strata of the Cooper Basin are considered the most feasible shale gas play in Australia. The sedimentary evolution of the fluvial-lacustrine REM strata is complex and previous studies on the facies architecture have been very few and rough in nature. A systematic, core-based sedimentological and sequence stratigraphic analysis from this study reveals a range of complex features and sheds new light on the depositional process. More than 1400-m cores from nine wells penetrating the REM strata have been described in detail to study the lithofacies, facies associations, and associated stacking patterns. Twelve lithofacies are identified and further categorized into eight facies associations: (1) open lacustrine, (2) lacustrine shoreface, (3) flood plain/interdistributary bay/channel fill, (4) distributary channel/fluvial channel, (5) crevasse channel/splay/natural levee, (6) distributary mouth bar, (7) prodelta, and (8) mire/swamp. The Roseneath and Murteree Shales were deposited in a widespread lake with dominant rhythmites and claystones whereas the Epsilon Formation was formed in a transitional environment with a mixture of fluvial, deltaic, shoreface and mire deposits. Sequence stratigraphic analysis of cores and wireline logs reveals that the REM strata were deposited within two 1st-order Transgressive-Regressive (T-R) cycles and can be further separated into four sequence units. Lower-order T-R cycles are also observed among these 1st-order cycles. This study provides a good analogue and/or a case for comparison with other shale-dominated gas plays around the world and a similar approach should help clarify their depositional process.

库珀盆地的早至中二叠纪Roseneath-Epsilon-Murteree（REM）地层被认为是澳大利亚最可行的页岩气气藏。河流—湖相REM地层的沉积演化是复杂的，并且以前关于相构造的研究很少而且本质上是粗糙的。来自这项研究的系统的，基于岩心的沉积学和层序地层分析揭示了一系列复杂的特征，并为沉积过程提供了新的思路。已经详细描述了穿过REM地层的9口井中1400多米的岩心，以研究岩相，相联系和相关的堆积模式。确定了十二个岩相，并将其进一步分为八个相协会：（1）开放的湖相，（2）湖相岸面，（3）平原/分流海湾/河道填充物，（4）分流河道/河道，（5）裂隙河道/张开/自然堤坝，（6）分流河口横杠，（7）三角洲和（8）泥潭/沼泽。Roseneath页岩和Murteree页岩沉积在一个宽广的湖泊中，该湖泊具有主要的节律和泥岩，而Epsilon组则是在过渡环境中形成的，河流，三角洲，岸面和泥潭混合在一起。岩心和电缆测井的层序地层学分析表明，REM地层沉积在两个一阶海侵-海退（TR）循环内，并且可以进一步分为四个层序单元。在这些一阶周期中也观察到了较低阶的TR周期。