Australian petroleum provinces of the 21st century

The Australian hydrocarbon exploration effort dates back to the 19th century but it was not until well into the 20th Century that the first commercial field was discovered (Moonie, 1962). The cumulative result of only some 3500 exploration wells drilled in 40 different basins within Australia has resulted in the discovery of an estimated 10.8 billion bbls of liquids (oil, condensate and LPG) and 112 tcf of gas reserves. The majority of these hydrocarbon reserves ( approximately 70%) are within the Gippsland, Cooper/Eromanga and the Carnarvon, Browse and Bonaparte basins of the Northwest Shelf. The Cooper/Eromanga and Gippsland Basins are mature exploration provinces with modest future exploration potential, but the massive discovered and undeveloped reserves within the major gas fields along the NW Shelf will be developed (principally for LNG export) and fuel adjacent exploration activity well into the 21st Century. The NW Shelf still has significant potential for further major discoveries as demonstrated by its undrilled identified prospectivity. Other basins which offer the potential to develop into significant petroleum provinces in the 21st Century include the basins of the Great Australian Bight and the Lord Howe Rise which have been largely overlooked during the 20th Century due to the then perceived excessive water depths and relatively isolated locations. These areas offer some of the best potential for undiscovered oil provinces and are the focus of current and future gazettal round opportunities.