Unlocking Australia’s oil future—exploration to exploitation*

Abstract

Since 2000 Australia has ceased to be self-sufficient in terms of oil production and petroleum demand. As a net importer of crude oil it is expected that imports will continue to fulfil a growing percentage of the country’s liquid petroleum needs. Analysts are predicting a decline in oil production over the next decade with current producing fields and discovered resources failing to fill the gap created by rising consumption. In an increasingly gas focussed industry, oil is competing with both liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal seam gas (CSG) projects for investment. As one of the top 20 oil consumers in the world, Australia’s growing demand for petroleum liquids continues to highlight the declining domestic supply.

This poster will identify and review the various components that will play a role in arresting the predicted decline curve. Exploration success in frontier basins is crucial along with the development of discovered resources in mature regions. In addition, future near-field and satellite exploration, with developments using existing infrastructure, will be instrumental in the stabilisation of oil production. This poster will also highlight planned high-impact exploration wells and examine the effect that potential discoveries could have on the country’s petroleum resources.

Australia’s oil future could see a reduced dependence on imported crude, resulting from frontier exploration success opening up new oil provinces. Future options for oil production also include a re-evaluation of oil prone regions using new technology to develop discovered reserves and target higher risk and overlooked plays.