While we'll continue to tap resources in the established oil provinces, such as the North West Shelf, any new exploration finds in these areas are likely to be too small to replace the oil that is currently produced. Australia has some 40 offshore basins that display signs of petroleum potential. About half of these basins are unexplored. Only by encouraging exploration in these frontier area can Australia hope to maximise our chances of finding a new, large oil province. In the paper, Dr Powell states that relative to its needs over the last 30 years, Australia has enjoyed a high level of petroleum production from Bass Strait and offshore northwest Australia.
Gas reserves are also very high.
Remaining crude oil reserves have remained relatively constant over the last decade, but the proportion represented by smaller fields discovered off northwest Australia has continued to grow as Bass Strait reserves have been produced. Although crude oil production is currently at record levels, it is expected to decline in the medium term. Crude oil discoveries currently being made, and those projected to be made in the near future, are not large enough to sustain current rates of production. Although condensate production is expected to increase, the rate of increase is constrained by the development timetable for the associated gas reserves. The anticipated growth in condensate production will not be sufficient to replace declining oil production.