Significant Discoveries and Reserves on the North-West Shelf (NWS) of Australia

Discovery      Field                         Gas                  Condensate    Oil
Date                Name                        Reserves       Reserves          Reserves
                                                            (TCF)              (MMBBL)           (MMBBL)
1964               Barrow Island               --                      --                        350+
1971               Scott Reef                   ~13                 ~130                    --
1971               North Rankin               ~11                 ~200                    --
1971               Goodwyn                     ~6                   ~350                   ~10+
1974               Sunrise/Troubadour   ~9                     300+                  --
1979               Brecknock                     7+                   100+                  --
1979               Scarborough                 4+                    --                       --
1980               Brewster                        10+                  --                       --
1981               Gorgon                           9+                    --                       --
1982               Woolybut                        --                      --                       ~20
1983               Harriet                            --                      --                       ~100
1983               Jabiru                             --                      --                      110+
1984               Challis/Cassini              --                      --                       50+
1985               Saladin                           --                      --                      100+
1988               Evans Shoal                 ~8                     --                       --
1989               Wanaea                          --                     --                       180+
1989               Griffin                              --                      --                      100+
1990               Cossack                         --                     --                       ~70
1990               Roller                              --                      --                       ~40
1992               Macedon                        1-                    --                         --
1993               Stag                                --                     --                        40+
1994               Bayu/Undan                   3+                   220+                  --       (&LPG)
1994/96         Chrysaor/Dionysus      2+/2-               20+/20-               --
1994               Laminaria                      --                      --                       ~120
1995               Perseus                         9+                    220+                 --
1996               Buffalo                            --                      --                       20+
1998               Vincent                           --                      --                       ~100
1999               Enfield                           --                      --                        60+
2000               Laverda                         --                      --                        60+

Comments

The initial exploration phase using conventional techniques discovered most of the large fields.

Direct hydrocarbon indicators (DHIs) are present in several fields, including:
Goodwyn, Scarborough, Gorgon, Dionysus and Vincent.

Only small or subtle prospects remain in the mature exploration areas.

The Perseus Field is a large stratigraphically trapped gas and condensate accumulation lying adjacent to the North Rankin and Goodwyn Fields. This subtle field was not proven until 1995, 24 years after the nearby structural traps were discovered.

The large Enfield and Laverda oil fields were recently discovered by Woodside Energy Ltd. These are examples of the subtle accumulations that can remain undiscovered by conventional exploration methods in mature regions.

Ongoing exploration success will require the effective application of new ideas and technologies.

"We usually find oil in new places with old ideas. Sometimes, also, we find oil in an old place with a new idea, but we seldom find much oil in an old place with an old idea."  Parke Dickey, 1958.