Australia’s Dorado: A black gold bonanza
After three decades without sizable discoveries, Western Australia is now the country’s most exciting exploration province
Australia's largest oil find in three decades reportedly came about by accident. Perth-based mid-cap explorer Carnarvon Petroleum was looking to prove the size of its Phoenix South gas resource when it stumbled upon a vast oil find in shallow water close to shore. Located in the Bedout Sub-basin, some 100km (62 miles) off the coast just north of Karratha, the Dorado field is estimated to hold an initial 171m barrels of oil and 16m barrels of condensate, a 2C liquids total of 186m barrels. This is well above the average discovery size of 60m barrels in the North West Shelf (NWS). Dorado is also estimated to hold 552bn cubic feet (2C) of gas, giving a total volume of oil equivalent at 283m bar
Also in this section
3 April 2025
Gas use in India has seen significant growth over the past year and looks set to accelerate further, even if the government’s 2030 goal remains a stretch
3 April 2025
IOCs and Western lenders are reluctant to commit to new oil and gas projects in African frontier countries
2 April 2025
The often-hidden yet powerful hand maintains supply chain linkages and global flows amid disruptions
2 April 2025
At some point it is likely that $70/bl will be quietly accepted as the producer-consumer sweet spot for a US administration having to balance both sides of the ledger
