Petroleum

First exploration for oil in Western Australia took place in the Kimberley around 1919. However, it wasn't until the discovery of oil at Barrow Island in 1964/65 and the North West Shelf gas fields in 1971/72 that the energy industry began to expand in WA. Since then the petroleum industry has grown to be the single largest contributor to Western Australia's Gross Domestic Product.
Oil and gas deposits can be found onshore and offshore. Offshore drilling presents unique challenges due to ocean movement and depth. The oil and gas deposits are tapped using drill rigs or ships which can drill to a distance of 5 kilometres below the seabed and up to 8 kilometres from the platform.
Whilst most of the petroleum produced is used for fuel, other by-products of petroleum refining are used for raw materials such as asphalt and wax. The chemical industry relies on petroleum products for over 90% of the source material for thousands of chemical products such as plastics, refrigerants, dyes, fertilizers, detergents, medicines and paints.
With a production value increase of over $1.2 billion for the year, the petroleum group was worth over $16.7 billion in 2007

To download a copy of the Petroleum fact sheet click here.

Maps
Major Mineral and Petroleum Projects in Western Australia (530.84 KB .pdf)