Early History
The earliest petroleum-related activity in the state was in 1902, with the first oil exploration well drilled near the Warren River area in the southwest. Traces of oil were found in a bore near Fitzroy Crossing in 1919. Formal exploration in Western Australia started in 1946, when the Australian Motorists Petrol Company (AMPOL) commenced an exploration programme, using the services of the Bureau of Mineral Resources (BMR) which had been set up by the Australian government in the same year to conduct survey work. In the following year, AMPOL were awarded the first two exploration permits in Western Australia near Exmouth.
Large-scale surveys were conducted in the Canning Basin in 1947, and in the same year, Ampol secured exploration permits for the Exmouth region. Ampol formed a joint venture with Standard Oil of California. The new company was called West Australian Petroleum (WAPET), and drilled its first well at Rough Range in 1953. This well produced at a rate of 550 barrels per day (87 m3/d), and was probably the commencement of Australia's commercial petroleum industry. In the following year, WAPET geologists conducted a basic survey of Barrow Island. They were the first civilians to visit the area since British atomic testing on the nearby Monte Bello Islands. The company achieved major commercial success with a large discovery on the island in 1964, which was followed by a large scale operation which continues to this day.
In 1966, WAPET discovered WA's first commercial quantities of natural gas near Dongara. Construction of the state's first gas pipeline was completed in 1971. The pipeline transported gas from Dongara to Perth, Kwinana and Pinjarra. Originally known as the WANG Pipeline (after WA Natural Gas Pty Ltd which was a WAPET subsidiary), it is still in operation and now known as the Parmelia Pipeline. Woodside received its first permits to explore the Carnarvon basin in 1963. The 1971 gas/condensate discoveries by the BOCAL consortium at Scott Reef, North Rankin and Goodwyn were followed by a further gas/condensate discovery at Angel in 1972.
Read more about this topic: Petroleum Industry In Western Australia
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