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
10 June 2025
The bloc may find it very difficult to replicate Japan’s approach due to fundamental differences in policy and the markets
10 June 2025
Scapegoating foreign buyers will not solve country’s gas shortages
10 June 2025
US gasoline consumption is at its high level since before COVID, but while stocks remain healthy, the hurricane season threatens
10 June 2025
There has been a flourishing of non-governmental initiatives aimed at incentivising voluntary action on emissions over the past five years, and momentum is not slowing down.
