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Page Last Updated:
Monday, 7 April 2008 |
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| The Bass Strait oil and gas fields are situated roughly 20km from Sale and 220km east of Melbourne in Southern Victoria.
Natural gas was first discovered in 1965. Two years later oil was discovered leading to the first Bass Strait platform, Barracouta, commencing operations in 1969.
The crude oil field is still Australia's largest oil field. The oil and natural gas fields are owned by Esso Australia and BHP Billiton in a joint venture.
There are currently 18 offshore platforms and three sub sea developments in the Bass Strait, all connected by an underwater pipeline which maintains the constant flow of oil and gas.
The pipeline is linked to the Longford plant which encompasses three gas plants and one crude oil plant. The Longford plants produce products such as liquid petroleum gas (LPG), natural gas, and stabilised crude oil.
Bass Strait has produced over 3.8 billion barrels of oil and over 6.5 trillion cubic feet of gas. Production is roughly 140 thousand barrels of crude oil and approximately 570 million cubic feet of gas per day. Reserves of crude oil and natural gas are expected to last until at least 2030.
The oil and gas fields contribute greatly to the local and national economy, fuelling growth and industry development within Wellington and Australia. The Gippsland Basin’s gross output totals $4.3 billion with an investment of $6 million in exploration and infrastructure development.
The oil and gas industry has provided approximately 14 000 jobs for residents in Gippsland, with 3.7 per cent of Wellington Shire’s work force in the oil and gas industry.
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