Most of Australia's oil is produced on the North West Shelf, some distance from domestic east coast refining capacity. In addition, domestically produced grades of crude oil are generally not suited for local refineries compared to other internationally sourced oil.
Current sanctions
Australia has prohibited the import, purchase or transport of Russian oil, gas, refined petroleum products and coal since 25 April 2022.
Australia Imports from Saudi Arabia of Crude Oil was US$152.99 Million during 2012, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. Australia Imports from Saudi Arabia of Crude Oil - data, historical chart and statistics - was last updated on May of 2023.
Australia offers none of the capital or operating cost benefits available in many developing countries. Compared to refineries across Asia, Australian refineries suffer from substantial disadvantages in operating and capital costs that preclude Australia from consideration for major new refinery projects.
Australia has about 0.3 per cent of the world oil reserves. Most of Australia's known remaining oil resources are condensate and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) associated with giant offshore gas fields in the Browse, Carnarvon and Bonaparte basins.
A growing gap between domestic consumption and production has made Australia's dependence on oil imports increase. Therefore, despite having its own oil reserves and exporting some petroleum liquids, Australia is a net importer of crude oil and refined petroleum products.
Oil Reserves in Australia
Australia has proven reserves equivalent to 2.9 times its annual consumption. This means that, without imports, there would be about 3 years of oil left (at current consumption levels and excluding unproven reserves).
The remaining oil volumes were produced from fields in the Gippsland and the Cooper basins, in south-eastern Australia. Australia has significant undiscovered unconventional oil resources potential, including shale oil, tight oil, basin centred oil and oil shale.
Drilling for oil in the Great Australian Bight would be disastrous for marine life and the local community. The Great Australian Bight is home to a unique array of marine life. More than 85% of species in this remote stretch of rocky coastline are not found anywhere else in the world.
Australia is almost entirely reliant on overseas imports for its fuel. Although we do produce some crude oil here, around 350 barrels a day at last count, much of this is exported. Around 90% of what Australian refineries use to convert crude oil into petrol, diesel, LPG and other fuels is imported.
“International benchmark prices and the value of the Australian dollar have the most influence on the price consumers pay for fuel,” the ACCC said on its website. “Pricing decisions by wholesalers and retailers, and levels of competition in different locations [also] influence fuel prices.”
Australia's 2P reserves of conventional oil resources in 2019 are estimated as 10,263 petajoules (PJ; 1,803 million barrels [MMbbl]). At 2019 production rates, this is the equivalent of about 14 years of remaining conventional oil reserves.
In 2021, Australia imported $19.6B in Refined Petroleum, mainly from Singapore ($6.57B), South Korea ($3.32B), India ($2.62B), Malaysia ($2.56B), and China ($1.25B).
Australia is the dominant exporter of iron ore, but Russia is also a significant producer. Russia is a much larger exporter of oil than Australia, and both countries are important sources of nickel, aluminium, copper, lead, zinc and gold. In agriculture, the two nations compete in the wheat and barley markets.
Australia Imports from Ukraine of Petroleum Oils, Oils Obtained from Bituminous Minerals - data, historical chart and statistics - was last updated on April of 2023.
Russia-Australia In 2021, Russia exported $295M to Australia. The main products that Russia exported to Australia are Wood Carpentry ($59.7M), Nitrogenous Fertilizers ($50M), and Crude Petroleum ($39.6M).
While it may never technically run out, it will become so scarce at some point that it will be, effectively, depleted. While we can never know when that day may come, it is prudent that many industries explore methods of replacing crude oil-based raw materials before they are forced to.
In Australia, nearly 90 per cent of our petroleum wealth is found offshore.
Basic Info. Australia Oil Rig Count is at a current level of 4.00, unchanged from 4.00 last month and down from 5.00 one year ago. This is a change of 0.00% from last month and -20.00% from one year ago.
Australia's solar radiation per year is around 10,000 times larger than our total energy consumption. If these resources are exploited, Australia can become energy self-sufficient and, at the same time, reduce its vulnerability to energy supply disruptions, such as from international conflicts.
Venezuela has the largest amount of oil reserves in the world with more than 300 billion barrels in reserve. Saudi Arabia has the second-largest amount of oil reserves in the world with 297.5 billion barrels. Despite Venezuela's massive supply of natural resources, the country still struggles economically.
There has been oil and gas activity in New Zealand for more than 150 years.
Today, at least 3 billion barrels per day are produced from deepwater/ultra deepwater operations. Current record for deepest water depth for an offshore oil rig is approximately 3,400 metres under water. For comparison, Exxon's newly-approved offshore well in Victoria is only about 2,300 meters under water.
Antarctica has no known mineral deposits or oil reserves, although minor occurrences of minerals have been identified from across the continent, and oil has been suggested to lie offshore.