Publication Name: The Cooper & Eromanga Basins Australia
Authors: R.W. Branson
Date Published: June 1989
Number of Pages: 17
Reference Type: Book Section
Abstract:
The Cooper and Eromanga Basins' status today as Australia's most prospective onshore field has been achieved to a large extent by the commercial and industrial infrastructure established by the Cooper Basin Producers.The Basins' development had four identifiable 'spurts' arising from the contracts to supply gas to Adelaide and Sydney, the liquids project and the discovery of oil at Jackson. The development of the Basins has involved more
than $4 billion of investment (in 1988 dollars) over the last twenty years.
The region's development has been heavily influenced by oil prices. The higher prices of the late 1970s and early
1980s encouraged participation in the massive liquids project: the more severe conditions recently have dictated more modest development.
Notwithstanding the poor prices, exploration and development driven by the financial inertia of the existing infrastructure are continuing. In the future, the wider use of enhanced oil recovery techniques and the development of the south-west Queensland gas fields will be important.
The perennial issue of a petro-chemical plant remains: it is technically feasible but is contingent upon complex
economic considerations.