Australia is a minor petroleum producer and importer, with a number of petroleum companies involved in upstream and downstream operations. Western Australia is the largest contributor to Australia's production of most petroleum products.

Historical context Kerosene was used extensively in the mid-nineteenth century and early twentieth century as a fuel for lighting homes and streets. With the advent of the motor car, crude oil came into demand as a fuel. By 1911 petrol surpassed kerosene in sales as the fuel for most vehicles.

Most petroleum consumed in Australia was imported but, between 1865 and 1952, various companies made a small proportion locally, from oil shale.

Deposits of coorangite, a resilient rubber-like organic-rich sediment derived from lacustrine algae, found in the Coorong, were mistaken for oil seepages, and led to abortive attempts to find oil in the area. Australia's first oil rig was erected there in 1866.

Between the 1920s and 1950s, Shell and the Vacuum Oil Company were selling petrol through single-brand service stations while Golden Fleece, Independent Oil Industry and Commonwealth Oil Refineries operated through multiple-brand stations. In 1936, William Walkley founded the Australian Motorists Petrol Company Limited (later Ampol) in response to Australians' concerns about perceived inequitable petrol pricing, and allegations of transfer pricing by foreign oil companies to limit their tax liabilities in Australia.

The first oil discovery in Australia was made near Lakes Entrance, Victoria in 1924. The West Australian Petroleum Pty Ltd (WAPET) joint venture discovered Australia's first flowing oil in November 1953, at Rough Range on the North West Cape. WAPET later discovered in 1964 the first commercial natural gas field in Western Australia, at Dongara in the Perth Basin.

In 1998, the Federal Government discontinued fuel price regulation. However, the Victorian and Western Australian state governments passed their own price control legislations in 2000.

Upstream Upstream activities typically include the exploration and appraisal, development and construction, and production of oil and gas. The sector in Australia is dominated by international companies including Apache, BHP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Santos, Shell and Woodside. Out of these, Apache, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and ExxonMobil have parent companies in the US, while BP and Shell have parent companies in Europe. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Santos and Woodside are based in Australia and are listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

Most onshore and offshore production licences are also issued to multiple parties such as joint ventures. For example, the North West Shelf Venture comprises BHP, BP, Chevron, Shell, Woodside and a 50:50 joint venture between Mitsubishi and Mitsui & Co, with each holding an equal one-sixth shareholding.

According to a 2009 report by the Productivity Commission, joint ventures are important in the petroleum industry, as they "facilitate risk sharing, and allow businesses to specialise and still accomplish the maximum development of a given field." Joint ventures also allow "smaller businesses to be involved in production without raising the large quantities of capital required to develop a field alone."

Reserves Over 80 per cent of Australia’s gas reserves and over 95 per cent of oil reserves are offshore, with reserves concentrated in the Bonaparte, Browse, Carnarvon and Gippsland basins.

Downstream After upstream activities, petroleum products are sold to downstream customers, such as oil refineries, gas retailers, and overseas markets.

Refineries Treated crude oil cannot be used as fuel but must be refined.

Until the 2000s, there were seven oil refineries: RefineryLocationOwnerCapacity (ML pa) (as of 2007)DecommissionedKwinana Oil RefineryPerth, WABP79602021Kurnell RefinerySydney, NSWCaltex Australia75402014Geelong Oil RefineryGeelong, VicShell Australia (later sold to Viva Energy)6380ActiveLytton Oil RefineryBrisbane, QldCaltex Australia6270ActiveBulwer Island RefineryBrisbane, QldBP51102015Clyde RefinerySydney, NSWShell Australia49302013Altona RefineryMelbourne, VicExxonMobil Australia45302021

There was also an eighth refinery, the Port Stanvac Refinery near Adelaide SA, which was mothballed by ExxonMobil Australia in 2003 and permanently closed in 2009. The main reason for the closure was that it was "one of the smallest refineries in the Asia–Pacific region", and "could not compete against larger regional refineries".

By December 2020, three of the above seven refineries had already closed, with the Altona (ExxonMobil), Geelong (Viva), Kwinana (BP) and Lytton (Ampol) refineries remaining operational. The Kurnell Refinery was closed in 2014 and was converted into a fuel import terminal.Caltex axes hundreds of jobs (ABC News, 26 July 2012)Kurnell Site Conversion Caltex Retrieved 22/12/2014

The Kwinana refinery closed in 2021, while the Altona refinery is in the final stages of closing down , with both refineries also being converted to fuel import terminals. This meant that from 2023, only the Geelong and Lytton refineries remain.

Marketing and distribution The retail downstream business is dominated by Ampol, which has 1,900 stores across the country . This also includes 540 stations which are co-branded and operated by EG Australia.

+Downstream petroleum retail companiesCompanyLocationsNumber of locations ()BrandsAmpolNationwide1,900AmpolEG AmpolBPNationwide1,400BPViva EnergyNationwide1,334ShellLiberty OilWestside7-Eleven561 (as of 2020)7-ElevenUnited PetroleumNationwide470 (as of 2026)UnitedAstronChevron340CaltexPuma (phasing out)Gull PetroleumExxonMobilAll states and territories except Tasmania and Northern Territory229MobilMetro PetroleumNew South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia232 (as of 2020)Metro PetroleumPeregrineSouth Australia and Victoria160OTR

References