Western Australia’s basins have energy potential, including petroleum, geothermal energy, natural hydrogen, and for associated helium. They could also permanently store carbon dioxide and temporarily hold hydrocarbon gas or manufactured hydrogen underground.
Western Australia has five main basins with petroleum fields: the Northern Carnarvon, Browse, Bonaparte, Perth, and Canning Basins. The onshore Neoproterozoic and Phanerozoic basins cover just over 40% of the State's land area of around 2.5 million square kilometres. Most petroleum production comes from offshore fields along the North West Shelf, mainly in Commonwealth Waters. A small part of the Browse Basin near Scott Reef is managed by the State.
No helium or natural hydrogen has been discovered in commercial quantities. The basins interpreted to have the highest potential for these gases are the Canning, Officer and Perth Basins based on shows in historical petroleum wells.
As of January 2025, 14 geothermal exploration tenements have been granted or under application in the Perth, Canning and Carnarvon basins. Geothermal drilling and development activities have yet to be undertaken in Western Australia.
The Gorgon carbon capture and storage project is currently the only operating CO2 sequestration project within Western Australia. The project on Barrow Island has successfully injected CO2 into rocks of the Northern Carnarvon Basin since 2019.
Two abandoned gas fields, Tubridgi (in the Carnarvon Basin) and Mondarra (in the Perth Basin) now temporarily store gas which allows flexibility in supplying the southwest of the State.
Key areas for energy exploration
The most likely places for finding conventional oil and gas onshore and in nearby coastal waters include:
- Mesozoic rocks in the offshore Northern Carnarvon and Browse Basins
- Permian–Jurassic rocks in the northern Perth Basin
- Carboniferous, Permian, and Jurassic rocks in the Bonaparte Basin
- Ordovician–Permian rocks in the western Canning Basin.
Offshore basins have had much petroleum exploration and production, but with little focus on geothermal energy. Most geothermal exploration is onshore, while nearly all basins (onshore and offshore) have potential for storing carbon dioxide underground.
Energy potential of other basins
Some geologically older onshore basins, including the Amadeus, Murraba, and Officer Basins, have no discoveries of liquid and gaseous energy commodities, at least partly because they are remote and less explored. Other Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic basins have low potential for either hydrocarbons or associated resources due to factors like deep burial which decreases reservoir quality, low levels of organic material for oil and gas generation, and little or too much geological deformation to create or destroy structural traps.
Shale gas and shale oil potential
Wells have been drilled to explore for shale gas and shale oil in the northern Perth Basin and the Canning Basin, with testing including hydraulic fracturing (fracking). However, since September 2017, there has been a ban on hydraulic fracturing in the South West, Peel, and Perth Metropolitan areas. This ban was expanded to include the Dampier Peninsula, national parks, towns, and places near public drinking water sources. After a government review in 2017–18, fracking is only allowed in areas with permits issued before November 26, 2018.
Hydrogen and helium exploration
Some basins in Western Australia may have potential for natural hydrogen (H2) and helium (He) but has yet to be proven by specific exploration for these gases. In the past, high levels of He and H2 have been recorded in gas samples from the Perth Basin and northwest Canning Basin, suggesting possible future exploration opportunities.
