Australia Sitting On Oil Basin Worth $20 Trillion Dollars

[Gahars]

Yeah, $20 trillion dollars. With a "t", as in "Trust me, that's a lot of oil."

So, Australia. To many, this former British penal colony is just the home of Crocodile Dundee, the Crocodile Hunter, Mad Max, and Vegemite.

However, it looks like "massive oil reserves" may soon join that list.

Brisbane company Linc Energy yesterday released two reports, based on drilling and seismic exploration, estimating the amount of oil in the as yet untapped Arckaringa Basin surrounding Coober Pedy ranging from 3.5 billion to 233 billion barrels of oil.

At the higher end, this would be "several times bigger than all of the oil in Australia", Linc managing director Peter Bond said.

This has the potential to turn Australia from an oil importer to an oil exporter.

News


It seems like Men at Work might have to rework their lyrics a bit...

Spoiler

"Do you come from a land down under?
Where oil flows and men plunder.
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover."

Now, it's worth pointing out that the exact amount of oil here is unknown; we can only go on speculation at this point. That $20 trillion is on the higher end of predictions, but even the low predications call for a nice amount of money. Either way, Australia is looking at a nice chunk of change; this could really be a Shale Mary pass for their economy.

So, say goodbye to "Texas Tea" everyone - it's "Brisbane Brew" now.

 

[PolloDiablo]

suddenly,...Australia is full of terrorists, weapons of mass destruction and it's a major threat to the whole universe

 

[Valwin]

good less middle east oil the better

 

[shakirmoledina]

they have to shift from iron to oil now? they will need to setup more oil rigs and equipments.
it's gonna take at least an year to pump up that much money

 

[Count Duckula]

It's certainly good news in terms of energy independence, but the headlines are a little 'optimistic' shall we say. Sensationalism sells papers/gets page hits/etc.

"Coober Pedy has between 3.5 billion and 233 billion barrels of oil"
It's quite a range there, with the 20 Trillion figure based on the latter. You have to note that these figures and hype are coming from energy companies currently looking for a fair bit of investment capital.

 

[dickfour]

That kind of blows the peak oil theory out of the water. As things stand now the world has at least 1000years worth of carbon based energy. That's funny because in the 1930's there was a report that said we'd run out of oil by the 1960's. Looks like we'll outgrow these forms of energy before we run out. I for one am in no rush to adopt inefficient and expensive wind and solar

 

[FAST6191]

@NahuelDS Australia has massive Uranium deposits, a rather long and storied history with Nuclear technology and more importantly have you seen the wildlife?

"Shale Mary"
I am trying to decide if that is incredibly forced, a welcome science/technology pun or something else entirely.... good job.

As for the matter at hand it is an interesting development. Wonder how long it will be until I get job agencies trying to get me and mine to go over there again (they had mostly eased off the Australia front for the last few years).

 

[naved.islam14]

Time to add this to their tourism ad: "Come and see the wonder of oil being dug up!" I can also see the kangaroos jumping over the oil.

 

[Psionic Roshambo]

Good so gas prices will go down like 2-3 pennies on the gallon... lol

 

[Deleted User]

And yet we still have to pay $100 for a game.

 

[redact]

petrol will still be $1.50 a liter... :/

 

[porkiewpyne]

Good so gas prices will go down like 2-3 pennies on the gallon... lol

Hahah knowing Aus, you'll prob have to pay even more when it becomes the main source of oil DX

 

[Arras]

Hahah knowing Aus, you'll prob have to pay even more when it becomes the main source of oil DX

"Gasoline made from actual Australian oil which is obviously much better for reasons we cannot reveal to the public! Now just 10 cents more expensive per liter!"

 

[gifi4]

petrol will still be $1.50 a liter... :/

One could say that you are actually American.

 

[Wizerzak]

petrol will still be $1.50 a liter... :/

That's cheap, you should be grateful. :L

 

[porkiewpyne]

"Gasoline made from actual Australian oil which is obviously much better for reasons we cannot reveal to the public! Now just 10 cents more expensive per liter!"

More like, "We're charging more just like our video games. Why? COS WE CAN LOLOLOLOL" True story. TT^TT

 

[Deleted member 318366]

suddenly,...Australia is full of terrorists, weapons of mass destruction and it's a major threat to the whole universe

All those problems they have and the UK has the time to make fun of the US debt crisis and wondering why/how we cant manage to agree on anything in congress, washington, such etc. lol whole world is nuts right now.

 

[Taleweaver]

Good job, double-O...I mean: mr. Bond.

(Christ, am I really the first one to make the obvious pun here?)

Still...I know it's not that easy to predict how much oil is underneath the surface there, but "something between 3.5 and 255 billion barrels" is a VERY wide range.

We'll see how things develop, but to be honest, I think it'll be good news for Aussies at best.

 

[YayMii]

One could say that you are actually American.

But Americans measure gasoline in gallons

 

[Engert]

Suddenly on the news. U.S. ship attacked by unknown Australian terrorists. U.S. prepares war plan.