North West Shelf

As the North West Shelf is a region in Western Australia called, are the large deposits of oil and gas in the northwest of Australia in the Pilbara region. In this area there are numerous oil and gas coming especially with offshore production platforms, drilling rigs, pipelines, production facilities and other associated buildings.

Location

The North West Shelf is located in the Indian Ocean between the North West Cape and the town of Dampier. Dampier is the most important settlement on the Shelf. The production areas are located offshore and subject to the supervision and jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Australia and Western Australia. The North West Shelf is divided into two production areas: the Thevenard Production Area, which adjoins the Onslow and in the Varanus Production Area, which is located west of Dampier. The gas - and oil-producing area around the Varanus Island was very well known in Australia as five gas liquefaction plants have came to this island by the explosion in a pipeline on fire and were destroyed. Then there was a months -lasting gas crisis in Western Australia.

Gas projects and Geology

The North West Shelf Natural Gas Development Project is a project that brings together the resources of the various gas fields in the region, but it is only part of the entire North West Shelf. This project mainly includes the Burrup Peninsula, Barrow Island, Varanus Island on the Lowendal Archipelago and other areas.

The North West Shelf is the most heavily exploited Erdas and oil reserves of all regions in Australia. It is part of the northern Carnarvonbeckens, a sedimentary basin, and only a part of the territory.