In 1965, gas was discovered in the Barracouta field, in the hostile waters of Bass Strait, south east of Victoria, and in 1967 oil was found in the Kingfish and Halibut fields. These discoveries transformed Australia's oil supply situation from one of almost complete dependence on imports to one of substantial self-sufficiency.
For more than thirty years, Bass Strait became Australia's premier oil and gas production area, supplying the nation with more than four billion barrels of oil and over four trillion cubic feet of gas.
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