The Australian Oil Strike

WI vast reserves of oil are found in the Australian outback in the early 20th century? Would that tip the balance of power away from the future creation of OPEC, and/or change the way that the West looks at oil? What would be the consequences for Australia, for example during the two world wars?

NB: I didn't want to get too precise in regards to the amount of oil found in Australia because I didn't want this to be written off as ASB. Let's just say that it's enough to rival some of the lesser OPEC countries?
 
It depends where and when. Most of the outback is almost inaccessable and much was unexplored by non-aboriginal people until well into the 1920's and 30s. You cannot carry oil out by camel train so you need to build roads, rail or pipes. The rail link between Adelaide and Darwin was only completed relatively recently. The Overland Telegraph Line shows it could be done but at a very large cost.

Australia's development was severely retarded because of WWI and the absence during that conflict of an extremely large percentage of the adult male population, many of whom would have had the skills necessary to contruct the infrastructure required to exploit any find, meant that any discovery would have little to no impact until the middle of the 1920s. What was the price of oil then? Would it be economically viable?
 
I don't think that oil discoveries in the outback would really kick in until after the war. They would make Australia rich but not effect the rest of the world too much.
 
?How do whe knew there isn't any?,
Antarctica has Coal and Natural Gas, And Australia used to be part of Antarctica.
And Papua New Guinea, part of the same Plate has Natural Gas.

So I clicked on the CIA factbook and [low & behold] It does.

So whe are talking a earlier discovery of More than OTL's.

If before the 30's, it will be like the US, More than enuff for domestic use, with some to export.
Then during WW2 Australia wouldn't have to import, allowing a quicker and more sustained response to Japanese Indonesia.

If during the 30's, the depression may prevent the building of the necessary refineries, till after the War.

However unless the strike is extremely large, I doubt the invite to join OPEC.
 
Where I used to live has lots of natural gas, and geologists have run ground thumpers back and forth to get a good idea of the rock strata. I was compensated a bottle of good whisky because the thumpers rattled one off the shelf and broke it.
 
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