A comprehensive study of the literature and available data relative to the oil and gas prospects of Australia is made herein as a supplement to explorations of the writer in certain parts of that continent. Readers should bear in mind that Australia covers approximately the same area as the United States, consequently generalizations for the entire continent are difficult. Vast areas have been eliminated from consideration on account of remote age, metamorphism, or other factors. Other great regions have been eliminated on the basis of explorations by the writer and other geologists in search of oil. As a general statement, Western Australia and Tasmania are considered almost entirely unfavorable; South Australia and Victoria appear to be largely so; but a possibility of il or gas may exist somewhere in New South Wales or Queensland.

No detailed structural surveys are known to have been made in Australia. The work has been entirely of a reconnaissance nature, except where areal mapping in some detail has been done with reference to coal and metal mining. Excellent geological work has been done by Australian geologists. The lack of positive information with reference to petroliferous conditions is mainly due, therefore, to lack of seepages and other surface indications, scarcity of obvious structures in suitable stratigraphic localities, and a considerable neglect of the studies of fundamental conditions relative to petroleum occurrence. The present paper does not pretend to be an exposition of the subject, but is merely a review of the available knowledge, calling attention to areas and fundamental conditions beli ved to be important in a broad consideration of oil prospects.