The company was joined by Shell Development as a partner in 1964 and shortly after , the joint venture made their major find , on Barrow Island . Despite an expectation of likely oil deposits , Barrow Island had had Government bans on drilling and exploration due to the 1952 atomic bomb testing on the nearby Montebello Islands . The bans were lifted in 1953 and WAPET was granted exploration permits . The drill hole " Barrow-1 " flowed with heavy crude and proved to be a significant discovery . After $ 100 million had been spent on further exploration and development , the find led to commercial production in 1967 . In 1966 it was estimated to have recoverable reserves of and after production started in April 1967 , estimated reserves were increased to . In 1995 there were 430 wells producing oil and natural gas across most of the southern half of the island . At one stage , the site was Australia 's largest oil producer
1952 atomic bomb testing
Operation Hurricane
WAPET