barrow island

Home to the Gorgon Project and Barrow Island oil field, Barrow Island is a Class A Nature Reserve and the second largest island off the Western Australian coast. Located approximately 60 kilometres off the northwest coast of WA and 88 kilometres north of Onslow, Barrow Island has biological and ecological affinities with the neighbouring Pilbara bioregion and the Cape Range.

Barrow Island is the location of the world’s largest non-government quarantine management system. Quarantine measures implemented on the island since the 1960s have helped protect Barrow’s biodiversity.

Today, the Island’s 235 square kilometres of sparsely vegetated and arid landscape is a habitat for a variety of plants and animals – many of them endangered or rare on the mainland. Barrow Island is an important site of biological refuge because of its isolation from certain threatening processes occurring on the mainland.

Did you know?

On Barrow Island there are almost 400 species of plants, 13 terrestrial native mammal species, more than 110 bird species, 44 terrestrial reptile species, almost 4,000 species of terrestrial invertebrates, and 59 species of subterranean fauna. Our environmental specialists work hard to monitor key species and manage environmental impacts.

wa oil operations

Located beneath Barrow Island, the Barrow Island oil field is the largest oil field discovered in WA.

West Australian Petroleum Pty Ltd (WAPET), a joint venture including Chevron that was formed in the 1950s, discovered oil at Barrow Island in 1964. Today, the Barrow Island Joint Venture – better known as WA Oil – is operated by Chevron Australia on behalf of partners Santos and ExxonMobil.

Since the commencement of oil production in 1967, the Barrow Island Joint Venture has produced more than 335 million barrels of oil, provided significant supply contracts and employment for thousands of Western Australian workers and local businesses, and delivered more than $1 billion in revenue to government. It’s also an important part of WA’s petroleum exploration history.

Now a mature asset, WA Oil ceased production in 2025 and has transitioned into the decommissioning phase.