Hopefully the following extracted from Newspaper at TROVE link...

Hopefully the following extracted from Newspaper at TROVE link will be of positive interest
Regards
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/page/3193569
The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954)
Saturday 5 December 1953

Electronically Translated Text
Oil Strike Hope In W. A.
DRILLING IN SEARCH FOR GUSHER PERTH, December 4.

The oil strata at Exmouth Gulf, the discovery of which was announced this morning, is being sealed off and drilling will continue to the originally proposed depth of 12,000 ft. in the hope that a gusher will be struck.
The announcement on further drilling was made by the Minister bf Mines (Mr. Kelly), after WA Petroleum had told the State Government that a 25-hour test had resulted in an oil production rate of 23 barrels an hour. The strike was first announced in San Francisco today by Standard Oil of California. It is about three weeks since the Premier (Mr. Hawke) and Mr. Kelly were officially informed. ' In a cabled statement from San Francisco, the company said 'very high grade crude oil' had been discovered at a depth of 3,605 to 3,620 ft. in Rough Range No. 1 well, about 650 miles north of Perth.
In his statement to day, the Minister of Mines said the zone of interest ? in the Rough Range oil strike was relatively thin, being about 17 ft. thick. The economic value could not yet be assessed. The company would continue drilling to test the entire section. If subsequent operations proved that oil in commercial quantities existed at Exmouth Gulf, they would have far reaching economic and industrial results. The 25-hour test at the Rough Range well yielded oil at the rate of 20,000 gallons for the period.
HIGH GRADE AAP SAN FRANCISCO, December 4.— The Standard Oil Company of California, gave details today of the WA oil strike and' tests by WA Petroleum Ltd. at Rough Range No. 1 well — the companys 'first wildcat.' 'Perforation tests showed a very waxy high grade crude oil which flowed for 25 hours through a quarter-inch bottom hole choke,' Standard Oil says in its report. 'This announcement was made today by the California Texas Corporation, which holds an 80 p.c. interest in WA Petroleum. 'A 20 p.c. interest is held by the Australian firm,
Ampol. Drilling has been resumed in accordance with the original plans for deep testing.'

FIRST FOUND The Standard Oil chairman (Mr. R. G. Pollis) said the discovery appeared to be 'the first commercial quantities of crude oil ever found on the continent of Australia.' It had been made by an affiliated company, in which Standard Oil had an interest. The discovery well was an exploratory venture drilled to begin testing of more than 300,000 sq. miles held under long-term concession from WA. 'Significance of the discovery; is indicated by the fact that Australia now is using about 1M.0M barrels of petroleum products daily, all of which must be imported,' Mr. Follis said. 'Future plans for development of the concessionary areas include deeper drilling of the discovery well to test geological formations lying beneath the discovery sands and the drilling of other wells. 'The discovery well may be taken down as far as 15,000 ft.'
Good Luck Followed
The managing director of Ampol Petroleum, Ltd. (Mr. W. G. Walkley) about to spit for luck on the massive bit of a £400,000 American rig just before it began continuous drilling for oil on September 5 near Learmonth, about 650 miles north-west of Perth. Spitting on the bit is in accordance with drilling tradition. The bit bores in two stages, the first being a small hole widened to 25j in. diameter. At right is the drilling derrick.