I'm trying to find a good chart for you on this but can't seem...

I'm trying to find a good chart for you on this but can't seem to manage it. Up until ~2011 gas production had declined for 10 years. There has been a bit of a 'renaissance' in the last 4 years with gas production increasing. Santos quarterlies provide some hard data. Gas production in 2015 is so far about 5-10% above 2014. Oil production is down about 10%. Of course while Santos SACB JV oil production has declined the real expansion in oil has been in the western flank with DLS/BPT. How sustainable it is I'm not sure.

I don't necessarily believe that the Cooper is a declining basin but I think that this is a view many outsiders have of it and that will shape how much outsiders are willing to pay for assets. The internal players likely have a different view (and probably a more educated one). If an infrastructure player is going to commit to buying the Port Bonython pipeline for example they probably need some long term certainty of supply or build in a substantial risk factor in what they'll pay.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/coop...-set-to-surge-says-santos-20130528-2n8wj.html