The Gulf St. Vincent region of South Australia extends from Yorke Peninsula and part of Investigator Strait to the Mount Lofty - Kangaroo Island fold belt. This area includes the sediments of the Cainozoic St. Vincent Basin, the Permian Troubridge Infra-Basin, the Cambrian Kanmantoo Trough, and the Cambrian and Proterozoic Adelaide Geosyncline. Petroleum exploration in this area was initiated early this century by several oil exploration syndicates, whose exploration was based on very limited information. In subsequent years the South Australian Mines Department has geologically and geophysically mapped much of this area. Petroleum exploration gained impetus in the early 1960s when Beach Petroleum N.L. began exploration in the area. Geological and Geophysical information obtained by Beach Petroleum N.L. and the South Australian Mines Department has gradually improved knowledge of this area, as well as outlining several potential petroleum exploration targets. The Cambrian sediments have been found to show the most potential for petroleum accumulation. In particular, the Kulpara Limestone and the the Middle Cambrian "red-beds" are reasonably prospective, and several areas of potential have been delineated, mainly in the thicker Cambrian sediments of the south-central gulf area. However, before a full evaluation of the hydrocarbon potential can be obtained, further geophysical surveys need to be undertaken, and existing surveys re-interpreted. Little is known of the Tertiary and Permian sediments underlying the gulf, which may prove prospective. To obtain such information drilling would be necessary in the south-central gulf.