Australia's oil and gas exploration sector is in revival mode as drillers gear up to test for potential discoveries and build on last year's standout success, the internationally recognised Dorado oil find made by Quadrant Energy off the north-western coast.

Santos, Woodside Petroleum and Origin Energy, as well as smaller player Cooper Energy, are primed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars drilling wells in the next few months, with interest particularly high in the testing of vast gas targets in the Northern Territory by Santos and Origin.