THE State Government has moved to significantly ramp up gas production in the region by releasing expansive new petroleum exploration acreage blocks.
Bidding is now open for three exploration licences for the newly released blocks that sweep across most of the Lower South East.
The new release comes amid strong demand for gas in the state as well as continued gas exploration and drilling programs near Penola.
But the government has vowed not to allow hydraulic fracturing – commonly known as fracking – to occur given the moratorium.
The newly opened exploration areas stretch from south of Naracoorte to Port MacDonnell, cutting through some of the state’s most productive agricultural land.
“The State Government is committed to the expansion of South Australia’s resources sector and the jobs and investment that will deliver for our state,” Mining and Energy Minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan.
He said applicants were reminded of the 10-year moratorium on fracture stimulation operations in the Limestone Coast Region enacted by the South Australian Government late last year.
“However, it is business as usual for conventional petroleum operations in the region,” Mr van Holst Pellekaan said.
“The State Government understands escalating world demand for gas and oil presents enormous potential for growth in the local resources sector and the role it plays in underpinning South Australia’s economic foundations.”
He said winning Otway Basin bidders would be selected on the basis of the total five-year work program bid.
The government has also opened five new exploration licences in the Cooper Basin.
Applicants must provide information on the adequacy of their financial resources and technical expertise to satisfactorily undertake the proposed work program and their ability to ensure overall regulatory compliance.
The successful bidder will be able to acquire seismic and drill conventional oil and gas wells, subject to the requisite approval processes under the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Act 2000.
The petroleum industry is also required to engage meaningfully with relevant landowners, stakeholders and the community during the life cycle of a project, including project planning and negotiating land access through to decommissioning.
Approval for an activity whether in the Cooper or Otway basins including geophysical surveys, drilling and subsequent potential production is a separate process to the work program bidding process.
Those activities are subject to a separate rigorous assessment and consultation processes.
The State Government has partnered with CSIRO’s Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance to carry out independent research within the Limestone Coast region.
The government says this aims to better inform community perceptions about gas exploration, development and production.
The bidding for both the Cooper and Otway basins close in November.
