OIL AND GAS SECTOR

The Hon. L.R. BREUER (Giles) (15:04): My question is to the Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy. Can the minister please inform the house on developments in oil and gas exploration in South Australia?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Housing and Urban Development) (15:04): South Australia's standing as a world-class exploration destination for oil and gas has been confirmed. Only recently, we saw the global energy giant Chevron partner with a great South Australian company, Beach Energy, to progress opportunities in the state's rich unconventional gas sector. We are now seeing significant national and international demand, with the latest onshore acreage attract bids worth $142 million submitted to access the Cooper and Otway basins.

Five bids have been received for the latest petroleum acreage release, and the two successful bidders will be announced after formal offers are accepted. The bidding period, which closed on 4 April 2013, attracted three bids for the 392 square kilometre Cooper block and two bids for the 5,657 square kilometre Otway block. The competitive bidding for these two blocks reflects South Australia's international standing as a destination for investment in exploration.

South Australia attracted combined spending in mineral resource and petroleum exploration of more than $600 million in the 12 months to March this year. Almost half of that total was spent on petroleum exploration in this state. These latest bids show South Australia continues to attract strong interest from explorers. The Cooper Basin is Australia's largest onshore oil and gas province, supplying major south-eastern markets with gas for more than 40 years and oil since 1982, while the Otway Basin is seen as the state's second most prospective onshore oil and gas province.

A bid-receiving team from the Department for Manufacturing, Innovation, Trade, Resources and Energy's internationally recognised petroleum and geothermal division will now assess and rank all bids based on the selection criteria. Selection criteria include successfully demonstrating the technical expertise and financial capacity to carry out projects.

The Cooper block comprises two areas close to the basin's western margin where several oil accumulations have been discovered in recent years. This government welcomes the sustained investment in our state's rich resources sector, a sector that has gone from strength to strength over the last decade from industry working together with government, backed by a strong community.