Oil and Gas Sector

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart) (14:41): My question is again to the Minister for Mineral Resources.

The Hon. T.R. Kenyon interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Newland is warned.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Given that the minister has said that Ambassador has not completed any of the promised exploration work on its tenement PEL 570 due to bad weather in the region, can he advise whether any exploration work has been undertaken by the companies that won exploration licences PEL 516 and PEL 113 at the same time and in the same region?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business) (14:41): I will go back to my answer yesterday. The three new petroleum exploration licences in the Cooper Basin that were offered in 2010 by the government were on the basis of work program bidding. The CO2010 acreage release opened in April, as I said yesterday, and the bidding closed on 10 March. I know you are asking about work, but I want to build up the case. Applicants are provided with details of the scoring system. Everyone understood the process and Ambassador's work program scored the highest of the six programs.

I have details for PEL 570 but I do not believe that I have in front of me the results from the other work programs. But what I will endeavour to do is provide those to the member by either the close of business today or at the next opportunity in question time. I also note, in the spirit of our two friends back there, that this information is probably publicly available anyway. I would hate to think that the member opposite has asked me a question to which he already knows the answer. He says he does not have the answer, Mr Speaker; he is telling the parliament that he does not have the answer. So, Mr Speaker, I will endeavour to come back to the house with a detailed answer to the question that the member does not know the answer to.

The SPEAKER: Well, that is the normal situation, isn't it, Treasurer?

Ms Sanderson: Exactly. We ask the questions.

The SPEAKER: As the member for Adelaide says, we ask the questions. The member for Stuart.