The Western Australian Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore has announced that that for the first time all onshore areas in the most recent acreage exploration release have received work program bids, indicating further development of a potentially lucrative onshore sector.

 

Each year, the Western Australia and  Federal governments offer offshore and onshore acreage for petroleum exploration. The most recent round of acreage releases closed last month and saw multiple bids on the offshore Northern Carnarvon Basin release. 

 

On-shore exploration has been historically less attractive to investors than offshore, but has become more popular.

 

 “The growing interest in WA’s industry is increasingly evident through the sharp rise in bids on acreage releases,” Mr Moore said. “The number of bids has steadily risen for the past three to four years but it spiked even higher on the most recent release.”

 

The Minister said rising interest in unconventional gas had fuelled the expansion and he noted that several companies focused on unconventional gas targets in the Canning Basin had generated recent interest.

 

“The Canning Basin is one of the world’s last frontier onshore provinces and has the potential for major shale gas reserves,” he said.