Supporting Australia's search for oil and gas

   
   

Dr Chris Pigram presenting at
the 2013 APPEA conference in
Brisbane.
Image courtesy of APPEA.

 

New funding for Geoscience Australia provides a major boost for the agency to continue the geological studies that will help reveal Australia's petroleum potential and assist in securing our nation's energy future.

A proposed outline for a new regional petroleum program will be detailed during a keynote presentation by Geoscience Australia's CEO Dr Chris Pigram at the 2013 Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) conference in Brisbane on Wednesday morning.

The new program has a long-term focus inclusive of pre-competitive data acquisition campaigns and new scientific studies. The new funding includes $15 million per annum to enable Geoscience Australia to undertake a strategic analysis of the petroleum potential of both onshore and offshore Australia leading to new exploration opportunities and discoveries.

"The new petroleum program will include whole-of-margin and national studies to address fundamental issues affecting prospectivity, plus the acquisition of new data and geological studies in areas adjacent to proven basins, and in poorly understood and remote frontiers," Dr Pigram said today.

"Work will focus on improving our understanding of key petroleum systems, and will include a range of palaeogeography and onshore source rock studies, and a major tectonic and structural study of the western and north-western margins," he added.

"Data custodianship is also a key priority of the new program to ensure that the right geological and geospatial data sets are acquired, maintained and made available to all interested stakeholders," Dr Pigram explained.

Ultimately the new program will enable Geoscience Australia to deliver a new prospectus for the nation's hydrocarbon resources, continue to support the continued growth of onshore exploration and the delivery of pre-competitive data which drives offshore petroleum acreage release.

The program is being developed in consultation with industry and the State and Northern Territory governments.

For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact: Geoscience Australia 24 hour Media Hotline 1800 882 035.

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