Innovations in South Australian Cooper Basin Acreage Management

Abstract

Competitive acreage releases have been used successfully by the South Australian Department of State Development (DSD) to manage highly prospective Cooper Basin acreage since 1998. The expiry of long term exploration licenses in 1999 enabled the most significant structured release of onshore Australian acreage in the industry's history and has so far generated: * 38 PEL (Petroleum Exploration License) and 4 PEL Applications from ~80,580 sqkm acreage in 12 bid rounds, * over $0.5 billion in guaranteed work programs (2014 dollar value), * 239 conventional exploration wells, 39.3% of which achieved commercial success * 24 wells testing a continuous gas play resource, * 94 new field discoveries, * $272.3m royalties and $3.6b sales (2013/14 dollar value), and * increased gas supply-side competition. Cooper Basin acreage turnover has served the state and industry well, with good outcomes achieved during the initial phases of partial acreage relinquishments, which are required at the end of each 5 year PEL term. However over time, relinquishments have generated progressively smaller and scattered blocks which are harder to explore. In addition, the new oil and gas play trends that have emerged over the last 5 years need longer timeframes to explore and evaluate than a PEL provides. License operators and DSD recognised change was needed, culminating in 2012 when the highest priority recommendation of the Roundtable for Oil and Gas in SA was aligning license terms with the longer timeframes needed to find, appraise, develop and produce these resources. A new approach through longer tenure Petroleum Retention Licenses (PRL) has provided a solution. Exploration investment has been accelerated through PRL work programs and the trend towards ever-smaller PELs in the Cooper Basin has been arrested.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90217 © 2015 International Conference & Exhibition, Melbourne, Australia, September 13-16, 2015