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Australian Energy Producers Journal Australian Energy Producers Journal Society
Journal of Australian Energy Producers
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Non peer reviewed)

PESA Australian exploration review 2018

D. Lockhart A B and D. Spring A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Senex Energy, 180 Ann Street, Brisbane, Qld 4000, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: duncanlockhart@centralpetroleum.com.au

The APPEA Journal 59(2) 493-504 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ18284
Accepted: 25 March 2019   Published: 17 June 2019

Abstract

Available data for 2018 indicates that exploration activity is on the rise in Australia, compared to 2017, and this represents a second year of growth in exploration activity in Australia. There has been an increase in area under licence by 92 000 km2, reversing the downward trend in area under licence that commenced in 2014. Since 2016, exploratory drilling within Australia has seen a continued upward trend in both the number of wells drilled and the percentage of total worldwide. Onshore, 77 conventional exploration and appraisal wells were spudded during the year. Offshore, exploration and appraisal drilling matched that seen in 2017, with five new wells spudded: two in the Roebuck Basin, two in the Gippsland Basin and one in the North Carnarvon Basin. Almost 1500 km of 2D seismic and over 10 000 km2 of 3D seismic were acquired within Australia during 2018, accounting for 2.4% and 3.9% of global acquisition, respectively. This represents an increase in the amount of both 2D and 3D seismic acquired in Australia compared with 2017. Once the 2017 Offshore Petroleum Acreage Release was finalised, seven new offshore exploration permits were awarded as a result. A total of 12 bids were received for round one of the 2018 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Release, demonstrating an increase in momentum for offshore exploration in Australia. The permits are in Commonwealth waters off Western Australia, Victoria and the Ashmore and Cartier islands. In June 2018, the Queensland Government announced the release of 11 areas for petroleum exploration acreage in onshore Queensland, with tenders closing in February/March 2019; a further 11 areas will be released in early 2019. The acreage is a mix of coal seam gas and conventional oil and gas. Victoria released five areas in the offshore Otway Basin within State waters. In the Northern Territory, the moratorium on fracking was lifted in April, clearing the way for exploration to recommence in the 2019 dry season. With the increase in exploration has come an increase in success, with total reserves discovered within Australia during 2018 at just under 400 million barrels of oil equivalent, representing a significant increase from 2017. In 2018, onshore drilling resulted in 18 new discoveries, while offshore, two new discoveries were made. The most notable exploration success of 2018 was Dorado-1 drilled in March by Quadrant and Carnarvon Petroleum in the underexplored Bedout Sub-basin. Dorado is the largest oil discovery in Australia of 100 million barrels, or over, since 1996 and has the potential to reinvigorate exploration in the region.

Keywords: Adelaide Fold Belt, Bedout Sub-basin, Bowen-Surat Basin, Carnarvon Basin, Cooper-Eromanga Basin, Galilee Basin, Gippsland Basin, Otway Basin, exploration drilling, seismic, unconventional exploration, Beach, Santos, Senex, Quadrant, Comet Ridge, Albany-1, Carmichael-1, Dorado-1, Gemba-1, Hobgoblin-1, Webb-1

Duncan Lockhart is the General Manager for Exploration for Central Petroleum. Formerly Duncan was the Manager for Regional Studies at Senex Energy Limited. Duncan has previously worked for Drillsearch, Galp Energia, OMV, BHP Billiton, Woodside and Origin in exploration roles, ranging from Geologist to Executive General Manager, in many basins around the world. Duncan graduated from The University of Queensland with a BSc (Hons) in 1989 and a PhD from The Queensland University of Technology in 2001.

David Spring is the Executive General Manager of Exploration for Senex Energy Limited. David is responsible for delivering the company’s exploration strategy, exploiting current resources and finding new ventures across all areas of interest. David joined Senex in May 2015, bringing over 30 years’ experience in oil and gas exploration and development to the company. As an experienced geologist and geophysicist, David’s career has included senior leadership roles in Australia, North & South America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He began his career as a geophysicist at Esso Australia, gaining experience in the Cooper Basin, before spending over a decade at BHP Billiton Petroleum in Australia and overseas. David spent four years at Maersk Oil and just before joining Senex, he was accountable for leading a global exploration portfolio for Mubadala Petroleum, the sovereign exploration and production company in the United Arab Emirates.


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