WA to publish five-year schedule for petroleum exploration

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Western Australian government has announced plans to introduce a strategic five-year release of petroleum exploration areas across the Canning and Perth basins, in the hopes of minimising environmental, cultural and land use constraints.

“The five-year approach provides greater transparency to the oil and gas industry, particularly targeting gas to improve energy security in the long term,” says Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston.

Acreage release schedules will be updated at least once a year and when significant amounts of new prospectivity data or acreage become available to warrant a review.

Johnston says that industry is encouraged to nominate specific areas for acreage release, which will be considered the year it is nominated.

Competitive bidding has been tipped as the preferred mechanism for the industry to acquire petroleum exploration titles.

Meanwhile, Johnston says a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) may limit prospectors' interest in bidding; however, he added the release did not conflict with the government's policy, pending the findings of a scientific inquiry.

"There may be potential for gas development without the need for fracking."