Offshore staff
CANBERRA, Australia -- The Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) has welcomed the government's $57.73 million funding to extend the existing Geoscience Australia program for five more years.
"The decision to extend the existing program for a further five years with an underlying expenditure commitment of $57 million provides both Geoscience Australia and industry with certainty in moving forward to potentially identify major new oil provinces in Australia," Belinda Robinson, APPEA chief executive, said.
"The extension of funding for Geoscience Australia's pre-competitive petroleum exploration work is particularly supported by APPEA, as pre-competitive exploration undertaken by the government forms a crucial component in the overall exploration effort in Australia."
Federal Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane earlier had announced an energy security package to spur exploration across Australia.
"This country remains mostly unexplored, particularly for petroleum in frontier offshore areas and encouraging exploration in these zones is a high priority in terms of future energy security and export markets," he said.
"The package will provide Geoscience Australia with the resources to supply the information necessary for companies to consider exploration reconnaissance. Building a credible geological story is essential to gain the attention of the global exploration industry.
"The package will expand Geoscience Australia's 'Big New Oil' program through pre-competitive data acquisition. Over the next five years, data will be acquired from offshore areas that span up to 2 million sq km, more than three times the area covered by the last program," Macfarlane said.
8/15/06
