Blocks on offer in Australia’s Queensland

Australia

BRISBANE, May 14, 2015 – Queensland has announced a call for bids on 20 onshore oil and gas exploration blocks in the Australian state’s southwestern corner.

Queensland Minister for State Development and Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Anthony Lynham said in a press release the bidding included two petroleum land release (PLR) areas covering the Cooper, Eromanga and Surat basins.

The vast majority of the acreage on offer is in the 11,000-square-kilometre PLR2015-2 area, which includes the Cooper and Eromanga basins. A 6-square-kilometre area in the Surat Basin, area PLR2015-1, which the minister described as “highly prospective,” is also available.

The minister said the bidding process for blocks in PLR2015-2 will not entail a cash component and that bids would be reviewed on the basis of proposed work programmes. Bidding for PLR2015-1 area, on the other hand, will include cash considerations, due to its high prospectivity and proximity to existing coal seam gas production leases.