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Onshore Energy Security Program National projects
Regional projects
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Updated:
13 March 2008
Onshore Energy Security Program - Five year Work PlanIntroduction
Prime Minister’s statement and budgetThe Australian Government’s Onshore Energy Security initiative was announced by the Prime Minister on 14 August 2006 (see AusGeo News 84) as part of a broader package of energy exploration initiatives. The $58.9 million, five year Onshore Energy Security Program (OESP) will deliver pre-competitive data packages with scientifically based assessments of the potential for energy resources of onshore Australia including oil, gas, uranium, thorium and geothermal energy. The budget breakdown for the five financial years of the program is as follows ($million).
Major components of the OESP will be the acquisition of new seismic reflection, airborne electromagnetic, radiometric, heat flow, and magnetotelluric data. When integrated with new geological and geochemical information, these geophysical datasets will provide unprecedented insights on the potential for undiscovered energy and mineral resources concealed beneath the Earth’s surface. Principles of the OESPAll elements of the onshore program will be conducted under the National Geoscience Agreement (NGA) between State and Northern Territory (NT) governments and the Australian Government. This agreement requires a high degree of consultation and cooperation between Geoscience Australia and State and NT government geoscience agencies. The NGA has proved to be a successful working model in past years, and will be a foundation for the delivery of the OESP. Geoscience Australia ’s project work under the OESP is prioritised according to the following principles:
ConsultationInitial discussions on the OESP have been held with all State and NT government geoscience agencies. Agreements have been reached on several of the major data acquisition programs, and consultation is ongoing with these agencies. Stakeholders within the minerals, geothermal and petroleum industries have been consulted. Presentations and a workshop on the OESP have been given at several industry conferences including AMEC (Perth, March 2007), APPEA (Adelaide, April 2007), SAREIC (Adelaide, May 2007), and the AusIMM Australia's Uranium Conference (Darwin, May 2007). Objectives of the OESPThe Australian Government’s intent through the OESP is to:
OutputsThe OESP will produce a wide range of products to assist exploration and discovery of new energy and mineral resources. These include:
The proposed outputs are subject to ongoing program review of priorities as results of the earlier surveys come to hand. Scientific questionsThe key geoscientific challenges and questions to be addressed are as follows. Onshore hydrocarbons
Uranium
Geothermal
Thorium
These questions will be addressed through the application of a holistic or ‘systems’ approach, involving an understanding of the geological processes of formation of the energy or mineral resources. The approach will enable assessment of the potential for undiscovered energy and mineral resources in ‘greenfields’ regions where such resources previously have not been recognised. Performance indicatorsThe impact of Geoscience Australia ’s work in delivering the OESP may be measured in a number of ways, including:
These indicators, however, are influenced by factors beyond the control of Geoscience Australia , such as variations in commodity prices, national and global economies, the political climate, and industry restructuring. Additionally, the time scales of impacts of the OESP are expected to vary from relatively short term (1-2 years) for uptake of some datasets and concepts, to long term (5-10 years) for impacts on discovery rates. Program governance and structureThe OESP is currently the Onshore Energy and Minerals Division’s largest program. It consists of projects across four Groups within the Division. The Geothermal, Uranium, and Onshore Hydrocarbon projects are commodity-based and national in scope, and will run for the duration of the program (Fig. 1). An initial fact-finding project on thorium is underway. More detailed regionally-focussed studies of energy resources will be undertaken in a staged manner in at least four regions of Australia (Fig. 1). Scoping of major science questions and selection of methods to apply to solving these questions will be done through the regional projects by key personnel in Geoscience Australia and discussions with the State and territory geoscience agencies. Acquisition and processing of major geophysical datasets such as seismic and AEM data will be undertaken by projects within the Geophysics Group. Acquisition and processing of geothermal datasets will be undertaken by the Geothermal Project. Interpretation of new datasets and delivery of value-added products will be undertaken collaboratively by the regional and national projects as well as with state and territory geoscience agencies. OESP work on onshore petroleum and gas is carried out within the Petroleum and Marine Division. Figure 1 National and regional projects, generalised timeframe, and methods to be employed in the OESP. Flow of information and results will be two-way between regional projects and national projects, to deliver OESP outcomes Communication of OESP news and results
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