Australian petroleum exploration and development activity report

1 April to 30 June 2003

To view the full report you can download the Petroleum Industry Statistics Report for 2^nd Quarter 2003 in PDF format. [PDF 478KB]

Highlights

• One oil and gas discovery was reported at Skiddaw in exploration permit WA-255-P R1 in the Carnarvon Basin off Western Australia.
• Overall level of exploration drilling in the first half of 2003 (48 wells) is above the low level of 42 wells drilled in the same period last year.
  Offshore exploration drilling activity in the June quarter (14 wells) is the highest since 2000 (15 wells drilled) and the first half year level in 2003 (36 wells drilled) is the highest level of offshore exploration drilling since 1998 (39 wells drilled).
  Onshore exploration drilling activity in the June quarter (3 wells drilled) is the lowest for any quarter level of drilling for over 25 years.
  The first half year level at 12 wells drilled is the lowest level of onshore drilling for 25 years.
• 2D offshore seismic survey acquisition improved over the March quarter of 2003 but is significantly down in the first half year of 2003 on levels of acquisition achieved in previous years. 3D seismic acquisition in the June quarter is more than double that acquired in the March quarter and at year's end may exceed the low levels acquired in 2002.
• Offshore development completions occurred at Legendre North (one well) and Stag (one well), both in the Carnarvon Basin; at Flounder (2 wells) in the Gippsland Basin and at Bayu Undan (2 wells) in the Bonaparte Basin.
  Onshore development completions occurred at Big Lake, Caladan, Cowralli, Dorodillo, Moomba and Pelican all in the Cooper/Eromanga Basin; at Moonie in the Surat Basin of Queensland and at Myall Creek in the Bowen/Surat Basin of Queensland.

Drilling activity

Exploration drilling for June 2003 (17 wells) is 2 more than drilled during the same period in 2002 (15) wells but is only just over half the wells drilled 1^st quarter 2003.

Offshore exploration wells drilled during the June quarter 2003 (14) is six more than in June quarter 2002 and six less than in the previous quarter. Drilling was carried out in the Browse (1), Carnarvon (11) and Great Australian Bight (2) Basins. One well was drilling ahead at the end of June in the Carnarvon Basin.

Onshore exploration wells drilled during the June quarter 2003 (3) is less than half the seven wells in the corresponding period last year and only a third of the nine wells drilled in the first quarter of 2003. These wells were drilled in the Cooper/Eromanga, Maryborough and Perth Basins (1 each). One well was drilling ahead at the end of the quarter in Cooper/Eromanga Basin.

Development drilling activity for the second quarter of 2003 (21) is up by four on the previous quarter (17) and down by ten on the thirty-one of the same period last year.

Offshore, the number of development wells drilled during the June quarter of 2003 (6) is two less than the previous quarter's eight wells and four less than in the June quarter of 2002. Completions undertaken were in the Bonaparte, Carnarvon, Gippsland Basins (1 each).

Onshore, the fifteen development wells drilled in the second quarter is six more than the nine wells of the previous quarter, and is six less than the twenty-one wells of the corresponding quarter of 2002. One well was drilled in the Bowen/Surat basin, 12 in the Cooper/Eromanga Basin and two were drilled in the Surat Basin. One well was drilling ahead in the Cooper/Eromanga Basin at the end of the quarter.

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Figure 1. Wells and metres drilled, 1993-2003