Mr MITCHELL - 1996-05-23
Can he advise what action the government is taking to promote exploration for oil and gas in the Northern Territory?
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, while the opposition is focusing on muck- raking, the government is more positively and productively occupied in supporting the private sector.
At the moment, 4 officers from the Department of Mines and Energy are in San Diego. They are promoting the Northern Territory as a venue for exploration for oil and gas, following on from work they did last year in Houston at the American Association of Petroleum Geologists' conference. The success that flowed from that has encouraged us to exhibit in San Diego, at this year's conference.
In preparation for that, and in the implementation of our long-term strategy to market the Territory, a range of publications have been provided. Indeed, there is also a supporting video. Those publication packages were mailed to 170 companies in the United States to attract them to our AAPG stall this year. That was very successful. In relation to the combined display that we had with Magellan Petroleum - a first in our joint marketing effort - reports from San Diego indicate that participating with a private company enhanced our opportunities to meet with companies and reinforce the message that we had to sell. Companies interested in the Northern Territory could not only check with departmental officers, but also with representatives of the oil and gas industry who are operating in the Northern Territory. That very much improved the quality of the information that we could provide.
The effort was further boosted by reports in the media this week. I table excerpts from The Australian of 21 May and from the Financial Review of 22 May. These contain some very glowing reports about the Undan/Bayu liquefied natural gas reserves which have recently been upgraded. I quote key points from the Financial Review:
A new contender has emerged in the race to develop Australia's next multi-billion-dollar liquefied natural
gas project ... Petroz NL released substantially increased reserves figures yesterday for the combined
field [Undan/Bayu, in the Timor Gap] ... making it one of Australia's biggest discoveries, potentially
rivalling the best of the Bass Strait discoveries of the 1960s and 1970s.
That was very welcome news which gave a fillip to the officers and other Australian representatives in San Diego. The estimates now for Petroz in the Undan/Bayu field might contain as much as 1.79 billion barrels of oil equivalent. A barrel of oil equivalent is the number of barrels of oil which would have the same energy content as the gas LPG and condensate.
Officers are promoting the Territory and working with the industry. That is in stark contrast to the negative approach that members opposite take. All they do is launch personal attacks on ministers. More will be achieved next month, when the Australian Petroleum Exploration Association (APEA) has its conference in Darwin. I am pleased to say that the conference has attracted 1000 delegates. APEA is Australia's most important oil and gas conference. With Australia's major petroleum producers and worldwide multinationals attending, we will have another opportunity to promote the Territory for oil and gas
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exploration. Given the offshore developments that I have mentioned, and the media reports, no doubt there will be an increased level of interest in the opportunities here and the positive nature of the Territory government's support of the industry.
From an industry perspective, the extent of interest that the Territory is now generating, both nationally and internationally, is encouraging news. I am sure the Minister for Tourism will very much welcome the news that a conference of 1000 delegates will be held in Darwin next week. I am sure that industry generally, and the business and commercial sectors in Darwin in particular, are looking much more positively on the activities of the government and the future for Territorians, particularly given the performance of the Leader of the Opposition over the past 2 weeks in these sittings.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, while the opposition is focusing on muck- raking, the government is more positively and productively occupied in supporting the private sector.
At the moment, 4 officers from the Department of Mines and Energy are in San Diego. They are promoting the Northern Territory as a venue for exploration for oil and gas, following on from work they did last year in Houston at the American Association of Petroleum Geologists' conference. The success that flowed from that has encouraged us to exhibit in San Diego, at this year's conference.
In preparation for that, and in the implementation of our long-term strategy to market the Territory, a range of publications have been provided. Indeed, there is also a supporting video. Those publication packages were mailed to 170 companies in the United States to attract them to our AAPG stall this year. That was very successful. In relation to the combined display that we had with Magellan Petroleum - a first in our joint marketing effort - reports from San Diego indicate that participating with a private company enhanced our opportunities to meet with companies and reinforce the message that we had to sell. Companies interested in the Northern Territory could not only check with departmental officers, but also with representatives of the oil and gas industry who are operating in the Northern Territory. That very much improved the quality of the information that we could provide.
The effort was further boosted by reports in the media this week. I table excerpts from The Australian of 21 May and from the Financial Review of 22 May. These contain some very glowing reports about the Undan/Bayu liquefied natural gas reserves which have recently been upgraded. I quote key points from the Financial Review:
A new contender has emerged in the race to develop Australia's next multi-billion-dollar liquefied natural
gas project ... Petroz NL released substantially increased reserves figures yesterday for the combined
field [Undan/Bayu, in the Timor Gap] ... making it one of Australia's biggest discoveries, potentially
rivalling the best of the Bass Strait discoveries of the 1960s and 1970s.
That was very welcome news which gave a fillip to the officers and other Australian representatives in San Diego. The estimates now for Petroz in the Undan/Bayu field might contain as much as 1.79 billion barrels of oil equivalent. A barrel of oil equivalent is the number of barrels of oil which would have the same energy content as the gas LPG and condensate.
Officers are promoting the Territory and working with the industry. That is in stark contrast to the negative approach that members opposite take. All they do is launch personal attacks on ministers. More will be achieved next month, when the Australian Petroleum Exploration Association (APEA) has its conference in Darwin. I am pleased to say that the conference has attracted 1000 delegates. APEA is Australia's most important oil and gas conference. With Australia's major petroleum producers and worldwide multinationals attending, we will have another opportunity to promote the Territory for oil and gas
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exploration. Given the offshore developments that I have mentioned, and the media reports, no doubt there will be an increased level of interest in the opportunities here and the positive nature of the Territory government's support of the industry.
From an industry perspective, the extent of interest that the Territory is now generating, both nationally and internationally, is encouraging news. I am sure the Minister for Tourism will very much welcome the news that a conference of 1000 delegates will be held in Darwin next week. I am sure that industry generally, and the business and commercial sectors in Darwin in particular, are looking much more positively on the activities of the government and the future for Territorians, particularly given the performance of the Leader of the Opposition over the past 2 weeks in these sittings.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016