Exploration blocks released in the Cooper and Otway basins.
Five petroleum exploration licences (PEL) in the South Australian Cooper Basin and three in the Otway Basin opened for work program bidding on 27 May 2019.
Winning bidders will be selected on the basis of the total five-year work program bid, taking into account their financial and technical capabilities and capacity. The work program must be completed within the overall area of the PEL. It must include a statement of exploratory operations the applicant proposes to carry out in the first five-year licence term. It is expected that at least one petroleum exploration well would be included in the program.
Bids close at 4.00 pm (Australian Central Daylight Time) Friday 29 November 2019.
Cooper Basin Blocks CO2019-A to E
The Cooper Basin release blocks offer a diversity of play types and the opportunity to build a portfolio of prospects and leads across parts of the Warburton, Cooper, Eromanga and Lake Eyre basins. The release totals 13,582.3 km2 and includes 11 petroleum wells, 6,078.8 line kilometres of 2D and 407.3 km2 of 3D seismic data (Table 1; Fig. 1).
Table 1 Summary of blocks and available data
| Block | Total area (km2) | Wells within blocks | 2D seismic (line km) | 3D seismic (km2) |
| CO2019-A | 9,892.9 | 3 | 2,163.7 | 8.1 |
| CO2019-B | 2,009.0 | 2 | 1,147.6 | 124.9 |
| CO2019-C | 545.2 | 1 | 1,180.8 | 259.9 |
| CO2019-D | 742.4 | 0 | 899.6 | 0.0 |
| CO2019-E | 392.9 | 5 | 687.0 | 14.4 |
| 13,582.3 | 11 | 6,078.8 | 407.3 |
Figure 1 Cooper Basin Blocks CO2019-A to E.
Download the CO2019 A-E acreage release brochure (PDF 3.5 MB)
More information on the DEM website (including application and award process and links to information and data)
Otway Basin Blocks OT2019-A to C
The Otway Basin release blocks offer a diversity of play types and the opportunity to build a portfolio of prospects and leads across the Otway Basin. The release totals 6950.1 km2 and includes 39 petroleum wells, 7,230.2 line kilometres of 2D and 171.6 km2 of 3D seismic data (Table 2; Fig. 2).
Table 2 Summary of Otway Basin blocks and available data
| Block | Total area (km2) | Wells within blocks | 2D seismic (line km) | 3D seismic (km2) | Primary target |
| OT2019-A | 3,566.2 | 18 | 3,727.0 | 72.1 | Early Cretaceous |
| OT2019-B | 1,923.0 | 10 | 2,072.8 | 6.2 | Early Cretaceous |
| OT2019-C | 1,460.9 | 11 | 1,430.4 | 93.3 | Late Cretaceous |
| 6,950.1 | 39 | 7,230.2 | 171.6 |
Figure 2 Otway Basin Blocks OT2019-A to C.
Download the OT2019 A-C acreage release brochure (PDF 7.7 MB)
More information on the DEM website (including application and award process and links to information and data)
– Elinor Alexander, June 2019
