** The Tender Opportunity **

Call for Tenders for Authorities to Prospect (PLR2019-1)

The Queensland Government has released 11 prospective petroleum and gas areas totalling approximately 3742 km2 (1204 sub-blocks) via competitive tender without a cash bid component for petroleum and gas exploration in Queensland’s Bowen and Surat basins.

To ensure a portion of the gas produced from these areas is supplied exclusively to the domestic market, any Authority to Prospect (ATP) for tender areas PLR2019-1-2 and PLR2019-1-3 (totalling approximately 1018 km²) will be subject to an Australian market supply condition under the Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 (P&G Act) for the whole of the area of the ATP. In the event one or more petroleum leases (PL) are later granted over all or part of the areas of PLR2019-1-2 and PLR2019-1-3, the whole of the area of the PL(s) will also be subject to an Australian market supply condition under the P&G Act.

The Queensland Government has engaged with directly affected landowners, native title parties, overlapping resource tenure holders and local councils. Regional natural resource management groups along with agricultural, environmental, local government and industry peak bodies have also been informed about this opportunity.

A preferred tenderer must meet environmental, native title and other approval requirements before an ATP may be granted for a term of six years under the P&G Act. Following grant, the ATP-holder will also need to complete land access and potentially other approval requirements before commencing on-ground exploration.