Continued exploration sees Surat Basin as oil and gas hub

Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise (TSBE) chief executive officer Dr Ben Lyons has welcomed news that the state will expand searches for resources throughout Queensland, including the Surat Basin, showcasing the region as a hub for oil and gas for the whole state.

Announced last week, the Queensland Government’s first annual exploration program will see an additional 820 square kilometres made available for minerals, coal and petroleum and gas exploration over the next 12 months from Cloncurry to Surat.

“The announcement of further exploration for finding and developing gas reserves in our region will see a number of significant benefits delivered to our regional communities and businesses,” Dr Lyons said.

“Currently, the resource sector injects more than $3.16 billion into the Surat Basin and Toowoomba, as a service centre to the Surat Basin, regions, and employs directly and indirectly more than 16,000 people.

“Additional exploration and development of gas reserves means that we as a region can retain these economic contributions and jobs and work toward creating additional benefits.”

Only weeks ago, statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) confirmed that natural gas continues to be essential for Australian business operations, showing that more than $27.4 billion was spent by Australian companies on petroleum products in 2014-15 in Australia.

This figures was made up of $19.8 billion in diesel, $4.9 billion in natural gas, $2.1 billion in petrol and $538 million in LPG.

“Queensland has built a reputation for its world-class LNG industry, and the Surat Basin is a large part of this picture,” Dr Lyons said.

“The supply of natural gas keeps our homes and businesses running with reliable energy sources and as a result this industry will be around for some time.

“We commend the Queensland Government for ensuring the industry will be allowed to grow and prosper well into the future with this latest initiative.”