Energy exploration ‘hit by rising costs’

Energy explorers have seen exploration costs rise by more than a third over the last year posing a serious threat to the future of the industry, a peak industry body says.

At an industry conference in Darwin, chief executive of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) Belinda Robinson said exploration was also being threatened by limited equipment availability.

“In general we have seen costs increase by around 35 per cent over the past year,” Ms Robinson said.
“This combined with the limited physical availability of rigs poses a serious issue for the industry.”

She said the cost of using a drill rig was now about $250,000 a day, compared to $65,000 a day 18 months ago.

Despite the increase in the cost of exploring, there was more exploration taking place in some regions with an increase in the take-up of acreage in offshore areas.

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