ENERGY and Resources Minister Peter Batchelor has welcomed the 40th anniversary of oil and gas production from Bass Strait drilling operations by Esso Australia and BHP Billiton and the first natural gas supply to Victorian consumers.
Batchelor says the Brumby Government was taking action to continue supporting industry and helping attract investment in Victoria’s oil and gas resources, maintain employment in the sector and ensure a continued supply of affordable energy for Victorians.
The Minister says that oil and gas production in Victoria not only ensures reliable and affordable energy sources for Victorians, but also provides a significant boost to employment, particularly in regional Victoria.
Bass Strait oil and gas has produced almost two-thirds of Australia’s cumulative oil production to date and 30 per cent of Australia’s gas production. Additionally, new projects worth almost $3 billion in Bass Strait announced in the past 18 months.Batchelor says that Bass Strait has the capacity to keep supplying gas for many years to come, with improving exploration technology having the potential to uncover new supplies in untested areas.
The Brumby Government has funded geoscience data to help pinpoint exploration targets, and is sponsoring the Resources Victoria Conference in August 2009 which will showcase Victoria’s resource opportunities to investors.
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