Australia's offshore exploratory drilling activity is expected to double in 1994 from 1993 levels.
The Australian Petroleum Exploration Association's (APEA) annual survey of Australian exploration companies showed as many as 100 offshore exploratory and appraisal wells could be drilled the next 12 months.
A minimum projection of 67 wells would still be substantially more than the 44 exploratory and appraisal wells drilled in 1993.
Australia's onshore exploratory drilling scene will remain in the doldrums this year, according to APEA.
Plans call for 84 115 exploratory wells to be drilled onshore in Australia in 1994, with half of those in the Cooper/Eromanga basins of South Australia and Queensland.
The decline in onshore activity is attributed to continued poor results and uncertainty surrounding the pending Mabo native land rights agreements.
OFFSHORE SURGE
Minimum outlays for offshore exploratory drilling are estimated at $590 million (Australian), compared with $350 million spent in 1993.
As it was in 1993, the 1994 offshore program will focus on the Northwest Shelf/Timor Sea region off Western Australia.
The controversial Timor Gap region will be one of the busiest areas for exploratory drilling, with as many as 20 wells planned in the Zone of Cooperation between Australia and Indonesia.
The first Timor Gap well, Petroz NL's 1 Elang, was spudded last week on Block ZOCA 91 12. It will be followed immediately by 1 Mandar. Other interest owners are BHP Petroleum Pty. Ltd. and Santos Ltd.
The greater activity will occur in Offshore Carnarvon basin, with 37 wildcats and 25 appraisals planned.
Ten wells are scheduled for the Bonaparte basin off Northern Territory.
Bass Strait's decline as an exploration province is underscored by plans for no wildcats and only two appraisals.
Seismic survey work also is expected to fail sharply in Australia in 1994, about 4 60% down from 1993 levels.
There also is a continuing shift in focus by Australian exploration companies into foreign activity, notably in Southeast Asia.
Fifteen companies are expected to spend $350 million on foreign exploration in 1994 with another $715 million earmarked for development.
