❓ The Minister for Mines and Petroleum updates the house on positive news regarding the Browse Basin, specifically that revised boundaries may place a larger proportion of the Torosa field within Western Australian waters, increasing royalty revenue for the state.
AnsweredQoN 346Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
BROWSE BASIN — WESTERN AUSTRALIA–COMMONWEALTH
BOUNDARY
346. Ms W.M. DUNCAN to the Minister for
Mines and Petroleum:
I understand that the minister has
today received correspondence from the commonwealth government regarding the
proportion of the Browse gas field in Western Australian waters. Would the
minister please explain to the house what this means for Western Australia?
BOUNDARY
346. Ms W.M. DUNCAN to the Minister for
Mines and Petroleum:
I understand that the minister has
today received correspondence from the commonwealth government regarding the
proportion of the Browse gas field in Western Australian waters. Would the
minister please explain to the house what this means for Western Australia?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Kalgoorlie
for her question, and I am very pleased to update the house on current issues
around the Browse Basin. It is not often that one receives a letter from the
commonwealth government containing good news, particularly around budget time!
For some time there has been debate about what percentage of the Browse Basin
relates to Western Australia and how much relates to the commonwealth. There is
actually some quite complex three-dimensional modelling to determine that.
There have been arguments; the Premier has come out and said that Western
Australia possibly has as much as 30 per cent of the Torosa field and about 15 per
cent of the overall Browse field, whereas from the commonwealth government's
point of view, Gary Gray came out last year and said that that figure could be
as low as five per cent of the total Browse field, based on the boundary of
Western Australian waters and the geological three-dimensional make-up
underneath.
The good news is that today I
received a letter, which I may be able to table tomorrow, from the National
Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator, advising us that the boundaries
between Western Australian and commonwealth waters are going to be revised and
that much of one of the largest tenements around Torosa will now be in Western
Australian waters. These are early days, but as much as 50 per cent of the
Torosa field could be in WA waters, which is great news for Western Australia.
It means we will have a greater percentage of the field and, as members will
know, the royalty percentage to Western Australia will be a lot greater. These
are early days, and I look forward to seeing the geological modelling. This has
great implications for us and, indeed, for all the joint venture parties.
for her question, and I am very pleased to update the house on current issues
around the Browse Basin. It is not often that one receives a letter from the
commonwealth government containing good news, particularly around budget time!
For some time there has been debate about what percentage of the Browse Basin
relates to Western Australia and how much relates to the commonwealth. There is
actually some quite complex three-dimensional modelling to determine that.
There have been arguments; the Premier has come out and said that Western
Australia possibly has as much as 30 per cent of the Torosa field and about 15 per
cent of the overall Browse field, whereas from the commonwealth government's
point of view, Gary Gray came out last year and said that that figure could be
as low as five per cent of the total Browse field, based on the boundary of
Western Australian waters and the geological three-dimensional make-up
underneath.
The good news is that today I
received a letter, which I may be able to table tomorrow, from the National
Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator, advising us that the boundaries
between Western Australian and commonwealth waters are going to be revised and
that much of one of the largest tenements around Torosa will now be in Western
Australian waters. These are early days, but as much as 50 per cent of the
Torosa field could be in WA waters, which is great news for Western Australia.
It means we will have a greater percentage of the field and, as members will
know, the royalty percentage to Western Australia will be a lot greater. These
are early days, and I look forward to seeing the geological modelling. This has
great implications for us and, indeed, for all the joint venture parties.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.