Southern Oz Eases Tax for Upstream

The government of South Australia is to provide relief to oil and gas explorers by deferring costs and work programme commitments, according to the upstream lobby group Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association. The move is linked to exploration licences as the industry confronts the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, Appea said April 3.

Annual petroleum fees due in the next six months have been deferred until the end of the year. Appea CEO Andrew McConville said the measures would particularly help smaller exploration companies that continue to play a critical role in the identification and development of new energy resources.

“Current economic conditions have the potential to irreparably damage oil and gas exploration in Australia unless steps are taken to provide short term relief to allow companies to remain in business until the economy has moved through the worst of the downturn,” he said.

“The relief that SA has announced today will help exploration companies weather the storm and continue to play a critical role in discovering new sources of supply. This is important in the gas dependent states of South Australia and Western Australia but also right across the tight east coast gas market.”