RESEARCH NOTE:
TheExtentofFossilFuelTenementsin
Australia
Executive Summary
This Research Note provides a unique and comprehensive overview of the extent to
which the fossil fuel industry covers Australia today. No single, up to date,
government dataset exists covering exploration and extraction tenements in all
jurisdictions. This analysis fills that gap. Aggregating and analysing data from eight
Australian jurisdictions reveals that 37% of the land mass is under either a fossil fuel
tenement or application, covering a total of 2,860,000km2, an area equivalent to
almost two thirds the size of the European Union. Coal tenements and applications
cover 210,000km2, an area approximately the size of Victoria. Petroleum (oil and
gas) tenements and applications cover 2,740,000 km2, an area greater than Western
Australia. The spatial data associated with this analysis is available via an online
map.
Introduction
Fossil fuels are big business in Australia. The country is the largest exporter of coal
globally and, while oil reserves are diminishing, is set to become the largest exporter
of liquid natural gas (LNG) by 2020. Exploring for and extracting these commodities
requires significant areas of land. Onshore and coastal mining and petroleum
activities are regulated by state and territory governments, while offshore petroleum
activities in Commonwealth waters are administered federally. No single, up to date,
government dataset exists covering tenements in all jurisdictions. Therefore, it is
challenging to gain an overview of fossil fuel related leases across the whole
country.
Energy and Resource Insights has filled this information gap. By aggregating and
standardising tenement data from eight different regulators, a national dataset has
been produced. This provides a unique and comprehensive overview of the extent to
which the fossil fuel industry’s activities cover Australia today.
7th April 2016
Methodology
Current spatial datasets containing information on fossil fuel related tenements were
sourced from state, territory, and federal regulators. As there is no standard format
for classifying or managing these data, an analysis was conducted of different
practices. Some jurisdictions, for example, were found to use retention permits while
others do not. Similarly, some state and territory datasets contain duplicates (and,
potentially, out of date versions) of tenements now regulated by the National
Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) – this is a legacy from before
2012. All jurisdictions were found to adopt unique practices regarding the information
on individual tenements (attribute data) accompanying the spatial data.
Based on the results of this analysis, the spatial information was filtered,
categorised, standardised and compiled into unified, national datasets. Full details of
the data sources and filtering techniques applied are presented in Appendix 1.
The area of tenements within these datasets was then calculated using an Albers
projection. Land area coverage calculations were then undertaken.
Results
It is important to note that in some cases, tenements (especially of different types)
overlap. For this reason, the total area of a state covered with tenements may be
less than the total area of the tenements within it. As a result, three different area
types are presented:
Total tenement area – total summed area of all tenements within a jurisdiction
(includes overlapping tenements)
Total coverage area – total area of a jurisdiction covered in tenements.
Onshore coverage area – total mainland onshore area of a jurisdiction covered in
tenements.
Coal tenements
TenementType
ExplorationRelease
Area
ExplorationTenement
Application
ExplorationTenement
RetentionTenement
Application
RetentionTenement
MiningTenement
Application
MiningTenement
Totalnumber
Totaltenementarea
Totalstatecoverage
Totalcoveragearea
State
NSW
-
3
2
15km 184
2
23,700km -
-
56
2
335km 380
2
3,540km 623
2
27,600km 3.0%
2
24,400km QLD
-
2
2
970km 681
2
144,000km -
-
98
2
5,800km 357
2
5,360km 1,138
2
157,000km 8.8%
2
151,000km SA
-
7
2
10,400km 20
2
17,200km -
3
2
7km -
1
2
140km 31
2
27,700km 2.5%
2
24,600km Total
TAS
1
2
246km -
5
2
439km -
5
2
172km -
4
2
78km 15
2
935km 1.4%
2
923km VIC
WA
-
7
2
1,290km 26
2
5,130km 1
2
84km 2
2
73km -
11
2
230km 47
2
6,810km 2.9%
2
6,650km -
11
2
871km 20
2
832km -
1
2
6km 10
2
152km 79
2
240km 121
2
2,100km 0.1%
2
2,000km 1
2
246km 30
2
13,500km 936
2
192,000km 1
2
84km 11
2
258km 164
2
6,290km 832
2
9,590km 1,975
2
222,000km 2.7%
2
210,000km Petroleum tenements
State
TenementType
NSW
NT
Totalnumber
Totaltenementarea
-
-
15
2
57,700km -
6
2
974km 6
2
241km 27
2
59,000km Totalcoveragearea
58,200km ExplorationRelease
Area
ExplorationTenement
Application
ExplorationTenement
RetentionTenement
ProductionTenement
Application
ProductionTenement
2
QLD
-
132
2
806,000km 53
2
401,000km 3
2
1,170km -
5
2
2,310km 193
2
1,210,000km 2
1,210,000km SA
20
2
11,100km 47
2
224,000km 145
2
292,000km -
65
2
8,260km 277
2
29,700km 554
2
566,000km 2
416,000km TAS
-
55
2
365,000km 52
2
214,000km 188
2
15,500km -
221
2
7,460km 516
2
602,000km 2
602,000km VIC
1
2
2,890km -
2
2
7,150km -
-
-
3
2
10,000km 2
10,000km WA
-
-
15
2
13,800km 4
2
987km -
16
2
171km 35
2
15,000km 2
15,000km 5
2
3,290km 45
2
333,000km 67
2
181,000km -
1
2
149km 31
2
5,880km 149
2
523,000km 2
522,000km Commonwealth
waters
-
-
168
2
605,000km 75
2
21,300km -
94
2
23,000km 337
2
649,000km 2
649,000km Total
26
2
17,300km 279
2
1,730,000km 517
2
1,770,000km 270
2
39,000km 72
2
9,380km 650
2
68,800km 1,814
2
3,630,000km 2
3,480,000km Petroleum tenements (onshore)
TenementType
ExplorationRelease
Area
ExplorationTenement
Application
ExplorationTenement
RetentionTenement
ProductionTenement
Application
ProductionTenement
Totalnumber
Totaltenementarea
Onshore
statecoverage
Onshore
coveragearea
State
NSW
NT
QLD
SA
TAS
VIC
Total
WA
-
-
15
2
57,600km -
6
2
974km 6
2
241km 27
2
58,800km -
114
2
731,000km 53
2
401,000km 3
2
1,170km -
5
2
2,310km 175
2
1,140,000km 20
2
11,100km 47
2
224,000km 145
2
292,000km -
65
2
8,260km 277
2
29,700km 554
2
566,000km -
55
2
365,000km 52
2
214,000km 188
2
15,500km -
221
2
7,460km 516
2
602,000km 1
2
2,890km -
2
2
7,150km -
-
-
3
2
10,000km -
-
15
2
13,400km 4
2
876km -
16
2
117km 35
2
14,300km 1
2
2,660km 42
2
331,000km 55
2
170,000km -
1
2
149km 17
2
3,250km 116
2
507,000km 22
2
16,600km 258
2
1,650,000km 337
2
1,150,000km 195
2
17,600km 72
2
9,380km 542
2
43,100km 1,426
2
2,890,000km 7.3%
84.9%
24.1%
61.4%
15.6%
6.3%
20.1%
35.8%
2
2
58,100km 1,130,000km 2
2
416,000km 2
602,000km 2
10,000km 2
14,300km 2
507,000km 2,740,000km Total fossil fuel (coal and oil & gas) tenement coverage areas
Areaoffossilfuel
tenements
Totalcoverage
Onshore
statecoverage
Onshore
coveragearea
Jurisdiction
NSW
NT
2
QLD
2
70,600km 1,210,000km 8.8%
2
84.9%
2
70,400km 1,130,000km SA
2
Total
TAS
2
VIC
2
Commonwealth
waters
WA
2
2
515,000km 602,000km 10,800km 19,400km 524,000km 29.9%
61.4%
16.7%
8.2%
20.1%
2
515,000km 2
602,000km 2
10,800km 2
18,700km 2
508,000km 2
2
649,000km 3,600,000km -
37.3%
2
- 2,860,000km Appendix 1: data sources
Date of data acquisition: 6th April 2016
Coal Tenements
New South Wales
Exploration Release Area: none.
Exploration Tenement Application: All onshore “exploring” leases within the Coal
Title Applications – Current Coal Applications dataset.
Exploration Tenement: All “exploring” leases within the Current Coal Titles
dataset.
Mining Tenement Application: All “mining” leases within the Coal Title
Applications – Current Coal Applications dataset.
Mining Tenement: All “mining” leases within the Current Coal Titles dataset.
Source: all data sourced from the NSW Department of Industry’s MinView tool.
Queensland
Exploration Tenement Application: All “applications” status leases within the
Exploration Permits for Coal dataset.
Exploration Tenement: All “granted” status leases within the Exploration Permits
for Coal dataset.
Mining Tenement Application: All “application” coal division leases within the
Mining Leases dataset.
Mining Tenement: All “granted” coal division leases within the Mining Leases
dataset.
Source: all data sourced from Exploration and production permits – Queensland
South Australia
Exploration Tenement Application: All leases solely seeking coal as the target
commodity within the Mineral and/or Opal Exploration Licence Applications dataset.
Exploration Tenement: All leases solely seeking coal as the target commodity
within the Mineral Exploration Licences dataset.
Retention Tenement: All leases with coal as the target commodity within the
(mineral) Retention Leases dataset.
Mining Tenement Application: All applications seeking coal within the Mineral
Production Tenement Applications dataset.
Mining Tenement: All applications seeking coal within the Mineral Production
Tenements dataset The Leigh Creek coal mine is not covered by South Australia’s
standard mining tenement system, instead an area of land is reserved for the coal
mining through an exclusion from the Mining Act 1971 and the Opal Act 1995. This
is identified as the “Leigh Creek Coalfield” in the Areas Reserved from the Mining
Act 1971 and Opal Act 1995 dataset.
Source: all data sourced from the South Australian Resources Information
Geoserver (SARIG)
Tasmania
Exploration Release Area: All current leases of the type “Exploration Release
Area” within the Category 2 Exploration Licence dataset.
Exploration Tenement Application: All “pending” exploration leases within the
Category 2 Exploration Licence dataset.
Exploration Tenement: All “pending renewal” or “granted” exploration leases
within the Category 2 Exploration Licence dataset.
Retention Tenement Application: All “pending” retention leases within the
Category 2 Exploration Lease dataset
Retention Tenement: All “pending renewal” or “granted” retention leases within the
Category 2 Exploration Lease dataset.
Mining Tenement Application: All applications seeking coal within the Leases
dataset.
Mining Tenement: All granted mining tenements seeking coal within the Leases
dataset.
Source: all layers sourced from Mineral Resources Tasmania
Victoria
Exploration Tenement Application: All “application” status tenements seeking
coal within the Exploration Leases dataset.
Exploration Tenement: All current tenements seeking coal within the Exploration
Leases dataset.
Retention Tenement Application: All “application” status tenements seeking coal
within the Retention Leases dataset
Retention Tenement: All current tenements seeking coal within the Retention
Leases dataset.
Mining Tenement Application: All tenement applications seeking coal within the
Mining Leases dataset.
Mining Tenement: All current or “renewal” status leases seeking coal within the
Mining Leases dataset.
Source: all layers sourced from the Earth Resources Current Tenements data
release
Western Australia
Western Australian mineral tenements typically do not specify the commodity
sought. Therefore, tenements where the known target is coal were selected based
on independent research. This is almost certainly an underestimate.
Exploration Tenement Applications: tenements from the Tenements – Current
(Live and Pending) dataset of the type “Exploration Licence” or “Prospecting
Licence” with a “pending” status where the target commodity is known to be coal.
Exploration Tenements: tenements from the Tenements – Current (Live and
Pending) dataset of the type “Exploration Licence” or “Prospecting Licence” with a
“live” status where the target commodity is known to be coal.
Retention Tenement Applications: tenements from the Tenements – Current (Live
and Pending) dataset of the type “Retention Licence” with a “pending” status
where the target commodity is known to be coal.
Retention Tenements: tenements from the Tenements – Current (Live and
Pending) dataset of the type “Retention Licence” with a “live” status where the
target commodity is known to be coal.
Mining Tenement Applications: tenements from the Tenements – Current (Live
and Pending) dataset of the type “Mining Lease” or “Coal Mining Lease” with a
“pending” status where the target commodity is known to be coal.
Mining Tenements: tenements from the Tenements – Current (Live and Pending)
dataset of the type “Mining Lease” or “Coal Mining Lease” with a “live” status
where the target commodity is known to be coal.
Source: all layers sourced from Tenements – Current (Live and Pending) data
release from the Western Australian Government’s Department of Mines and
Petroleum’s Data and Software Centre
Oil/Gas Leases
New South Wales
Advertised Petroleum Areas: none.
Exploration Tenement Applications: There are no exploration permit applications
within the Petroleum Title Applications dataset.
Exploration Tenements: All “Assessment” or “Exploring” leases within the
Petroleum Titles dataset with the exception of PEP 11 (version present in the
NOPTA dataset used instead).
Retention Tenement Applications: Tenement type not used in NSW.
Retention Tenements: Tenement type not used in NSW.
Production Tenement Applications:All “Mining” leases within the Petroleum Title
Applications dataset.
Production Tenements: All “Mining” leases within the Petroleum Titles dataset.
Source: all layers sourced from the NSW Department of Industry’s MinView tool.
Northern Territory
Only owners of leases shown (applicants or holders – not managers).
Exploration Tenement Applications: All leases within the Exploration Permits –
Application data set.
Exploration Tenements: All leases within the Exploration Permits – Granted data
set.
Retention Tenement Applications:All leases within the Retention Licences –
Application data set.
Retention Tenements:All leases within the Retention Licences – Granted data set.
Production Tenement Applications:All leases within the Production Licences –
Application data set (if available).
Production Tenements: All leases within the Production Licences – Granted data
set.
Source: all layers sourced from the Petroleum and Pipeline Titles layer
group produced by the Northern Territory Geological Survey, on behalf of the
Northern Territory of Australia.
Offshore Leases
Advertised Petroleum Areas: currently not shown.
Exploration Tenement Applications: data no available
Exploration Tenements: All active titles with the type “Exploration Permit“.
Retention Tenement Applications: data no available
Retention Tenements: All active titles with the type “Retention Lease“.
Production Tenement Applications: data no available
Production Tenements: All active titles with the type “Production Licence“.
Source: all layers sourced from National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administration
(NOPTA) spatial data download page
Queensland
Advertised Petroleum Areas: all features from the Advertised Areas for Petroleum
(ADP) shapefile.
Exploration Tenement Applications: All titles within the Exploration Permits for
Petroleum (EPP) dataset with “PERMITST_1” equal to “Application” and
“PERMITST_2” not equal to “Unsuccessful Application”.
Exploration Tenements: All titles within the Exploration Permits for Petroleum
(EPP) dataset with “PERMITST_1” equal to “Granted”.
Retention Tenement Applications: Not used in Queensland.
Retention Tenements: Not used in Queensland.
Production Tenement Applications: All titles within the Petroleum Leases (PL)
dataset with “PERMITST_1” equal to “Application”.
Production Tenements: All titles within the Petroleum Leases (PL) dataset with
“PERMITST_1” equal to “Granted”.
Source: all layers sourced from Exploration and production permits – Queensland
South Australia
Advertised Petroleum Areas: text
Exploration Tenement Applications: All leases from the Petroleum Exploration
Licence/Permit Applications dataset.
Exploration Tenements: All onshore leases from the Petroleum Exploration
Licences/Permits dataset.
Retention Tenement Applications: All leases from the Petroleum Retention
Licence/Permit Applications dataset.
Retention Tenements: All leases from the Petroleum Retention Licences/Permits
dataset.
Production Tenement Applications: All leases from the Petroleum Production
Licence Applications dataset.
Production Tenements: All leases from the Petroleum Production Licences
dataset.
Source: all layers sourced from the South Australian Resources Information
Geoserver (SARIG)
Tasmania
Advertised Petroleum Areas: All current leases of the type “Exploration Release
Area”.
Exploration Tenement Applications: None available.
Exploration Tenements: All granted exploration leases.
Retention Tenement Applications: None available.
Retention Tenements: None available.
Production Tenement Applications: None available.
Production Tenements: None available.
Source: all layers sourced from Mineral Resources Tasmania
Victoria
Advertised Petroleum Areas: As of April the 8th 2014. there are no current
Victorian Acreage Releases.
Exploration Tenement Applications: Not Available
Exploration Tenements: All leases of the type “Exploration Permit”.
Retention Tenement Applications: Not Available
Retention Tenements: All leases of the type “Retention Lease”.
Production Tenement Applications: Not Available
Production Tenements: All leases of the type “Production Licence”.
Source: all layers sourced from the Earth Resources Current Tenements data
release
Western Australia
Advertised Petroleum Areas: All leases from the WA Petroleum – Releases dataset
(WAPRELEASE)
Exploration Tenement Applications: All leases from the WA Petroleum –
Applications (WAPAPPLICATIONS) dataset of the type “Petroleum Exploration
Permit Application” and not covered by the NOPTA offshore dataset.
Exploration Tenements: All leases from the WA Petroleum – Titles dataset of the
type “Exploration Permit” and not covered by the NOPTA offshore dataset.
Retention Tenement Applications: All retention lease applications from the WA
Petroleum – Applications (WAPAPPLICATIONS) and not covered by the NOPTA
offshore dataset.
Retention Tenements: All leases from the WA Petroleum – Titles dataset of the
type “Retention Lease” and not covered by the NOPTA offshore dataset.
Production Tenement Applications: All leases from the WA Petroleum –
Applications (WAPAPPLICATIONS) dataset of the type “Petroleum Production
Licence Application”and not covered by the NOPTA offshore dataset.
Production Tenements: All leases from the WA Petroleum – Titles dataset of the
type “Petroleum Lease” or “Production Licence” and not covered by the NOPTA
offshore dataset.
Source: all layers sourced from the Western Australian Government’s Department of
Mines and Petroleum’s Data and Software Centre