The South Australian Government has announced it has received five new bids worth $142 million for access to the Cooper and Otway basins.

State Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy Tom Koutsantonis said that the bids have been accepted following the latest petroleum acreage release.

“The two successful bidders will be announced after formal offers are accepted,” Mr Koutsantonis said.

The bidding period – which closed on 4 April, 2013 – attracted three bids for the 392 square kilometre Cooper block, and two bids for the 5,657 square kilometre Otway block. The bids have a combined value of $142 million.

Mr Koutsantonis said that the bids reflected the State’s growing reputation as a global petroleum investment opportunity.

“South Australia attracted combined spending in mineral resource and petroleum exploration of more than $600 million in 2012,” Mr Koutsantonis said.

“Almost half of that total was spent on petroleum exploration in this State.

A bid-receiving team from the Department for Manufacturing, Innovation, Trade, Resources and Energy’s (DMITRE) Petroleum and Geothermal division will now assess and rank all bids, based on the selection criteria.

Each successful bidder will be required to prepare an Environmental Impact Report and a Statement of Environmental Objectives as well as resolve native title land access issues, in line with the Commonwealth Native Title Act 1993.