British company NP Oil and Gas, Sydney-based Bridgeport Energy to pump $79m into exploration in Cooper, Otway basins of South Australia TWO new entrants to the South Australian resources sector have pledged to spend $79 million on exploration in the Cooper and Otway basins. British company NP Oil and Gas will search for petrol in the Otway under a lease announced yesterday by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis. The lease - split into several pieces and covering 5657sq km - stretches from north of Robe through Lucindale and Naracoorte to the Victorian border. It also takes in Beachport, Millicent and the zone south of Mt Gambier. "Otway Basin is regarded as the state's second-most prospective onshore oil and gas province," Mr Koutsantonis said. NP Oil and Gas Holdings will spend $54.6 million on the project. It is a subsidiary of Northern Petroleum - a European company listed on the London alternative market. It has operations in Britain, the Netherlands, Italy and French Guiana. In its annual report, Northern Petroleum says it pursues a strategy to acquire assets in low-risk jurisdictions at low cost and with significant development potential. The second successful bidder for an exploration licence announced yesterday at a petroleum industry conference is Sydney-based Bridgeport Energy. It will target a 392sq km block in the oil-rich western part of the Cooper Basin with a spending pledge of $24.4 million. Bridgeport is a subsidiary of New Hope Corporation, the coal, logistics and infrastructure group. New Hope, whose chairman is Robert Millner, acquired Bridgeport, an oil producer in the Eromanga Basin, last year as a strategic investment. The bidders were selected from a competitive process. "The investment to be made by NP Oil and Gas Holdings and Bridgeport Energy guarantee work programs comprising a combined 11 wells and 550sq km of three-dimensional seismic survey data collection," Mr Koutsantonis said. Environmental and native title clearances will be needed.