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Petroleum Exploration Expenditure in Australia Jumps 46% in March Quarter

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The petroleum exploration expenditure by private organizations in Australia in the March quarter jumped 46.2% year-over-year to AU$467 million on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the mineral exploration expenditure grew 16.1% year-over-year to AU$1.09 billion, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday.

Mineral exploration expenditure saw a trend rise of 13.4% year over year to AU$1.08 billion, while petroleum exploration expenditure rose 36.3% to AU$471 million.

Total onshore petroleum exploration expenditure climbed 14.8% quarter-over-quarter to AU$273.7 million, while offshore petroleum exploration expenditure fell 23.3% to AU$192.9 million on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Gold saw the largest fall in expenditure quarter-over-quarter, down 5.8% to AU$450.9 million, while iron ore rose 5% to AU$186 million.

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