text: **ACQUIRING NEW ACREAGE**
  Future exploration success depends 
  on quality exploration acreage. 
  Santos acquired five exploration 
  blocks in three hydrocarbon 
  provinces during 2004. The most 
  significant of these were in Egypt 
  and Indonesia. 
  
  • the addition of three new 
  
  **2004 EXPLORATION**
  **EXPENDITURE BY CATEGORY** **2004 EXPLORATION**
  **EXPENDITURE BY REGION**
  
  venture areas in the shallow 
  waters of the Gulf of Mexico 
  and onshore Montana and 
  Texas, which significantly 
  expands and diversifies the 
  US exploration acreage and 
  prospect inventory 
  
  Drilling 
  $63.6 million  Offshore Australia 
  $32.6 million 
  
  Geoscience and other 
  $37.5 million  Onshore Australia 
  $23.4 million 
  
  • the farm-out of a 60% interest 
  and operatorship of the NT/P61 
  permit in the Bonaparte Basin, 
  offshore northern Australia to 
  ConocoPhillips 
  
  Seismic 
  $17.2 million  South East Asia 
  $41.4 million 
  
  New ventures 
  $7.3 million  United States 
  $28.2 million 