The annual offshore petroleum exploration acreage release is part of the government’s strategy to promote offshore oil and gas exploration. Each year, the government invites companies to bid for the opportunity to invest in oil and gas exploration in Australian waters. The 2020 acreage release consists of 42 areas offshore of the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Victoria and the Ashmore and Cartier Islands.

The annual offshore petroleum exploration acreage release is part of the government’s strategy to promote offshore oil and gas exploration. Each year, the government invites companies to bid for the opportunity to invest in oil and gas exploration in Australian waters. The 2020 acreage release consists of 42 areas offshore of the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Victoria and the Ashmore and Cartier Islands.

The 2023 Offshore Greenhouse Gas Storage Acreage Release is a key strategy of the Australian Government to reduce emissions and support Australia's resource sector. The GHG acreage release will provide companies the opportunity to explore for offshore carbon dioxide injection and storage locations. The 2023 GHG acreage release consists of 10 areas across the Bonaparte, Browse, Northern Carnarvon Basins, Perth, Otway, Bass and Gippsland Basins.

<div>In 2022, the Australian Government released ten offshore petroleum exploration areas. They are located in the Bonaparte Basin, Browse Basin, Northern Carnarvon Basin and Gippsland Basin. The areas highlight that producing provinces rather than data-poor regions are the preferred targets for exploration activities. In addition, the transition to low carbon energy resources, including opportunities for carbon capture and storage, has seen a diversification of energy companies’ portfolios. The Australian Government is supportive of the upstream energy industry, with natural gas seen as an important enabling energy resource commodity that supports the expansion of low emission technologies and related infrastructure. Most of the areas being offered for exploration in 2022 are likely to generate extra volumes of natural gas, both for domestic markets as well as securing feedstock for existing LNG export projects for the longer term. </div><div>Consistent with the approach of recent releases, only one period for work program bidding has been scheduled. The closing date for all bid submissions is 2 March 2023. </div><div>Geoscience Australia provides pre-competitive data and petroleum geological information in support of industry activities. Its petroleum geological studies aim to improve the understanding of the evolution of hydrocarbon-bearing basins at a regional scale and include a review of source rock and fluid occurrences, their geochemical characteristics, and petroleum systems modelling. Most recent examples include a sedimentological/stratigraphic study that investigates the depositional history of the southern Bonaparte Basin during the late Permian to Early Triassic evaluating the controls on reservoir facies development. A regional petroleum geological study of the Otway Basin, with a focus on the deeper water area and utilising newly industry acquired regional seismic data, provides new insights into the hydrocarbon prospectivity of this largely underexplored offshore part of the basin. Latest results of these studies were presented at this year’s APPEA conference. Large seismic and well data sets, submitted under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (OPGSSA) are made available through the National Offshore Petroleum Information Management System (NOPIMS). Additional data and petroleum related information can be accessed through Geoscience Australia’s data repository</div><div><br></div>

The annual offshore petroleum exploration acreage release is part of the government’s strategy to promote offshore oil and gas exploration. Each year, the government invites companies to bid for the opportunity to invest in oil and gas exploration in Australian waters. The 2022 acreage release consists of 10 areas offshore of the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Victoria, and the Ashmore and Cartier Islands.

The annual offshore petroleum exploration acreage release is part of the government’s strategy to promote offshore oil and gas exploration. Each year, the government invites companies to bid for the opportunity to invest in oil and gas exploration in Australian waters. The 2021 acreage release consists of 21 areas offshore of Western Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and the Ashmore and Cartier Islands.

The annual offshore petroleum exploration acreage release is part of the government’s strategy to promote offshore oil and gas exploration. Each year, the government invites companies to bid for the opportunity to invest in oil and gas exploration in Australian waters. The 21 areas shown have been nominated by petroleum industry stakeholders to be considered for the 2021 acreage release. Areas nominated for release will not receive endorsement from government until submissions resulting from a public consultation process can be considered. This publication does not indicate a commitment to a particular course of action.

The annual offshore petroleum exploration acreage release is part of the government’s strategy to promote offshore oil and gas exploration. Each year, the government invites companies to bid for the opportunity to invest in oil and gas exploration in Australian waters. The areas shown have been nominated by petroleum industry stakeholders to be considered for the 2022 acreage release. Areas nominated for release will not receive endorsement from government until submissions resulting from a public consultation process can be considered. This publication does not indicate a commitment to a particular course of action.

The annual offshore petroleum exploration acreage release is part of the government’s strategy to promote offshore oil and gas exploration. Each year, the government invites companies to bid for the opportunity to invest in oil and gas exploration in Australian waters. The 2021 acreage release consists of 21 areas offshore of Western Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and the Ashmore and Cartier Islands.

The annual offshore petroleum exploration acreage release is part of the government’s strategy to promote offshore oil and gas exploration. Each year, the government invites companies to bid for the opportunity to invest in oil and gas exploration in Australian waters. The 2022 acreage release consists of 10 areas offshore of the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Victoria, and the Ashmore and Cartier Islands.