2020 offshore petroleum exploration acreage release

Date published:
1 August 2020

There are 42 release areas available for offshore oil and gas exploration. They are offshore of the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Victoria and the Ashmore and Cartier Islands.

The annual acreage release offers the petroleum industry a variety of investment opportunities.

Industry nominated the release areas. Then we consulted with the public, governments and stakeholders to determine the final release. View feedback from stakeholders provided during public consultation.

Bidding on these areas closed on Tuesday 1 June 2021.

This map of Australia shows the 2020 acreage release areas offshore of the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Victoria and the Ashmore and Cartier Islands. The map shows the shapes of the new acreage blocks in orange.

Explore acreage release areas

See regional geology, high resolution maps, block diagrams and block listings for:

Bonaparte Basin

There are 12 release areas in the Bonaparte Basin, offshore northern Australia.

Browse Basin

There are 8 release areas in the Browse Basin, offshore north-western Australia.

Northern Carnarvon Basin

There are 19 release areas in the Northern Carnarvon Basin, offshore north-western Australia.

Otway Basin

There is 1 release area in the Otway Basin, offshore south-eastern Australia.

Gippsland Basin

There are 2 release areas in the Gippsland Basin, offshore south-eastern Australia. These are both in eastern Gippsland.

Access key files and supporting data

Geoscience Australia partnered with us to provide geological information to support this release. Maps and field outlines are from GPinfo, a Petrosys Pty Ltd product, and are accurate as at 2 July 2020.