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The government releases areas in Australian waters for oil and gas exploration each year.
Subscribe to Australian Petroleum News for information on acreage bidding rounds, and for updates on offshore oil and gas matters in Australian waters.
Oil and gas companies can participate in the acreage release by:
Anyone who has an interest in areas that may be released for bidding can have their say during the consultation phase in February and March each year.
The offshore petroleum industry is invited to shape the acreage release each year. They can submit nominations for release areas to be considered.
Nominations for the 2020 acreage release are open until February 2020. Nominations received after this will be fed into the next acreage release process.
Please consider that nominating many release areas can create concerns from other marine users, and impact community acceptance of the offshore petroleum industry.
Nominations should demonstrate a genuine intent to start activities in the immediate term. As a guide:
There aren’t any restrictions on the number of nominations you can put forward, however the government may change this if:
The Joint Authorities must endorse release areas before they can progress to the bidding rounds. The Joint Authority is generally made up of the responsible federal minister and the relevant state or Northern Territory minister.
Complete the online nomination form on business.gov.au
Nominations generally progress to the public consultation phase.
Areas, or parts of areas, may be excluded for national security or legal reasons. For example, if a nominated area extends into a green or yellow Australian marine park zone.
Areas may also be excluded where precompetitive open-file studies of the geology or other features of the area are being undertaken.
Before areas are released for bidding, the government undertakes a consultation process. We seek feedback from anyone who has an interest in a specific area and can provide information relevant to exploration in that area. This includes:
Consultation usually takes place in February and March each year. The consultation process is undertaken on our Consultation Hub. To be notified of upcoming consultations subscribe to the Australian Petroleum News.
Consultation informs the Joint Authorities’ decision to release nominated areas. It also helps companies understand factors they may need to consider when applying for and working in an area.
The Joint Authorities invite companies to bid on release areas. Areas available for bidding, and bid due dates, are published in the Australian Government Gazette.
When planning your work bid, you may want to:
International investors may need to seek approval from the Australian Treasurer. See foreign investment for mining requirements on the Foreign Investment Review Board website.
NOPTA assesses bids against the Offshore petroleum exploration guideline to determine which work program best meets the criteria. They provide advice to the Joint Authorities who make the decision on successful bids.
Successful bidders are offered an offshore petroleum exploration permit. This 6-year title can be renewed for a further two periods of 5 years.
NOPTA grants the permits on behalf of the relevant Joint Authority.
Oil and gas companies must meet a number of requirements before commencing offshore oil and gas activities.
Email petroleum.exploration@industry.gov.au
Last updated: 22 February 2019
Content ID: 46910