Australia opens for offshore oil and gas bids
21 exploration blocks announced by Canberra.
By Marc Allen
The Australian government has announced that it has opened bidding for 21 offshore oil and gas exploration blocks in the Bonaparte, Browse, Carnarvon, Otway, Sorell, and Gippsland Basins.
The blocks encompass 80,000 sq km of new acreage and lie offshore of Western Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and the Ashmore and Cartier Islands.
“Exploration will continue to play a key role in supporting Australia’s economic growth by encouraging investment in development prospects, as well as unlocking additional supply,” said Keith Pitt, Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia.
The announcement follows the decision by Prime Minister Scott Morrison to pin Australia’s post-Covid economic recovery on the gas industry and his wish for the country to overtake Qatar as the world’s largest exporter of LNG.
