The Australian government has released a total of 21 new blocks across six offshore basins around the country in its 2018 acreage release. There is also a rerelease of a further seven blocks not taken up in the 2017 program.
The 2018 releases are split into nine Round One and seven Round Two work program bid blocks along with five cash bid blocks.
Applications for Round One blocks closes on Oct. 18, as do applications for the rereleased work program blocks from the 2017 program. Prequalification for the cash bid blocks closes on Oct. 4.
Applications for Round Two work program blocks close on Mar. 21, 2019. For prequalified applicants, the cash bid auctions will also be held on Feb. 7, 2019.
The Round One work program bid blocks comprise three on the Exmouth Plateau, two in the Vulcan subbasin, two in the Otway basin, and two in the Gippsland basin.
Round Two work program bid blocks comprise two in the Beagle subbasin, two in the Caswell subbasin, two in the eastern Gippsland basin, and one in the controversial Ceduna subbasin of the Great Australian Bight.
Of the cash bid blocks, there is one in each of the Dampier subbasin, the Rankin platform, the Barrow subbasin, the Exmouth Plateau, and the Otway basin.
The 2017 rerelease work program bids comprise one in each of the Vulcan subbasin, the Calder graben, the Cape Wickham subbasin, the Durroon subbasin, the Roebuck basin, the Dampier subbasin, and the Exmouth plateau.
