Petroleum acreage releases

Amendments to the Petroleum Act 1984 (1 January 2014) allow for the controlled release of vacant land and the government to accept multiple applications for exploration permits on the same acreage, providing for a more competitive assessment process.

Release areas vary in size and the level of existing geological knowledge and, may be covered by the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 or Native Title Act 1993.

Amendments to the Petroleum Act 1984 on 30 March 2020 require:

• the public and stakeholders to be notified and consulted about any proposed land release
• the following to be considered when deciding whether to release land:
  • prospectivity of the land
  • co-existence between exploration and existing or proposed industries in the area
  • whether the land is an area of intensive agriculture, high ecological value, high scenic value, culturally significant or strategically significant
• a statement of reasons is published stating why the land has been released and why co-existence is deemed possible.

2021 Northern Territory Petroleum Acreage Release

There were two areas available for oil and gas exploration in the 2021 Northern Territory Petroleum Acreage Release. The areas are located in the Georgina Basin.

EPNT21-1 block map PDF (519.3 KB)

EPNT21-2 block map PDF (469.3 KB)

All applications received for the grant of an exploration permit have now been considered by the Minister for Mining and Industry who determined that the applications were unsuccessful.

Contact Us

For application and legislation enquiries, email energytitles.ditt@nt.gov.au.

For queries relating to exploration related data, email geoscience.info@nt.gov.au.