Offshore gas in state waters
Supporting offshore gas exploration with geoscience
Natural gas has been extracted in waters off Victoria's coast for many decades and is a vital part of the state's energy supply network. Future supply is dependent on new gas discoveries.
To stimulate commercial exploration for natural gas resources, the Victorian Government offered five new offshore acreage areas in the Otway Basin for tender in May 2018. The acreage areas were in state-controlled nearshore waters. Following an assessment of applicant bids by the Earth Resources Regulator, permits to explore two of these areas were granted by the Minister for Resources in July 2020.
To support this investment attraction activity, the Geological Survey of Victoria created key geological datasets from existing information. In addition, the Otway Basin airborne gravity survey of 16,000 square kilometres of south west Victoria was conducted as part of the Victorian Gas Program. The airborne survey occurred in the second half of 2018 and included both offshore and onshore components of the basin. The data acquired has connected together the geological modelling of the offshore and onshore at a new granular level.
More information about the 2020 grant of Victorian offshore exploration permits.
Page last updated: 01 Dec 2021