The move to cash bidding is new for Australia, and the four permits on offer are in the mature but still prospective Carnarvon and Browse basins.
"Releasing these areas through cash bidding is the most efficient approach to moving any discoveries on to production at the earliest stage," said Energy Minister Ian Macfarlane.
Acreage is available in four basins off the Northern Territory, Western Australia and the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands in the Timor Sea.
The
