The Department's role in relation to the development offshore oil and gas resources is to increase investment in petroleum development in offshore areas under Commonwealth jurisdiction. This is achieved through best-practice policy development, implementation and administration.
Substantial investment is required to develop Australia's offshore petroleum resources, located mainly off the north-west and south-east coasts. These resources benefit the community through:
- energy supply for transport, domestic and industrial uses
- taxation revenues
- employment
- exports
- regional development
- downstream processing
- enhanced energy security.
Offshore petroleum development is undertaken by industry in accordance with laws and policies which are administered by the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator, and developed in partnership with the Offshore Resources Branch.
Follow these links to the Department's petroleum development webpages:
To contact the Department concerning offshore petroleum development issues, please refer to the Contact Us page for further assistance.