Spanish major Repsol, Tangiers Petroleum, Pathfinder Energy and Liberty Petroleum were among the other successful bidders.

Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson said the seven grants, which were the second part of the 2011 exploration acreage release, would result in about $277 million in investment offshore the Northern Territory and Western Australia over the next three years.

Ferguson said a total of 19 bids were received for the seven permits.

Thirteen permits had been offered.

Woodside and Japan Australia LNG (MIMI) beat out one other bidder for WA-478-P in the northern Carnarvon Basin by promising $13.5 million worth of 3D seismic followed by geotechnical studies and an exploration well worth about $37 million.

In the Browse Basin north-north-west of Broome, Shell beat one rival to WA-477-P after proposing almost $100 million worth of works including $59 million worth of 3D seismic and geotechnical studies and a $40 million secondary program that includes an exploration well.

Repsol was awarded WA-480-P north of Dampier, WA, ahead of two other bidders.

Repsol is proposing $138 million in investigative and exploratory works.

The most hotly contested permit was WA-482-P, immediately south of WA-480-P in a group of three permits described by the Resources and Energy Department as the "deep water frontier of Australia's premier Northern Carnarvon Basin hydrocarbon province".

Liberty Petroleum beat four other bidders for WA-482-P by committing to a $96.5 million program of seismic plus an exploration wel.

It also outlined a secondary program that included another well as well as geological and geophysical studies, to a total estimated value of $80.5 million.

Another hot property was WA-481-P, described as "a very large block over the offshore northern Perth Basin, covering parts of the Abrolhos, Houtman and Vlaming sub-basins and the Beagle and Turtle Dove ridges, [offering] a range of plays in a variety of water depths, with the majority of the block in less than 500m of water".

Murphy Australia Oil, Kufpec Australia and Samsung Oil & Gas beat three competing bids by proposing a guaranteed work program including extensive 2D and 3D seismic plus three exploration wells worth a total $71 million.

A secondary work program worth about $36.5 million includes two exploration wells.

Tangiers Petroleum has guaranteed a $2 million seismic and geotechnical spend in NT/P83, north of Darwin in the Arafura Sea, and submitted a $19 million secondary program that included one exploration well.

Pathfinder Energy was the only bidder for WA-479-P in the "under-explored" Rowley sub-Basin north-northeast of Port Hedland.

Pathfinder proposed an $8.45 million guaranteed work program of geological and geophysical studies and a $25.4 million secondary program.