In 2009, the Commonwealth Government is releasing six large exploration areas in the frontier Bight Basin. The areas lie in the Ceduna Sub-basin, in water depths ranging from 130 to 4,600 m. At present, no permits are held in this part of the basin. Most exploration drilling in the Bight Basin has focussed on the margins of the Ceduna Sub-basin and on the adjacent Duntroon Sub-basin. Gnarlyknots 1A, drilled by Woodside Energy and partners in 2003, is the only well to have attempted to test the thick, prospective Ceduna Sub-basin succession away from the margins of the sub-basin, but did not reach all its target horizons due to weather and ocean conditions. The key to the petroleum prospectivity of the Ceduna Sub-basin is the distribution of the Late Cretaceous marine and deltaic facies. Recent dredging of Late Cenomanian–Turonian organic-rich marine rocks has confirmed the presence of high quality source rocks in the Bight Basin and has significantly reduced exploration risk. These potential source rocks are mature in the central part of the Ceduna Sub-basin and are likely to have generated and expelled hydrocarbons since the Campanian. Excellent reservoir rocks and potential intraformational seals are present in the Late Cretaceous deltaic successions and regional seals could be provided by Late Cretaceous marine shales. Interpretation of seismic data has identified numerous play types in the basin and some structures show amplitude anomalies, providing many exploration targets for explorers.