Energy giant Shell has dominated the country's latest auction of offshore exploration permits, winning three of seven licenses that were granted in the round, which attracted only moderate interest from bidders.

Shell beat one rival bidder to secure two permits in the Browse Basin and one in the Timor Sea, all off the north-west coast, with a commitment of a combined $117.6 million of work over the next three years. The funds will mostly go on seismic data, with only one exploration well commitment in that time.