BP’s Melbourne-based spokesman Jamie Jardine was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that the first stage of the drilling programme in the Great Australian Bight was estimated in 2011 to cost nearly AUD600m ($599m).
"We believe it to be a prospective area," Jardine added.
"It is unexplored, and as always in these unexplored areas you need to drill to unlock the geology."
The company, which received the permits from the Australian government in January 2011, initially said that it may start drilling in 2013 or 2014.
According to documents filed by the BP with the Australian government, it is seeking permission to drill in an area with water depths ranging from 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) to 2,500 meters.
