https://www.miningweekly.com

Qld releases more gas exploration acreage

3rd July 2019

By: Esmarie Iannucci

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor: Australasia

     

Font size: - +

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Queensland government has awarded Authority to Prospect (ATP) for gas on more than 1 510 km2 of land in the Surat basin, paving the way for future gas supply in the region.

Natural Resources, Mines and Energy Minister Dr Anthony Lynham on Wednesday awarded ATPs to a joint venture (JV) between major Santos and Shell, and to junior Brodgeport Energy.

Lynham said the granting of the ATPs reinforced Queensland’s commitment to meeting global and domestic demand with approvals processed in just three weeks. 

“This approval means the Santos/Shell JV and Bridgeport Energy can hit the ground running on the land near Chinchilla and Tara in the proven gas producing Surat basin.”

The Santos/Shell JV has won the right to explore gas on 1 212 km2 of land near Chinchilla and Bridgeport Energy and on 298 km2 near Tara.

“Santos and Shell already are major players in Queensland’s onshore A$70-billion gas industry via there established Gladstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) and Queensland Curtis LNG projects.

“Granting of these ATPs is all about getting the petajoules in the pipes and boosting gas supply to help meet demand. Santos/Shell and Bridgeport’s ongoing investment in exploration demonstrates the high level of confidence in Queensland’s onshore gas industry,” Lynham said.

Santos MD and CEO Kevin Gallagher said that along with its JV partner, Santos was looking forward to getting exploration under way as soon as possible to unlock new gas resources. 

“Development of new gas supply sources is the only sustainable, long-term solution to ensure adequate supplies for both the LNG and domestic markets on the east coast.”

The Queensland Resources Council has also welcomed the new land release, with CEO Ian Macfarlane noting that the onshore investment by the Santos/Shell joint venture and Bridgeport Energy demonstrated Queensland’s ability to get on with the job of supplying gas.

“We back our resources industry in Queensland, and that means industry and government working together to increase the supply of gas for both domestic and LNG customers while supporting local jobs,” Macfarlane said.

“The contrast between resources-friendly Queensland and the Southern States has deepened, with yet more investment in the local gas industry while other states remain locked up.”

Since 2015, the Queensland government had released more than 39 000 km2 of land for gas exploration - nearly a quarter for the domestic market only.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION