Australian Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan has welcomed the first drilling activity in the Beetaloo Basin since the moratorium on hydraulic fracturing was lifted in 2018.
As reported by Oil & Gas Industry News, Origin Energy and Falcon Oil & Gas last week announced the successful spudding of the Kyalla 117 well in the Beetaloo Basin.
Canavan said exploration and production in the Beetaloo Basin meant more jobs in Northern Australia’s resources sector and opportunities for local businesses.
“Dozens of people are currently employed even at this early gas exploration phase, but that number will grow as activity increases in the basin and projects move from exploration to development,” Canavan said.
“The Beetaloo Sub-basin has the potential to be a new world-class gas province with an estimated 178,200 petajoules of shale gas, which is larger than any of the North West Shelf conventional gas resources, while over 25 years a moderate scale of onshore gas development could create more than 6500 jobs and be worth more than $9 billion nationally.”
The exploration permits held by Origin are located around 600 kilometres south-east of Darwin between Elliott and Daly Waters.
Kyalla 117 is the first of two new appraisal wells to be drilled and fracture stimulated to help determine the potential of the resource in the Beetaloo Basin.
The project is a joint venture between Origin as operator (70 per cent) and Falcon Oil and Gas (30 per cent).
“I look forward to further exploration and production in the Beetaloo Basin and indeed across the country,” Canavan added.
“Queensland and now the Northern Territory is proving that the oil and gas industry can enhance prosperity and strengthen Australia’s energy security. It’s time that other states realised this and lifted their unscientific bans and moratorium.”