The Queensland Government has awarded six new tenders for gas exploration covering six areas across the Bowen and Surat Basins, as part of the Queensland Exploration program.
Since 2017, Queensland has released over 20,000km of land exclusively for Australian domestic supply.
This is backed with the awarding of funding earlier this year from the $21 million Frontier Gas Grants program to four companies to fast-track the development of new gas reserves.
“In the 2022-23 financial year more than 27 petajoules of gas flowed from Queensland to the southern states, enough to power 520,000 homes,” Resources and Critical Minerals Scott Stewart said.
“Awarding these tenders demonstrates how Queensland is continuing to lead the nation when it comes to gas policy and doing the heavy lifting to meet domestic demands.
“Our gas supply policy is working, supporting exploration in Queensland and maintaining a pipeline of projects means more gas for industry and homes, and more jobs for Queensland.”
Australia’s oil and gas industry welcomed the announcement with Australian Energy Producers Queensland director Keld Knudsen applauding the commitment from the government.
“Queensland understands that exploration is vitally important to uncover the state’s abundant gas supplies that deliver billions of dollars of investment into regions and boost energy security,” he said.
“As southern states feel the consequence of years of poor policies that have impacted on gas developments, Queensland is reaping the benefits of supporting investment in the gas sector.”
Subscribe to Energy Today for the latest project and industry news.