Equus Energy has obtained approval from industrial giant Alcoa of Australia to progress its offshore Equus Gas Project into Stage Two, unlocking an additional US$1.5 million (AU$2.2 million) in funding.
The decision follows Alcoa’s formal acceptance of Equus Energy’s Stage One pre-front end engineering design (Pre-FEED) deliverables under the parties’ Gas Sales and Funding Agreement.
Stage Two will focus primarily on advancing commercial and strategic partnering activities required to push the offshore project toward FEED and a final investment decision.
The Equus gas project holds an independently certified 2C Contingent Resource of 1.7 trillion cubic feet of gas and 38 million barrels of condensate off the coast of Western Australia.
Stage One studies confirmed a capital-efficient development pathway utilising a leased floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel tied back to existing pipeline and onshore processing infrastructure.
Economic modeling places the project’s net present value at US$867 million (A$1.24 billion), with initial Phase 1 capital expenditure estimated at US$1.25 billion.
Equus Managing Director Will Barker said: “Alcoa’s approval of Stage Two is another important milestone for Equus, reinforcing the project’s position as a strategically important source of future gas supply for Western Australia.”
Barker highlighted the project’s strategic role in addressing Western Australia’s impending domestic gas deficit as North West Shelf production declines.
He noted that maintaining 100 per cent ownership provides significant flexibility to negotiate farm-ins and equity sales across potential operating, infrastructure, financial, and LNG offtake partners.
“We are ideally positioned to help fill that supply gap. We have a large, independently certified gas resource, a capital-efficient development pathway that leverages existing infrastructure, and a binding 10-year domestic gas agreement with Alcoa,” Barker said.
The funding release builds on a binding 10-year gas sales agreement executed in August, under which Equus will supply Alcoa with 50 terajoules of domestic gas daily.
Equus Energy has initiated discussions with several prospective operating partners and expects to launch a broader international partnering process during the fourth quarter of 2026.
