Origin Energy has successfully spudded the Kyalla 117 well as part of its Beetaloo Exploration Program in the Northern Territory. 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.

Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Matt Canavan, said the Beetaloo Sub-basin has the potential to be a new world-class gas province with an estimated 178,200 petajoules (PJ) of shale gas.

“[This] 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,” he said.

“This is an enormous opportunity for the Barkly Region, the Northern Territory and the entire Australian economy.”

The operations in the Beetaloo are already supported by a number of Territory businesses, with more than 50 Territorians employed during this early exploration stage.This is expected to increase as the project progresses and, if successful, moves into production.

Origin Energy’s permit area in the Beetaloo Basin of the Northern Territory, image courtesy of Origin Energy.

Origin has regulatory approval for its Environmental Management Plans related to the well and is required to comply with strict regulatory standards as per the recommendations of the Independent Scientific Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracturing.

The company’s exploration permits are located approximately 600 kilometres south-east of Darwin, between Daly Waters and Elliott.

The Beetaloo Exploration Project is a joint venture between Origin as Operator (70 per cent) and Falcon Oil and Gas (30 per cent).