Gas production in the Northern Territory is expected to substantially increase in the near-term, driven by LNG from new wells in the Beetaloo Basin and natural gas piped into Darwin from the offshore Barossa gas field.
Beetaloo’s development could create up to 6,300 jobs and deliver $1 billion in total revenue to the NT government by 2040, as well as generating $22.4 billion in NT economic growth.
Ryan Neve, NT Director for Australian Energy Producers, told Petroleum Australia the Beetaloo Basin represented one of Australia’s most significant energy opportunities, with the potential to deliver lasting economic and energy security benefits for the Northern Territory and the nation.
He said: “There is strong private sector confidence in the Beetaloo, reflecting the scale of the opportunity and its potential to attract investment, create jobs and support long-term economic growth.
“The Northern Territory government should be commended for its practical and pro-development approach to unlocking the Beetaloo, which will strengthen regional communities, drive investment and help build a sustainable long-term revenue base for the Territory.
“Realising the full potential of the Beetaloo will require clear and consistent policy settings from both the Territory and federal governments that provide long-term certainty for investors and support the development of new gas supply.”
The Beetaloo spans an area of about 30,000 square kilometres southeast of Katherine and has extensive gas resources estimated to be more than 100 trillion cubic feet of recoverable shale dry gas, with a liquids upside and strong potential to grow LNG exports through Darwin’s expanding terminals and to boost east coast energy supplies.
Three companies are currently exploring and developing in the Basin: Tamboran Resources, Beetaloo Energy Australia (formerly Empire Energy), and Santos.
Tamboran holds net 2C contingent resources of about 1.5 trillion cubic feet, and is targeting first production by the third quarter of 2026.
Late in 2023, Tamboran completed its acquisition of Origin Energy’s gas assets in the Beetaloo, making it the largest acreage holder and operator in the region.
In April 2024, Tamboran signed a binding long-term take-or-pay gas sales agreement to supply the Northern Territory government with 40 terajoules per day for an initial term of nine years from the Shenandoah South pilot project.
Beetaloo Energy Australia previously raised more than $46 million to fund drilling, completion and flow testing of its Carpentaria-5H pilot development well, and installation of its gas plant.
Having reached a final investment decision, the company anticipates first commercial production from Carpentaria later this year, with first supply going to the Northern Territory and east coast markets.
Along with onshore development in the Beetaloo, the Middle Arm sustainable development precinct near Palmerston will be a key plank of NT’s economic growth, presenting the opportunity to create about 20,000 direct and indirect jobs for the Territory.
Starting gas production in January after more than a year’s delay, Santos’ $5.6-billion Barossa project replaces gas supply to the Darwin LNG (DLNG) plant at Middle Arm, previously supplied by the now-depleted Bayu-Undan field near Timor-Leste.
Barossa’s gas is extracted about 285 kilometres offshore Darwin and transported via pipeline to DLNG, with other project infrastructure including a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility, a subsea production system, and supporting in-field subsea infrastructure.
The FPSO has a processing capacity of up to 800 million standard cubic feet of gas a day and a design capacity of 11,000 barrels of stabilised condensate a day.
Santos and Tamboran have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) to assess options for natural gas from the Beetaloo to a potential second LNG train at Middle Arm.
Both companies have already partnered on the Beetaloo’s exploration permit 161, with Santos’ interest 75 per cent and the remainder Tamboran’s.