Page 10 - AsianOil Week 01 2021

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Beetaloo sub-basin sees new

well flows, grant ruling

Australia’s Beetaloo sub-basin has been in the news over the past couple of

weeks owing to new well results and a legal battle over grants to a driller

COMMENTARY THE remote Beetaloo sub-basin in Australia’s up to AUD7.5mn ($5.9mn) per well are availa-
Northern Territory, part of the McArthur Basin, ble to applicants. In Empire’s case, the grants had
WHAT: has been in the news for two separate develop- been awarded to support three new exploration
The Beetaloo sub-basin ments in the past couple of weeks. wells in the company’s EP187 exploration zone
in Australia’s Northern On December 23, an Australian court voided in the basin’s east.
Territory has been in federal grants issued to Imperial Oil & Gas, a The Environment Centre NT had sought
the news for separate subsidiary of Empire Energy Group, for explora- to challenge the entire programme, claiming
developments. tion drilling in the basin. However, the court has that the government should have weighed the
allowed the grants to be re-issued and rejected impact on climate change and on Australia’s
WHY: legal challenges to the government’s Beetaloo ability to meet carbon emissions targets before
Tamboran Resources drilling grants programme, as well as approvals setting it up. However, the court rejected this
has reported flows from for Imperial’s drilling under the scheme. argument. Justice John Griffiths said those were
new wells, while a court Then on December 30, Sydney-listed Tamb- not factors the government needed to con-
voided grants issued to oran Resources said that the Tanumbirini 2H sider, as the programme and the grants were
an Empire Energy Group (T2H) and Tanumbirini 3H (T3H) wells in the for exploration drilling and not for natural gas
subsidiary. EP161 exploration permit in the Beetaloo had production.
started flowing gas to the surface. Tamboran is a Nonetheless, it voided the grants, saying their
WHAT NEXT: minority partner in EP161 with a 25% interest. issue was “unreasonable or capricious” at a time
There are warnings that Santos operates the wells and owns the remain- when it was considering a challenge by the Envi-
Australia’s expectations ing 75% stake. ronment Centre NT against the Beetaloo pro-
of its shale potential gramme and the approvals granted to Imperial.
could be overblown. Grant fight The grants can be re-issued by Australian
The three grants awarded to Empire that were Minister for Resources and Water Keith Pitt,
voided by the court were worth AUD21mn who described that part of the ruling as “a com-
($16.6mn). Under the AUD50mn ($40mn) Bee- mon-sense decision that will allow grants for the
taloo co-operative drilling programme, grants of development of the Beetaloo Basin to proceed”.

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