Page 10 - AsianOil Week 11 2021

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Australia loosens purse

strings for shale drillers

The government has unveiled details of its plan to support
drilling in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Sub-basin

COMMENTARY THE Australian government has unveiled fresh “This Commonwealth grants programme
details about its plan to help speed up shale gas will support gas operators to speed up explo-
development in the Northern Territory’s Bee- ration and development of the Beetaloo Basin,”
WHAT: taloo Sub-basin, which was first unveiled in Pitt said. “These grants are a key component of
Around $39mn worth of December 2020. our government’s agenda to bring gas from this
grants will be provide to Australian Minister for Resources, Water and world class resource into the market by at least
help deliver around 10 Northern Australia Keith Pitt said on March 18 2025.”
wells. that AUD50mn ($39mn) in grants would be pro- The NT’s Geological Survey has estimated
vided through the Beetaloo Cooperative Drilling that the sub-basin could hold more than 200,000
WHY: Program. PJ (5.21 trillion cubic metres) of gas.
The government wants to The government is stumping up public The drilling programme is part of the govern-
bring forward production money in the hopes of bringing forward drilling ment’s Beetaloo Strategic Basin Plan, which has
from the basin to 2025. in a basin that has been likened to the US’ prolific allocated AUD224mn ($173.4mn) in develop-
Marcellus shale play. The Beetaloo represents a ment funding for the sub-basin.
WHAT NEXT: key pillar of the government’s plans for a “gas- Liberal Party senator for the NT Sam McMa-
Canberra’s gas-led led recovery” from the coronavirus (COVID-19) hon hailed the plan as a major driver for the local
recovery initiatives are pandemic and is the first of five basins targeted to economy, noting that it was expected to create
being questioned as receive federal funding. up to 6,000 jobs over the next 20 years and help
unrealistic. “Australia remain a world leader in gas”. Senator
Drill driver McMahon said.
Pitt said the programme was expected to deliver The upstream sector has also welcomed the
around 10 additional exploration wells in the announcement, with industry body Australian
Beetaloo by 2022 and would bringing forward Petroleum Production and Exploration Associa-
at least AUD150mn ($117.1mn) of private tion (APPEA) saying the grants would be of par-
investment. ticular benefit to smaller exploration companies.
The Beetaloo Cooperative Drilling Program APPEA CEO Andrew McConville said:
will provide grants of between AUD750,000 “Successful exploration is essential to bringing
($584,000) and AUD7.5mn ($5.8mn) to support more gas supply to the domestic market and can
exploration drilling that occurs before Decem- deliver revenue for governments, jobs for work-
ber 30, 2022. ers and long-term energy security for Australia.”

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 11 18•March•2021