Page 11 - AsianOil Week 02 2021

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makes sense when considering the long-term 2023, as offshore fields mature and dry up. The
future of the territory’s gas industry. operator has warned that the East Coast could
While the NT Geological Survey has esti- experience a 500 mmcf (14.16mn cubic metre)
mated the basin could hold more than 200,000 per day shortfall by the middle of the decade.
PJ (5.21 trillion cubic metres) of gas, billions of Much of the government’s response to this
dollars’ worth of investment will be required warning has been to talk about how to redirect
before Beetaloo’s potential can be fully reaslised. gas from export projects – which are already
Pitt has noted that development of the sub-ba- short on feedstock – much to the consterna-
sin could increase economic activity by A$18- tion of industry. While talking up the domes-
36.8bn ($13.93-28.47bn) over the next 20 years. tic supply potential of the Beetaloo, however,
The NT’s wet season, which runs from the government made sure to acknowledge the
November until April, can hamper drilling opportunity available to provide existing liq-
operations, with contractors struggle to get into uefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities with
and out of remote site locations via rural roads. feedstock.
As such, improving the NT’s road networks is Given the limited amount of wells spud on
expected to increase road reliability and safety the play, highlighting both domestic and interna-
during the wet season. tional marketing options is a smart move, given
Commenting on the investment, Pitt said the spike in spot LNG prices in recent months.
“These roads upgrades will provide quality infra- Additional government support has been
structure to support gas development and other warmly welcomed by the Australian Petro-
industries in and around the Beetaloo Sub-basin. leum Production and Exploration Association
This will support industry and business by pro- (APPEA), with NT director Keld Knudsen
viding more reliable freight links that will reduce describing it as underscoring confidence in the
the cost of doing business.” territory’s “world-class gas reserves”.
He added that the Beetaloo’s development APPEA noted: “The Beetaloo Sub-basin
had the “potential to transform the [NT’s] econ- still requires billions of dollars of investment in
omy, creating thousands of jobs and supply[ing] high-risk exploration and the construction of
Australia’s gas demand for decades to come.” production wells, gas processing and pipeline
infrastructure to get the gas to market, processes
First of five that will take several years.”
The Beetaloo Strategic Basin Plan is the first of
five such programmes announced in the 2020- What next
2021 Federal Budget, which also fall under the This last year has seen a great deal of excitement
government’s Gas-fired Recovery Strategy. build around the basin’s potential amid grow-
Australia’s much touted gas-led economic ing concerns over projections of an imminent
recovery, which was unveiled in September gas shortfall supply. These concerns have been
2020, aims to “reset” the East Coast gas market exacerbated by volatility on the international
by encouraging both upstream and mid-stream gas market even as the country slowly moves
development. As part of these efforts, Australian towards becoming an importer itself.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison flagged up five The government is counting on Beetaloo to
basins that would receive fast-track development provide a flood of new gas supplies to meet both
plans, including Queensland’s North Bowen and domestic demand while also feeding existing
Galilee Basins. LNG projects on the East Coast. While there has
The federal government is trying to sped been one exciting result out of the play, several
up development of a variety of domestic gas more are need before the Beetaloo can be talked
resources ahead of a looming supply shortfall about in the same breath as the prolific Marcel-
on the eastern seaboard. The Australian Energy lus shale in the US. As such, the industry will be
Market Operator (AEMO) warned last year that eagerly waiting upon the results from this year’s
a deficit could emerge in Victoria as soon as handful of planned wells.™

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