focusIR May 2024 Investor Webinar: Blue Whale, Kavango, Taseko Mines & CQS Natural Resources. Catch up with the webinar here.
Didn't someone say form the investors meeting, that it could take up to 5 days for the nitrogen to do its thing? If so, and with Christmas and the other holidays, and some time for a good flow, I wouldn't expect news till next week at best. Holidays not a great time for a NR.
Federal Government chips in $50 million to speed up Beetaloo fracking projects
The Morrison Federal Government is putting millions on the table to speed up gas exploration and development in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo sub-basin.
THE federal government is putting $50m on the table to speed up gas exploration and development in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo sub-basin 600km south of Darwin.
The funding will be put towards exploration that occurs before June 2022.
Resources, Water and Northern Australia Minister Keith Pitt said the funding would accelerate exploration and production in the Beetaloo by about two years.
“The funding will fast track drilling by providing grants to cover 25 per cent of eligible exploration costs, capped at $7.5m per well and three wells per exploration venture,” Mr Pitt said.
“The Territory’s Geological Survey estimates the sub-basin could hold more than 200,000 petajoules of gas.”
CLP NT Senator Sam McMahon said the strategy was focused on unlocking the full potential of the Beetaloo, which the Morrison government had given top priority to as the first of five strategic basin plans earmarked for delivery to spearhead a gas-fired recovery for Australia.
“By working together with the Northern Territory government, gas operators, and local and Indigenous communities, we can unlock the Beetaloo’s enormous potential and realise the full benefits over the next 40 years or more,” Senator McMahon said.
As part of its Beetaloo development plan, the federal government has invested $1.9m to develop a Beetaloo Aboriginal Economic Development Strategy, is establishing a $2.2m Barkly Business Hub, and pledged to work to ensure traditional owners in the Beetaloo “are properly supported.”
In the update, Empire says our nitrogen lift taking place this year.
https://hotcopper.com.au/threads/ann-beetaloo-operations-update.5814161/
Nice find of the EMP, Ultra. Looking at April/May 2021.
In October 2019, Origin began drilling the Kyalla 117 N2-H1 well, the first E&A well drilled since the
moratorium on hydraulic fracturing was lifted in April 2018. This E&A well has collected valuable
subsurface information that confirms the potential prospectively of the Kyalla shale resource in the
vicinity. The drilling of the Kyalla 117 N2-1H E&A well was completed in February 2020 with an 11-
stage stimulation undertaken in September 2020. The well is currently undergoing flow back and
production testing and upon cessation of these tests, an additional two (2) E&A wells are proposed to
be drilled, stimulated and well tested on the existing Kyalla 117 N2 site. These additional wells will
only be drilled where the results from the Kyalla 117 N2-1H E&A well indicate a technically and
commercially viable shale formation
This posting was made early on Nov 7. The week of the the bad PR, so it does not reflect on what is happening today. Nothing states it is our rig, but the pics sure look like it. The move was complete when posted.
https://www.facebook.com/ExpressCargoServices/posts/3777714362273084
Looks like it is being moved to start drilling the Velkerri after the wet season.
Since Empire is in Australia, they are actually able to present at SEAAOC.
https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/empire-energy-group-ltd-eeg-225500925.html
I thought they were going to a horizontal frac, but it appears they are do a vertical frac like Santos first. More time to find a $$ sponsor.
If you have an hour over the weekend, here is a podcast with Stephanie Stonier from Origin Energy. She is fact checking the myths and lies thrown out by the greenies. No, nothing on a potential flaring on the Kyalla well. Date of the podcast is Nov 5.
https://anchor.fm/territorystory/episodes/159--Stephanie-Stonier---Fact-Checking-Fracking-em1tl3?fbclid=IwAR0VgJmzHat6dOjGvHfunrjaNWHUxVHR02opzNuOlZbcIS157wNmy2QTXSM
"We are exploring multiple paths," he said. "We want to offer this investment to the Australian institutions here because this is an Australian story. We believe there is appetite to invest in a gas-focused strategy in the Beetaloo pure play and we plan to offer that."
Tamboran's two cornerstone investors, large US funds Baupost Group and Lion Point Capital, had a track record of backing successful shale plays in the US and "have the risk tolerance to support an accelerated pilot development" in the Beetaloo, he added.
Mr Riddle said Tamboran's strategy was to focus on gas and to fast-track towards production, rather than hunt around for gas with liquids, which could end up being an inconvenience unless volumes were high enough.
"The country desperately needs gas, and the federal government is behind this" he said. "We think it's a better strategy to move quickly to a pilot development."
Nice!
The Beetaloo is one of the gas basins earmarked by the Morrison government for accelerated development as it pursues a gas-led economic recovery from COVID-19.
Mr Riddle said the better than expected results from Tanumbirini-1 augured well for a low number of wells to be required for a commercial project, reducing costs.
"That's where the productivity of the Beetaloo really differentiates itself versus other areas of Australia: it's big, it's highly productive and it can solve these shortfalls with just a handful of wells," he said.
"This is why I believe this is the hottest play on the planet ... definitely within the OECD countries."
Horizontal wells to be drilled and fracked next year at the site still need to confirm the initial readings, but Mr Riddle said that "subject to working with Santos ... we would hope we could get a pilot development going somewhere in the window of 2023 to 2025."
Mr Riddle compared the average 2.3 million cubic feet per day flow from the first 90 hours of testing at the vertical Tanumbirini-1 well with initial vertical wells at the prolific Marcellus shale play in the US which ran at about 400,000 cubic feet per day before achieving rates many times higher in horizontal drilling.
"The fact we are able to achieve mini-multiples of what the core Marcellus vertical frack has been has given us a lot of confidence that as soon as we can drill and frack horizontal wells we will be off and running with a pilot project," he said.
Mr Riddle said that a pilot production project at the acreage could produce 20 per cent or more of a forecast 500 million cubic feet a day shortfall arising in east coast gas supply.
Gas would be transported east through an enlargement of Jemena's existing Northern Gas Pipeline from Tennant Creek to Mount Isa and would be "very robust" economically at widely forecast gas prices on the east coast of $8-$10 a gigajoule.
"This is what's exciting: Other areas of Australia onshore it might take 50 wells to generate 100 million cubic feet per day, but in the Beetaloo we might only have to drill 5 to 10 wells," he said.
Drilling and fracking for unconventional gas remains highly controversial in the NT, however. Origin's annual shareholder meeting last week was dominated by concerns over its Beetaloo drilling. Still, the return of Territory Labor to government in the NT's election in August is being taken as an endorsement of the onshore gas industry, given weak support for minority parties that pledged to veto fracking.
For Tamboran the positive results from testing come at an opportune time, given its plans for a public listing in the first quarter of 2021. The Financial Review's Street Talk column has reported it is contemplating a $195 million IPO, which would be the biggest oil and gas IPO for several years, while Mr Riddle said the company was also examining a potential reverse takeover or merger with an existing public company.