Australia issues first grants under Beetaloo programme
The Australian government on July 7 announced the first grants under the A$50mn ($37.5mn) Beetaloo cooperative drilling programme to help accelerate the development of gas projects in the Northern Territory.
Minister for resources and water Keith Pitt said the three grants to Imperial Oil and Gas, a unit of Empire Group, would provide up to A$21mn to support three new exploration wells in the company’s EP187 exploration zone in the basin’s east.
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Under the Beetaloo cooperative drilling programme, grants of up to A$7.5mn/well are available to applicants. Further grants are expected to be announced in the coming months, the government said.
“The Beetaloo sub-basin is potentially a world-class gas resource which could create thousands of jobs and help bolster supplies of gas for the domestic market and for exports around the world,” Pitt said.
“Grants under the Beetaloo cooperative drilling programme are expected to deliver several additional exploration wells by 2022 and bring forward at least A$150mn in private investment in the basin,” the minister added.
The government announced the new strategic basin plan for the Beetaloo sub-basin in December, with the aim of speeding up investment, exploration and development to unlock jobs and resources under the gas-fired recovery programme.