Comet Ridge gets gas block in Queensland
Australian gas explorer Comet Ridge has been awarded a gas block by the Queensland government, it said on May 10. This block was one of two blocks where the company was selected as the preferred tenderer in September 2020.
The tender block PLR2020-1-2 has now been officially awarded to Comet Ridge as ATP 2063 and will be called Mahalo Far East. “Comet Ridge Limited is pleased to announce that following the company’s selection by the Queensland government as preferred tenderer for two additional gas blocks in September 2020, the second and largest of these blocks has formally been granted authority to prospect (ATP) status,” it said.
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ATP 2063 has been awarded 100% to Comet Ridge as the operator, for an initial term of six years. It covers an area of 338 km2 and is located northeast of the development-ready Mahalo gas project, which is also operated by Comet Ridge.
The award of ATP 2063 follows the award of Mahalo North (ATP 2048) in April 2020 and Mahalo East (ATP 2061) in September 2020. All of these are held 100% by Comet Ridge with a combined total area of 885 km2.
Comet Ridge managing director, Tor McCaul, said the Mahalo Far East block contains a very large gas in place volume and is an important upside addition to the Mahalo hub area, where Comet Ridge now holds three 100% blocks across the north of the main Mahalo gas project.
"Combining these blocks and sharing one large development for the whole Mahalo hub area will provide greater efficiency and scale economy, as well as a material injection of natural gas into the east coast market, at a critical time," McCaul said. "Importantly, a proportion of this Mahalo hub natural gas is earmarked for the domestic market."