Falcon Poised for Oz Shale Drilling

Welcoming the end to the Northern Territory moratorium on hydraulic fracturing the same day, junior upstream independent Falcon Oil & Gas said April 17 it would start "as soon as possible" a five-well drill campaign for its Beetaloo shale project in the Australian territory. It contains an estimated 6.6 trillion ft³ of gas.

CEO Philip O'Quigley told ProActive Investors it was "brilliant news" and he was "very pleased with the fact-based decision made by the NT government to lift the moratorium on hydraulic fracturing." Falcon shares started higher in early trade, rising 1.4p or 5.9% to trade at 24.9p. 

Falcon owns 30% of the shale project while Origin has the other 70%. He said: “It is a huge resource to go after, and the lifting of the moratorium means we can get back to work.”

Immediately before the moratorium it carried out a successful well test, on the Amungee well in the Beetaloo project. The future work will be subject to the recommendations made by the scientific review as well as the securing of necessary approvals.

Origin intends to drill and frack five new wells to complete the obligations under the exploration permit. “We look forward to the recommencement as soon as practical of our multi-well work programme in the Beetaloo basin with our joint venture partner, Origin Energy," he said.