Origin Declares Australia Shale Gas Discovery

Origin Energy on October 12 said it has submitted a notification and initial report to Australia's Northern Territory Department of Primary Industry and Resources to confirm the discovery of hydrocarbons at Amungee NW-1H, the final well in the first stage of their Beetaloo basin.

It said that shale gas rates range between 0.8mn ft³/d and 1.2mn ft³/d with continuing flow back of hydraulic fracture stimulation fluid of volumes between 100 b/d and 400 b/d. Evaluation to determine the resource size is underway.

“The Notification of Discovery issued by Origin is an exciting development and provides further evidence of the scale of the resource potential of the Beetaloo Basin. We look forward to updating the market when the evaluation to determine the resource size is concluded,” said Philip O’Quigley, CEO of Falcon Oil & Gas, which is a partner in the joint venture.

A moratorium on fracking in the Northern Territory was announced by NT chief minister Michael Gunner in mid-September.

Shardul Sharma