Santos Shell JV Wins New Oz Domestic Gas Acreage
Australian Santos has been appointed as preferred tenderer to explore new acreage in Queensland’s key gas-producing Surat and Bowen Basins, in a 50-50 joint venture with Shell, Santos said November 15.
The licence, PLR201718-2-5, covers about 400 kilometres3, located 19 km east of the town of Surat, and was released by the Queensland Government exclusively to boost domestic gas supply on the country’s east coast, Santos said.
“The acreage is immediately south of the Wallumbilla hub which means the Santos Shell joint venture can take advantage of existing infrastructure, lowering development costs and accelerating the delivery of natural gas to the domestic market,” Santos said.
“If the results are positive, the Santos Shell joint venture will potentially unlock a material new gas supply source for the Australian east coast domestic gas market,” it added.
Santos is the designated operator of the acreage.
The Queensland Government also awarded acreage in the Surat Basin to Armour Energy November 15. The Roma Shell area, PLR201718-2-4 is considered highly prospective for gas and liquids, and Armour’s 100% owned gas pipeline infrastructure – pipeline licence no. 20 – traverses the newly awarded block, Armour said.