Shell to Drill 250 Oz Qld Gas Wells in 2019, 2020

The Shell-operated QGC venture plans to drill 250 new gas wells in the Western Downs region of Queensland, Australia, over 2019 and 2020 with the gas to be used to supply both the country’s east coast and the LNG export market, Shell said October 10.

The wells, which are part of Project Goog-a-binge, will connect to existing QGC gas processing plants and bring about 930 petajoules of gas to market over the next three decades, the company said.

Queensland mines minister Anthony Lynham said the move further shows that Queensland is the nation’s “energy powerhouse” and that the state continues to do the heavy lifting on gas production and policy.

“We expect the gas industry to continue to deliver for the south-west, and the Palaszczuk Government will continue to drive increased gas supply with innovative policy, to meet the needs of households and Australian manufacturers,” he said.

QGC will start pre-construction and site preparation activities at some sites next month, with wells to start being drilled from January 2019 through to December 2019, subject to government approvals, the state government said.

Shell currently supplies around 60% of Queensland’s domestic gas demand through both QGC and Arrow Energy, it said.

QGC exports LNG via its two-train LNG plant on Curtis Island in Queensland.