Shale Gas Developers Look to Avoid Past Mistakes in Australia

Australia's shale gas industry is looking to avoid the mistakes of the past by learning from the LNG boom in Queensland, according to developers of Beetaloo sub-basin in the Northern Territory.

The territory's first commercial volumes of shale gas were shipped this week from Tamboran Resources' Shenandoah gas project, with modest output currently at 40 terajoules (TJ) a day. However, producers ultimately envision developments on par with the LNG industry.

Beetaloo Energy CEO Alex Underwood said that unlike Queensland's coal seam gas-to-LNG ambitions, which met initial scepticism but are now a major contributor to Australia's LNG exports, Beetaloo shale aspirations aim to replicate this success without duplication of infrastructure and overspending. He cited the 'massive overexpenditure' on LNG infrastructure in Queensland as an example.

The developers hope that their gas will find multiple buyers, including LNG plants in Darwin owned by Santos and Inpex, as well as those on the east coast and potentially delivering power supplies for large data centres. Despite duplication worries, big pipeline companies believe there is space for all of them in Beetaloo.