While in Alice Springs Nannas Anne and Kathy caught up with Hannah Ekin from the Arid Lands Environment Centre. We were very keen to have an update on what is happening with NT gas.
Beetaloo
Nine “exploratory” shale gas wells have been drilled in the Northern Territory ‘s Beetaloo Basin, halfway between Alice Springs and Darwin, by two exploration companies Tamboran Resources and Empire Energy. No companies have started selling gas yet in the NT, and no companies have made the final investment decision to go ahead with their gas production plans.
Tamboran Resources
Tamboran, the largest petroleum lease holder in the Beetaloo, has approval to frack 15 new wells – the largest drilling proposal for the Basin. However, many financial, logistical and social hurdles stand between them and their goals.
Only one of the six wells Tamboran has drilled so far has produced commercial quantities of gas.
Tamboran brought a Texas mega fracker to the Northern Territory in May 2023. It sat in Darwin for three months, then drilled for shale gas in the Beetaloo Basin in record time but didn’t get great results. This monster must be pulled apart to be moved and then rebuilt.
The mega fracker currently sits idle as Tamboran waits for investors from the Australian and the New York stock exchanges to chip in. Their Australian share price on 14 August 2024 was 16c.
Fracking for shale gas brings toxic waste water from deep underground to the surface. This toxic sludge is stored in open ponds onsite. Once it’s evaporated down a bit the remaining toxic sludge will be transported to Tennant Creek then to Queensland to join piles of coal seam gas toxic sludge waiting for a safe disposal method.
Empire Energy
Empire Energy’s exploration licence is in Aboriginal Land Rights land, which gives Traditional Owners more negotiating power and makes approvals more difficult. Traditional Owners have called for an investigation into the company’s breaches, including removing artifacts.
Social Licence
For 10 years local communities have been resisting fracking for shale gas in the NT. This has resulted in a lot of delays, and a more stringent regulatory processes. Fracking continues to be widely opposed by Traditional Owners and the broader NT population, though some people support it for jobs and royalties. The NT Labor and Liberal parties are very pro fracking.
Pipelines
In the short term, Tamboran plans to plug into the small existing pipeline from Darwin to Alice Springs. Empire wants to use the MacArthur Mine pipeline or another pipeline to Mt Isa. This existing infrastructure is only big enough for small pilot projects. To fully develop the gas field would require long, expensive and complicated new pipelines either to Darwin or to the East Coast.
Emissions
If everything planned goes ahead the Beetaloo basin would generate the equivalent of up to 22% of Australia’s annual emissions.
Gas supply
The NT Labor government wants this project to go ahead because
- The NT government is in a lot of debt and struggles to break even. They see gas expansion as a source of hard to come by “own source revenue” eg, money that goes directly to NT government rather than as GST grants from the federal government.
- 80% of NT power comes from gas
- Offshore gas is running out
- The NT Government has signed a nine year deal to buy gas from Tamboran
- The grid needs to be upgraded for solar and there is little battery storage. (Katherine and Tenant Creek are considered to be the best places for solar in the world.)
Middle Arm
The proposed petro-chemical plant at Middle Arm is to be located in a good fishing area four kilometres from the satellite city of Palmerston. The Traditional Owners don’t have Native Title over this land but they are strongly opposed.
Barossa Gas
The Barossa project is offshore conventional gas, located in Commonwealth waters about 285 kilometers offshore north-north west from Darwin. The project will supply feed gas to the Santos-operated Darwin LNG plant. The Barossa Project is 77 percent complete and remains on target for first production in the third quarter of 2025.
NT Government
Currently Labor is in government in the NT, but an election will be held on 24 August 2024.
New data shows Labor is fuelling their NT election campaign with gas donations. Tamboran is the biggest donor to NT Labor. (Renew Economy)
Eight Greens and eight progressive independents are standing, and campaigners against fracking the NT are hoping they will push the government into a minority.
NT Protests
The NT anti-fracking movement is disincentivising investment with civil disobedience, disruption and by ensuring compliance.
Darwin is where a major protest will be held if these projects move forward. But a famous saying in the Northern Territory is “The NT is where projects come to die”. Let’s hope this is true for shale gas!