U.S. Shale Partners Support Australia’s First Beetaloo Gas Sales

Tamboran Resources and Daly Waters Energy began first gas sales from the Shenandoah South pilot project in Australia’s Beetaloo Basin on Sept. 5, marking the basin’s first deliveries into the Northern Territory gas network.

Initial gas flow or commissioning was identified as beginning Sept. 1. The Sept. 5 sales began at a discounted commissioning price while the project continued moving toward regular production.

Output is expected to reach 40 terajoules per day (TJ/d) by early 2027 under a long-term take-or-pay agreement with the Northern Territory government. During commissioning, supply is interruptible and the companies receive 75% of the contract price.

The Sturt Plateau Compression Facility has capacity of 50 TJ/d. Production was limited by market demand, with the Northern Territory government nominating 25 TJ/d during the lower-demand season.

U.S. shale technology, equipment and services support the project. Helmerich & Payne supplied a FlexRig under an agreement with a 10-year preferential right and options for up to four additional rigs. Liberty Energy has a two-year preferred arrangement to provide fracturing fleets and personnel. Baker Hughes is identified as a strategic partner and equity holder.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright previously served as Liberty Energy’s chairman and chief executive officer.

A 37-kilometer, or about 23-mile, pipeline links the compression facility with APA Group’s Amadeus Gas Pipeline. The pipeline is a crucial first-stage link for moving Beetaloo gas into the Northern Territory market.

The 2026 stimulation campaign placed 178 stages across more than 30,000 feet of horizontal section. Tamboran Resources holds approximately 2.8 million net prospective acres in the Beetaloo Basin and is the basin’s largest acreage holder.

The Beetaloo Sub-basin contains more than 430 trillion cubic feet of gas in place. That figure is an in-place resource estimate, not proved or recoverable reserves.

“Over the weekend, Tamboran and our joint venture partner DWE delivered our first molecules of gas from the Beetaloo Basin into the Northern Territory gas network,” Tamboran Resources CEO Todd Abbott said.

“This is an important first step towards establishing the Beetaloo Basin as a reliable, long-term source of natural gas for the Northern Territory and, over time, the broader Australian East Coast market,” Abbott said.

The initial gas is intended primarily for the Northern Territory market. Future supply to Australia’s east coast and LNG facilities has been discussed.