Australia releases new Beetaloo Sub-basin acreage

Australia's Northern Territory Government released new onshore petroleum acreage in Beetaloo sub-basin, a noteable onshore gas province. The Minister for Mining and Energy began accepting petroleum exploration permit applications for the onshore basin under the 2026 Northern Territory Petroleum Acreage Release on Feb. 19.  

Release area EPNT26-1 consists of 46 full and 4 part blocks covering about 4,000 sq km near the Amadeus gas pipeline and the Stuart highway. The area "is supported by a substantial subsurface dataset," the ministry said, including 37 wells, over 9,000 km of seismic data within the sub-basin, and regional seismic and well data.

The government noted that "drilling, testing, and geochemical studies have confirmed a series of working unconventional petroleum systems, characterised by thick, organic-rich shale source rocks with demonstrated hydrocarbon generation, and retention, and supported by recent flow tests indicating significant gas rates and stable production," and said that some reservoir-seal pairs within the sub-basin have also been identified as potential carbon storage targets.

The release area is surrounded by shale gas acreage held by Tamboran Resources, Daly Waters Energy, Beetaloo Energy Australia, and Santos, with the adjacent acreage EP98 expected to produce the first Beetaloo gas for Northern Territory use from mid-2026.

The application period closes at July 31, 2026.