Industry News

Highlights:

• Tamboran Resources (Tamboran) have entered into three formal and binding agreements with APA Group (ASX: APA) to support the development of the Company’s Beetaloo Basin assets, including:
• • an Early Development Agreement relating to the development of the ~35-kilometre Sturt Plateau Pipeline (SPP) that is planned to connect the proposed 40 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) Sturt Plateau Compression Facility (SPCF) to the Amadeus Gas Pipeline (AGP) and, subject to achieving project milestones and executing further agreements, is targeting an online date as early as H2 2025;
  • an Early Development Agreement for development of a Beetaloo Basin to East Coast gas pipeline that aims to deliver material volumes (circa 500 MMcf/d or more) into Australia’s East Coast gas market and, subject to achieving project milestones and executing further agreements, is targeting an online date as early as 2028; and
  • a Partnering Agreement under which Tamboran agrees to work exclusively with APA Group and, subject to conditions being met, provides an option for Tamboran to acquire up to 15 per cent of any Beetaloo pipeline projects in the lead up to Final Investment Decision (FID) (excluding the SPP).
• Since the execution of the Letter Agreement in June 2023, APA has made good progress on the Beetaloo Basin pipeline projects.
• Under the Early Development Agreements, APA has agreed a process to continue development of the proposed pipelines with early works expenditure of up to A$10 million on the basis that Tamboran continues to progress and achieve agreed milestones in relation to the proposed Shenandoah South Pilot Project.
• The parties will commence negotiations on a binding Gas Transportation Agreement (GTA) targeting execution in H1 2024 subject to Tamboran achieving certain project milestones.

Source: Tamboran Resources 

The largest water storage infrastructure project in Northern Australia has taken another significant step forward.

A $6 million contract has been awarded to SMEC Australia to deliver the final concept design for the Adelaide River Off-Stream Water Storage (AROWS) project.

SMEC Australia have been delivering projects in the Territory for more than 4 decades. The company brings strong experience, capability and highly specialised skills to deliver this critical component of the AROWS project.

SMEC Australia Area Manager, Jocelyn Ellero said, “AROWS will become an iconic project in the NT, I am not only looking forward to delivering a project of such high technical calibre but the impact we will have on the community and future growth of Greater Darwin.”

AROWS is part of the Darwin Region Water Supply Program, which includes Manton Dam Return to Service: stage 1 of the program has received over $300 million in investment from the Australian Government.

AROWS will secure Greater Darwin’s long-term water supply and will be a critical enabler for agricultural and industrial growth, including the proposed Lambells Lagoon Agribusiness precinct and the Middle Arm Sustainable Development precinct.

The innovative and sustainable large scale water storage project takes full advantage of the natural features of its location to capture and store water. As such, there will be no dam infrastructure built across the river as you would typically see in in-stream dams, minimising environmental impact.

The design is expected to take approximately 12 to 18 months to complete, with construction expected to start in 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and an investment decision.

Source: Department of Tourism, Industry & Trade

From March 2024 Airnorth will commence a 3 weekly service between Alice Springs and Perth and return, providing more choice and connectivity for Territorians.

This is another positive result of the Territory Aviation Attraction Scheme, and was achieved in partnership with the Airport Development Group.

Flights will commence on 25 March 2024 and will operate on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

This is the first time since June 2022 that Alice Springs will be connected with a non-stop air service to Perth - previously operated by Qantas.

The flights will also provide Alice Springs residents convenient one-stop operations to a range of international cities including London, Rome and Paris.

The route will open access to the Perth source market, and to international visitors using Perth as a hub. This will support the important visitor economy in Alice Springs.

This comes off the back of several recent aviation announcements for Central Australia including, Bonza Airlines new route between Melbourne and Alice Springs and Virgin Australia’s new routes from Melbourne and Brisbane to Yulara.

Source: Department of Tourism, Industry & Trade

Today, the Territory Labor Government has released the 2023 NT Infrastructure Plan and Pipeline and Infrastructure Audit – a document which lays out how more jobs and projects will be created. 

The Plan and Pipeline identifies projects, programs and proposals across the Territory’s regions that will address challenges and capture opportunities to enable economic growth and improve quality of life for all Territorians.  

Informed significantly by the findings of the Infrastructure Audit 2023, the Plan and Pipeline provides a strong evidence base to guide future decision making on infrastructure investment, maximising the Territory’s potential. 

At $4.07 billion, the Northern Territory’s 2023-24 infrastructure program represents a record level of government investment in the Northern Territory.

Key enabling projects of priority include: 

• Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct common user infrastructure
• Darwin Region Water Supply Program, including Manton Dam return to service and Adelaide River Off-stream Water Storage
• housing and land release
• strategic road corridors including Central Arnhem Road and Tanami Road
• creating a network of regional logistics hubs and intermodal facilities
• infrastructure in Central Australia to support local, national and international tourism
• investing in the Darwin Ship Lift and marine infrastructure.

This strategic plan underpins future economic growth, sustainable job creation, and increased productivity. To view the plan visit infrastructure.nt.gov.au

Quotes attributable to Minister for Territory Development, Eva Lawler:

“The Northern Territory is on the cusp of an economic boom facilitated through infrastructure, with $36 billion worth of projects in the pipeline as final investment is secured.

“A diverse range of stakeholders were consulted to formulate the plan and pipeline, including all levels of government, land councils, private sector, not for profit organisations, industry representative bodies, peak bodies and the community.

“The Infrastructure Plan and Pipeline does not automatically mean building more and building bigger infrastructure. We have also assessed the infrastructure we have, see how it meets or does not meet the needs of the community and how it can be improved or repurposed.

Source: Northern Territory Government

The Territory Labor Government is focused on protecting our environment as we develop real solutions for the Territory and our nation to reach net-zero emissions.

The Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct has achieved another key milestone as part of the strategic environmental assessment process.

The final Terms of Reference for Middle Arm’s strategic environmental assessment have been approved by the Federal Minister for Environment and Water, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP.

The strategic environmental assessment’s Terms of Reference for Middle Arm specify what must be included in the Environmental Impact Study to ensure possible impacts of the development are correctly measured and assessed.

Here in the Territory, we have the most rigorous environmental protections in the southern hemisphere, because we know conserving our environmental values is critical.

The draft Terms of Reference were publicly available for community input last year, in which 30 submissions were received. The Commonwealth Government considered all submissions in detail received through both the NT and Commonwealth processes.

The strategic environmental assessment of the Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct is an important commitment between the Australian and Northern Territory Governments to deliver conservation outcomes and support appropriate development for the Middle Arm precinct over the next 50 years.

Quote attributable to Minister for Territory Development, Eva Lawler:

“Our Territory Labor Government is focused on protecting the environment, creating green energy, boosting job numbers and growing our economy, all of which will be facilitated through the Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct.

“The Terms of Reference for the strategic environmental assessment have been formulation through consultation between environmental experts, community members and government bodies to ensure no stone goes unturned throughout the environmental assessment process.

“This precinct is an economic enabler which leverages the Territory’s significant abundance of natural resources and critical minerals which are key in the fight against climate change.”

Source: Northern Territory Government

Registrations are now open for the NT Geological Survey’s Annual Geoscience Exploration Seminar (AGES) 2024

Alice Springs Convention Centre - 16-17 April 2024

With high-levels of exploration and a strong pipeline of resources projects in the Territory, AGES 2024 will bring together industry, Government and researchers to discuss the latest insights into the Territory’s rich minerals and energy potential.

AGES is a technical exploration-focussed conference featuring presentations from the NT Geological Survey, its partners and exploration industry on new geoscience and latest exploration results from across the NT. 

The event provides a unique opportunity to access the latest in fresh exploration ideas and geoscientific data from the Territory, and to network with colleagues who share an interest in the discovery and development of the Territory's minerals and energy resources. 

AGES 2023 was attended by over 300 delegates, representing more than 73 exploration companies as well as service providers and Government and Indigenous organisations.

Conference Highlights

AGES 2024 will include major new releases of data and interpretations from the NTGS and its collaborative partners, as well as presentations from the exploration industry on latest exploration highlights in the Territory.

• Latest results from the Territory Government’s expanded $9.5 million Resourcing the Territory program
• Presentations on the Territory’s potential for critical minerals including recent new discoveries
• Highlights in the search for sediment-hosted copper and iron-oxide copper-gold potential across the Territory
• Updates on recent GA-NTGS seismic acquisition in the Birrindudu Basin
• The latest on shale gas exploration and appraisal in the Beetaloo Sub-basin
• Multiple networking events over two days including the AGES Official Dinner

Workshops

Geoscience Australia - The Northwest Northern Territory Seismic Survey - an introduction and preliminary interpretation workshop
Monday 15 April | 1:30pm - 4:30pm

As part of the Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program, Geoscience Australia (GA) in collaboration with the Northern Territory Geological Survey (NTGS) completed the L214 Northwest Northern Territory Seismic Survey in September 2023. The survey acquired 2D deep crustal reflection seismic data across an underexplored part of the Northern Territory, between Timber Creek and the Tanami region.

The region contains the Proterozoic Birrindudu Basin and Tanami gold province and is highly prospective for both energy and mineral resources. This new geophysical dataset will provide a foundation for an improved understanding of the geology and resource potential of the region.

Hosted by GA, in collaboration with the NTGS, as part of AGES 2024, this workshop will give participants the opportunity to view this new data from the Northwest Northern Territory Seismic Survey and discuss potential implications for the resource prospective of the region.

The workshop will:

• provide context of the seismic survey within a regional geological and resource potential framework
• give participants the opportunity to view and discuss the new seismic data with the workshop facilitators.
• provide an overview of new complementary geochemical, petrophysical and geomechanical datasets obtained from drill holes in the region. 

For further information on this workshop please contact Chris Carson on chris.carson@ga.gov.au or Jade Anderson on jade.anderson@ga.gov.au

Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade - Mines Branch 

Monday 15 April | 3:00pm - 5:00pm  

The Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade (DITT) Mines Branch plays a key part in promoting and facilitating the development of the mining industry by supporting growth through consistent and sustainable practices. 

The Mines Branch regulates mineral development activities from the first grant of tenure, to the approval and regulations of operations, through site rehabilitation to closure. 

The Mines Branch will host a workshop to provide updates on current issues including the Mineral Development Taskforce, Environment Reforms and the review of the Mineral Titles Act. The workshop provides an opportunity for industry stakeholders and representatives from the Mines Branch to discuss current issues and areas for further improvement.  

For further information on the Mines Branch Workshop please contact Andrew Hurwood on

08 8999 5368 or andrew.hurwood@nt.gov.au

Mining Services Expo

AGES also incorporates the Mining Services Expo which showcases Territory businesses and their capabilities to support exploration and mining ventures.

For further information on exhibiting at this event, please contact Maddison Bolton, from the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade on 08 8951 8553 or by email business.ditt@nt.gov.au

Accommodation

Accommodation is Alice Springs is limited. We suggest you call Crowne Plaza on (08) 8950 7765 and request your accommodation directly, stating you are an AGES delegate

Research as a Service (RaaS) has published an update report on EEG: "A gas plant with intrinsic growth opportunity".  

Raas continues to believe "EEG is still the best exposure to the emerging Beetaloo gas play". 

Please click here to read the report. 

Source: Empire Energy Group 

Bore work is a regulated activity in the Northern Territory (NT). Regulating bore work helps to protect aquifers, and enables improved understanding of some of the Northern Territory’s most important water resources.

Property owners, licensed drillers and drilling companies all hold responsibilities to make sure bore work is compliant.

Incorrect bore construction can pose environmental risks to aquifers, including through cross contamination between aquifers.

While Water Regulation is responsible for assessing licence and permit applications and monitoring compliance with legislation, including for bore work permits and driller licence conditions, property owners, licensed drillers and employers also have a responsibility to play in aquifer protection and bore work. Moreover, the information that is provided to the department through these activities improves the understanding of the groundwater systems across the NT.

This includes information such as aquifer connectivity (or not), geographical distribution, geological and hydrological characteristics, and local and regional variations of these.  A fact sheet  PDF (462.3 KB) has been completed summarising the different stakeholder responsibilities.

Due to the NT’s vast area and the remote localities of most water bores construction, Water Regulation is reliant on all stakeholders playing their part to protect the groundwater systems of the NT.

Source: Department of Environment Parks and Water Security 

Applications for a new grant program to grow the circular economy are now open!

Circular Economy NT (CENT) is a $1.5 million grant program that will support Northern Territory (NT) businesses to turn waste into a valuable commodity.

Businesses can apply to fund projects that will improve recycling outcomes and address critical gaps around waste management and resource recovery in the NT.

These grants are focused on waste streams in construction and demolition, food and garden organics, commercial and industrial and e-waste including PV solar panels.

Grants are available for a minimum of $50,000 and applicants must co-contribute on a 50:50 basis. Once the project is completed, the program must remain operational for 5 years.

Applications close Friday 5 January 2024 and will be assessed on a competitive basis. For further information and to apply visit nt.gov.au/CENT.

Turning waste into a valuable commodity keeps it within the economy and out of landfill, two goals that are a priority of the Northern Territory Circular Economy Strategy 2022 – 2027.

The NT Government has a key role to play in incentivising material recovery, reprocessing and remanufacture.

Work continues on two other key priorities in the strategy, which are to improve the Container Deposit Scheme and to phase out and ban problematic single use plastics by 2025.

Container Deposit Scheme improvements

Another piece of work that is underway to incentivise material recovery and reprocessing is a raft of changes to the Container Deposit Scheme.

Earlier this year, public consultation was held to seek feedback about changes to simplify and expand the scope of eligible containers, improve scheme data and reporting and incentivise container returns by setting targets.

While the Container Deposit Scheme is a successful and well-known recycling initiative in the Northern Territory (NT), changes will aim to make it easier for Territorians to keep valuable resources out of landfill.

A list of current Container Deposit Scheme collection depots across the Territory is available on the NTEPA website.

Single Use Plastics ban – it’s time to move to reuse

Work is also continuing on phasing out single use plastics across the NT. Public consultation was held earlier this year, and 99.3% of community survey respondents supported reducing single-use plastics.

Feedback also strongly supported improvements to waste and recycling infrastructure, to increase the number of resource recovery systems across the NT, and investment to support food organics and garden organics (FOGO).

The consultation summary is available on Have Your Say website.

How you can support the circular economy

Move to reuse

Make sure you have a reusable kit ready to go. This can include commonly used single-use plastic items like a reusable coffee cup, straw and food container. Keep them in a reusable bag in a handy spot like the car boot or near the front door.

Container Deposit Scheme

If you don’t already, start collecting eligible containers and return them to receive a 10 cent refund for each item. Did you know you can collect and donate your refunds to community organisations and charities? If you’re part of a community group, sports club or school you can also set up a collection point to raise money.

Source: Department of Environment Parks and Water Security

EP 117 Operational Update: Successful completion of SS-1H stimulation program, preparing to commence flow back and IP30 testing

Highlights

• Tamboran, on behalf of the Beetaloo Joint Venture (BJV), has successfully completed the 10- stage stimulation program over a 500-metre (1,640-foot) horizontal section of Mid-Velkerri B Shale within the Shenandoah South 1H (SS-1H) well in Beetaloo Basin permit EP 117.

• The stimulation program at SS-1H delivered a proppant intensity of 2,212 pounds per foot (lb/ft) and achieved rates of 100 barrels per minute (bpm) using slickwater, a first in the Mid Velkerri B Shale and in-line with current US shale basin stimulation designs.

• Tamboran plans to install production tubing ahead of the commencement of flow back of stimulation fluid and 30-day initial production (IP30) testing in mid-December 2023, subject to timing of gas breakthrough. 

To view the full ASX announcement, click here.

Source: Tamboran Resources