The Northern Territory Government announced on 7th November that the Final Report for the Scientific Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracturing in the Northern Territory (Inquiry) will not be published until March 2018. This has been caused by delays in community consultation activities that have set back the release of the draft Final Report to mid-December.
The Federal Government continues to put pressure on the States to lift their moratoriums on fracking, and this may very well be a set-back to the Government’s plan to free up more gas for the domestic market in the short to medium term. The delay in releasing this report will make it virtually impossible for any significant investment to be made in 2018; should the NT Labour Government lift the moratorium on fracking.
It is reported that the Beetaloo Joint Venture, between Origin Energy and Falcon Oil & Gas Australia, is sitting on a substantial resource of approximately 6.6 Trillion Cubic Feet of natural gas. If extracted, this gas could be delivered to the East Coast gas market via the Northern Gas Pipeline, which is currently under construction.
If you would like to understand how the announcement affects your portfolio, please contact Edge on (07) 3232 1115.
