South Australian Premier Welcomes Announcement on Shale Gas at Moomba

Premier Jay Weatherill says that the announcement by Santos that its Moomba 191 dedicated shale well is commercially viable to connect to production is a major milestone for the unconventional gas industry in South Australia.

The well, located in the Cooper Basin in the state’s North East, will be the first dedicated shale well to be brought into production in Australia.

It is a significant boost for both Santos and its partners, Origin Energy and Delhi Petroleum (Beach Energy).

“Unconventional gas has always been regarded as something that would happen in the future but this discovery will lead to unconventional gas being used in households around the state as early as next year,” Mr Weatherill said.

“This discovery adds momentum for unconventional gas exploration and development in the South Australian Cooper Basin.

“Through the Department for Manufacturing, Innovation, Trade, Resources and Energy, South Australia has been leading the nation in this field for a long time and we are now well-positioned to capitalize on the huge potential of this resource.

“This is just the sort of outcome contemplated by South Australia’s Roadmap for Unconventional Gas Projects.”

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis said this was the first step to deliver hundreds of millions, if not billions of investment dollars to the State and provide a new lease of life to the Cooper Basin.

“The aim of the Roadmap is to not only inform South Australians but also set a course for the environmentally sustainable development of this State’s large endowment of unconventional gas,” Mr Koutsantonis said.

“The Roadmap is intended to inform investor strategies as well as build public confidence in the Government’s policies, programs and regulations of the unconventional gas resource sector.”

Mr Koutsantonis said the Roadmap was an example of South Australia leading the nation in the regulation of upstream petroleum operations, and in particular unconventional gas operations.

The first draft of the Roadmap was released to the public for comments in May 2012 and the Roundtable is now working on the second draft of the Roadmap – that will take account of stakeholder’s concerns and recommendations.

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LNG World News Staff, August 17, 2012