Australia’s Queensland awards gas exploration tenders

Australia's Queensland state is continuing to support the country's east coast domestic gas market by awarding new tenders for gas exploration.

The exploration tenders for petroleum and gas cover six areas across the Bowen and Surat basins as part of the Queensland Exploration Program, with one earmarked for domestic gas supplies, the Queensland government said on 25 June.

Queensland has released over 20,000km² of land exclusively for Australian domestic supplies since 2017. The country has also increased its oil and gas exploration expenditure during January-March compared with the previous year and quarter, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

"Queensland continues to do the heavy lifting when it comes to the east coast market because we know additional supply is key to ensuring its reliability," the state's resources and critical minerals minister Scott Stewart said.

The Australian Energy Market Operator has warned of immediate gas supply risks across southeast Australia. It issued a gas supply risk warning for the country's east coast on 19 June, after inventories slumped at the 26,000TJ (694mn m³) Iona gas storage site in Victoria. An extension of an unplanned disruption at the ExxonMobil-operated 1.15 PJ/d (30.7mn m³/d) Longford gas plant, which is southern Australia's largest supply source, also further reduced supplies to the region.

By Simone Tam