Two major fossil fuel companies will hunt for new gas across more than 7,000 square kilometers of regional Queensland.
Santos and Denison announced their intentions to expand their gas explorations in the state.
Santos will seek new gas between Chinchilla and Roma, while Denison Gas will start exploring for gas near Emerald.
Santos will explore across more than 2,000 square kilometres of highly prospective areas in Queensland’s world-class Surat and Bowen Basins.
Nearly half of this land can only produce gas for the domestic market.
Queensland Mines Minister, Dr Anthony Lynham, said this new exploration would unlock more gas for local manufacturing and industrial users, in turn securing Australian jobs.
“Santos is a proven gas explorer and producer, and has been pumping gas in Queensland for the past 50 years.
“They will be able to use their existing gas infrastructure and plug straight in and get gas to market faster.”
Denison Gas will explore for gas to supply to Australian-only users from 568 square kilometres of land south-east of Emerald in the Bowen Basin.
“This means gas explorers are working more than 7,000 square kilometres of land in Queensland for gas for the Australian market,” Dr Lynham said.
The latest tenures come on the back of more than 6,700 square kilometres of land being opened to tender for gas exploration between Blackwater and Goondiwindi last week.
The new land release is part of a multi-million-dollar package, which includes rent and fee waivers, to help maintain the state’s pipeline of resources projects and jobs.
Since 2015, the Queensland Government has released nearly 80,000 square kilometers of land for gas exploration, with over a quarter of it guaranteed for the Australian domestic market.
