The Queensland Government continues to back Queensland’s resources industry, awarding tenders for new petroleum and gas acreage in the Cooper-Eromanga Basin and Taroom Trough to secure a pipeline for future supply.
The successful tenderers include Bridgeport Energy (Qld) Pty Ltd (approx. 2,712km2 across PLR2026-1-4, PLR2026-1-5, and PLR2026-1-11) and Vintage Energy Ltd (approx. 625 km2 across PLR2026-1-3) who were awarded acreage in the Cooper-Eromanga Basin.
A consortium that includes XST Taroom Pty Ltd, Cooper Energy (VO) Pty Ltd, Imperial Oil and Gas A Pty Ltd and Eastern States Energy Pty Ltd has been awarded a tender to explore for oil and gas over 306 km2 across PLR2026-1-7 in the Taroom Trough.
These new tenders are in addition to the three highly prospective acreages announced last month in the Taroom Trough, along with three awarded in the Cooper/Eromanga Basin and one in the Bowen/Surat Basin in 2025.
It’s just one of the ways the Government is delivering better services through a stronger economy, after Labor’s anti-mining and anti-resources policies drove investors away.
Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dale Last said the sheer interest in the tenders and commitment from proponents to sign up for new acreage was a vote of confidence in the future of Queensland’s resources sector.
“The Government is open for business, and we have worked hard to win back the resource industry’s trust and investment dollars to secure the next generation of projects, jobs and investment,” Minister Last said.
“Under the former Labor Government there was no structured land release program, no pipeline of investment, no pipeline of jobs and no pipeline of gas supply.
“We know more supply is the only solution to bring down the cost of energy, and this acreage opens more land for exploration and future projects.
“Regional Queensland has a major role to play in our State’s resources future, and I look forward to seeing that investment translate into opportunities on the ground.”
Bridgeport Energy Managing Director and CEO Christian Lange said the blocks would build on the company’s established presence in the Cooper-Eromanga Basin.
“Bridgeport is 100 per cent Australian owned and operated, with 891 square kilometres of net oil-producing acreage across nine production projects in the Cooper-Eromanga Basin,” Mr Lange said.
“These blocks are a natural extension of that footprint, and we see real potential for future oil and gas production in the area.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the Government to help meet Queensland’s and Australia’s long-term energy needs.”
Vintage Energy Managing Director Neil Gibbins said the need for new supply of gas and petroleum liquids has never been more apparent.
“The release of these blocks will enable the identification and testing of new targets in a proven oil and gas province,” Mr Gibbins said.
“The initiative of the Government at this time warrants acknowledgment because awarding these blocks to junior explorers means opportunities which might otherwise be overlooked or downgraded are addressed by agile and innovative players who are keen to develop resources and build wealth.”
A bit late now that previous politicians have closed down search and recovery of gas and oil in Australia, making us dependent on Singapore now that Iran has closed off much of M/E oil. Brilliant work Australian politicians and the super criminal Donald Trump. I heard several years ago that there is a huge basin of oil in South Australia just waiting to be tapped. The Australian company that was supposed to be going to tap this reserve walked away. How much political pressure created that situation?
Why not state owned oil like Norway.
I discovered they installed the auto-correct on the browser not the webpage during one of their forced “updates”
Even if they were aloud to use an expedited procedure to get this started, current government regulations alongside the rotten bureaucrats working from home with their Brats & Cats will make this project almost impossible, after 5 to 10 years of lost money, landholders, mediations, land courts, no doubt an exclusion zone for artefacts, brown paper bags, the red and black tape will drain this project to death.
The foresight of the government would be a guarantee of local supply so they don’t have to reduce taxes on fuel at the pump
You don’t like me referring to your descendant’s house as a glutton Mr. Autocorrect Algorithm?
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It’s been a long day.
Rock, paper, scissors, woke, dollars.
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Dollars and sense trumps woke ideology
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Plebeian disciples of gloBAAList’s U.N. woke conspiracy, lose out to the energy needs of gloBAALists one world governance of natural resources.
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I look forward to the gas tapped, powering electricity generation; needed to sustain the appetite of the proposed Western Downs data centre to be built on a feedlot.
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The gluten will consume about 2.16 gigawatts, equivalent to the electrical energy needs of about 1.5 million Australian households, about one quarter of Queensland’s total generated electrical power.
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Maybe the 30+ billion dollars data centre’s Singapore-based developer, Zerra DC as part of any conditions be made to build an oil refinery and pay for the electricity and water used by the 1.5 million households.
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