• Central and its Mereenie joint venture partners Macquarie Mereenie Pty Limited, NZOG Mereenie Pty Ltd and Cue Mereenie Pty Ltd (collectively the “Mereenie JV”), have entered into an as-available supply agreement with Power and Water Corporation  (“PWC”) for the supply of up to 8.6 Petajoules (“PJ”) of gas (2.1 PJ net to Central) to the end of 2024.
• The Blacktip field remains at low production levels, however, tail gas from Darwin LNG continues to supply the NT market. As a result, there is a small oversupply in the NT that is not sufficient to restart the Northern Gas Pipeline.
• Consequently, the Mereenie gas field is currently curtailed by 10 – 15 TJ/d (2.5 – 3.75 TJ/d Central share). However, tail gas from Darwin LNG is anticipated to decline in the coming months, which would impact the current market dynamics and provide an opportunity for the Mereenie JV to increase supply under the new GSA.

Central Petroleum has agreed to supply additional gas into the Northern Territory for the remainder of 2024 under a new agreement announced today.

The new agreement could see Central supply up to 2.1 PJ of gas to Power & Water Corporation over the remainder of the year while the Northern Gas Pipeline remains closed.

The Central-operated gas fields in the Southern Amadeus Basin already reliably produce over half of the Northern Territory’s gas demand and should play an increasingly important role in supplying NT customers as existing off-shore gas supplies decline.

Leon Devaney, Central’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer commented:
“The NT gas market is changing, and I believe production from the Amadeus Basin will play a key role as the NT’s only onshore source of domestic production. The as-available GSA with PWC will facilitate this, however, we understand initial sales under this GSA will be moderate until PWC prioritises onshore gas from the Territory over other sources.

“We are seeking additional customers and firm gas transportation so that we can increase gas production from our existing gas fields in the Amadeus Basin through new production wells. If the NT is heading into a period where it needs additional gas, increased supply from existing gas fields in the Amadeus Basin that have proven reserves, and already reliably produce over half of the NT’s gas demand, should be a priority.”