Northern Territory's largest onshore gas producer to increase exploration

While Territorians await the final report from the inquiry into hydraulic fracking, to be released next month, the NT's largest onshore gas producer is ramping up production.

Central Petroleum's Operations Manager James van
 Rooyen checks the East Mereenie number 7 well.

Central Petroleum will be drilling up to four new wells in March, in an effort to source gas to fill the Northern Gas Pipeline.

The $800 million pipeline will run from Tennant Creek to Mt Isa, and is due to pipe its first gas at the end of the year.

As Central Petroleum use conventional methods to extract the gas, rather than unconventional extraction, or 'fracking', the current NT moratorium in place does not apply to their wells.

Read the ABC News story by Katrina Beavan - “Northern Territory's largest onshore gas producer to increase exploration.”

NT fracking inquiry: Economic benefit uncertain, Australia Institute think tank warns

A new economic assessment of the impact hydraulic fracking would have on the Northern Territory shows the financial benefit does not warrant a lifting of the current moratorium, a Canberra-based think tank says.

Jemena is currently constructing the Northern
 Gas Pipeline that will link Tennant Creek with
 Mount Isa in north-west Queensland.

A report released by economic consulting firm ACIL Allen late on Friday evening looked at what effect allowing fracking in the NT would have on employment numbers and revenue — for both the Government and private companies.

Research Director at the Australia Institute think tank, Rod Campbell, said the assessment showed even in the best-case scenario the economic development for the NT was not outstanding.

"It points out... that an unconventional gas industry in the Northern Territory is very uncertain and likely to be quite small," he said.

Read the ABC News story by Georgia Hitch - “NT fracking inquiry: Economic benefit uncertain, Australia Institute think tank warns.”