Today I had the privilege of being present for an historic milestone for our industry, as production gas flowed from the Beetaloo Basin for the first time.
I commend Tamboran Resources on reaching this major milestone, which is the culmination of many years of perseverance, innovation, and investment.
This moment belongs to all Territorians, who will share in the benefits of improved energy security, more local jobs, and decades of economic dividends.
The opportunity extends well beyond the Territory. With more investment in supply and infrastructure, Beetaloo gas could also help ease emerging supply pressures on the east coast and strengthen Australia’s position as a reliable energy partner in the region.
Realising that potential will require billions of dollars in new investment. That capital is not guaranteed. Australia competes globally for energy investment, and investors need stable and internationally competitive policy settings, efficient approvals and long-term certainty.
Since her government's election two years ago, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has placed the Beetaloo at the centre of the Territory's economic agenda. The government has backed that ambition with practical reforms to accelerate approvals and support the infrastructure needed to develop the basin.
The NT Government estimates the Beetaloo could generate more than $17 billion in economic activity over the next two decades and support more than 13,000 jobs by 2040.
Unlocking this opportunity should be a national priority. Yet it has taken more than 20 years since the first exploration permits were granted to reach first gas.
Development has been slowed by successive inquiries and reviews, a seven-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, and repeated legal challenges.
Those delays carry real costs. They have delayed jobs, investment, government revenue, and energy supply, and contributed to Australia's decline in competitiveness for global capital.
First gas from the Beetaloo is cause for celebration, and a timely reminder of what can be achieved when governments send the right signals for investment.
That is why the Federal Government’s proposed national gas reservation scheme must be carefully designed.
As the government prepares to release draft legislation in the coming weeks, a key test will be whether the reservation scheme resolves the serious problems raised by the original framework, which risked deterring investment in new supply, disrupting longstanding export arrangements and displacing domestic-focused gas producers.
Australian gas producers remain committed to working constructively with the Federal Government on a prospective reservation policy that supports new supply, protects existing contracts and restores long-term confidence in the market.
If the government gets it wrong, the reservation scheme will be consigned to the long list of failed interventions in the east coast gas market. Australia cannot afford to squander this opportunity.
Samantha McCulloch, Chief Executive of Australian Energy Producers