Australia tipped to boost shale and CBM exploration

The Spring Gully CBM field in the Bowen Basin. (Origin)

State and federal governments in Australia are stepping up efforts to boost conventional and unconventional onshore gas exploration and production in Queensland and the Northern Territory (NT) as a tightening gas market in the east of the country combines with a forecast growth in Asian LNG demand.

This week, the Queensland government released 10 new areas for CBM exploration across 33,177 square km in the state’s established Bowen and Surat basins as well as the under-explored Adavale, Galilee and Millungera basins. Tenders close on 13 February...