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Carbon Loop #022

08/07/2026 Posted by Helen

Read the full newsletter here

Hello and welcome to The Carbon Loop — a newsletter by the CCUSNA dedicated to highlighting the Australian carbon capture, utilisation and storage industry

When a state’s peak business body models the cheapest route to net zero, you expect the answer to be wind, solar and transmission. So it is worth noticing that the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA has found the cheapest route runs through carbon capture instead. Its new report tested five scenarios for Western Australia’s energy future, and of the pathways that actually reach net zero by 2050, the lowest-cost was the one built around accelerated CCUS.

Beetaloo Energy Operations Update

05/07/2026 Posted by Rachel

Beetaloo Energy is making progress in its Beetaloo Basin operations, reporting strong well performance and advancing infrastructure projects to the market on 1 July.

The company reports that flow testing at the Carpentaria-5H well is underway, showing a peak gas rate of over 14 terajoules (TJ) per day, with an average of 7 TJ/day and a current rate of about 6.7 TJ/day. The well is demonstrating a low rate of decline and continues to clean up, indicating strong reservoir performance and potential for higher long-term recovery.

Managing Director Alex Underwood advises: "We are on track to commence gas sales from the Carpentaria Pilot Project in Q4 2026.

Denison Gas Announce Baffle Creek Discovery

04/07/2026 Posted by Rachel

Source: Media Release – Denison Discovers Vast Queensland Natural Gas Province – Denison Gas

Queensland gas company Denison has confirmed a major new discovery in the Baffle Creek field of the Denison Trough in Central Queensland’s Bowen Basin, promising to bolster fuel and energy security. The Queensland government has welcomed the announcement as future support for the East Coast gas market with their media release reporting “This discovery reaffirms Queensland’s position as a critical energy supplier to Australia, with nearly 90 per cent of the East Coast gas market already supplied by Queensland.

Prominence Energy Share Update on their Exploration Activities Across Helium and Hydrogen Project

04/07/2026 Posted by Rachel

Prominence Energy (ASX: PRM) continues to advance their flagship Eyre Project in South Australia, with an independent satellite remote sensing study confirming widespread helium, natural hydrogen, and methane anomalies across the tenure.

In the ASX announcement, released to the market on 24 June 2026, Prominence Energy shared that an independent satellite-based remote sensing study has been completed which validates their early-stage exploration as they move to de-risk high-priority drilling targets.

The independent study was led by remote sensing specialist Dr Neil Pendock, using imagery from the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 satellite constellation.

Understanding exploration success and failure in the Cooper and Eromanga Basins, South Australia

04/07/2026 Posted by Rachel

by David Spence

PESA SA/NT June Luncheon

Sharon Tiainen from DEM (Department for Energy and Mining, South Australia) provided attendees with an historical account of the exploration success and failure of the Cooper and Eromanga Basins in South Australia. Her talk was an expanded version of her presentation at the recent AEP conference held in Adelaide in May. Sharon is a geoscientist with extensive worldwide experience, having worked in all parts of the upstream E&P exploration and production industry.

Using statistical representations of open-file data, Sharon illustrated the patterns of gas exploration success, which followed a conventional basin exploration trend.

Beta Launch – Dr John Gorter’s book

24/06/2026 Posted by Helen

Dr. John Gorter was a renowned sedimentary geologist based in recent years in Perth, Australia, and is recognized for his contributions to global oil and gas exploration, basin analysis and paleontological studies.

Dr Gorter had a passion for geology, observation, evidence and documenting.

Dr Gorter was writing his autobiography and memoirs before he tragically and unexpectedly passed away in Madagascar in May 2024.

John’s writings are being compiled and published by his wife, Eva Skira AM.

4-6pm Thursday 16 July 2026

Mayfair Lane Pub, 72 Outram St, West Perth

Attendance by invitation. Please contact Eva Skira at eskira26@gmail.com

Omega Commences Civil Works inAdvance of 2026/27 Drilling Program

11/06/2026 Posted by Rachel

Omega announced to the market in May that civil works for well-pad preparation had commenced for the first wells in their 2026/27 drilling program on the oil and gas-bearing eastern flank of the Taroom Trough. The wells are planned within their Canyon Project (PCAs 342 and 343, OMA 100%) and ATP 2081 (OMA 45%, Operator) in Queensland’s Taroom Trough.

The company advises the program is due to commence around the end of June 2026, following completion of preceding wells by another operator.

Australian Oil Co busy in the Surat Basin

11/06/2026 Posted by Rachel

On 15th May, Australia Oil Co announced their recent development and exploration activities in the Surat Basin to the market with production, development and exploration all underway.

Maiden oil lifting of 422 barrels by IOR from the Emu Apple Oil Field at the end of March, with the next lifting scheduled to occur around mid May. Production levels are advised to consistent with expectations of approximately 15 barrels of oil per day and 30% water cut.

Plans to acidize Emu Apple 1 and wash with condensate to improve production rates are underway, whilst the company is also...

Santos announces first oil at Pikka in Alaska

10/06/2026 Posted by Janny

May 18 2026 saw Santos announce first oil from their Pikka project on Alaska's North Slope. One of their tier 1 assets, as per recent investor day briefing, this is a significant milestone for the Australian company. The Pikka project targets the Nanushuk Formation - a Lower Cretaceous (Albian-Cenomanian) shallow marine to non-marine succession that overlies the Torok Formation (Alaska Department of Natural Resources, 2017). The Nanushuk represents a major clinoformal succession that filled the western Colville foreland basin by prograding west to east, along the basin axis (Alaska Department of Natural Resources, 2017).

70 years of exploration in the Cooper Eromanga Basins: what we can learn from collective success and failure

10/06/2026 Posted by Rachel

Our AEP 2026 peer-reviewed paper - Understanding exploration success and failure in the Cooper and Eromanga Basins, South Australia - presents an integrated analysis of open-file well, production, and licensing data to understand the drivers of exploration success and failure. Some 800 exploration wells (Figure 1) have resulted in production of approximately 260 million barrels of oil and 8 trillion cubic feet of raw gas, confirming the basins’ status as a significant onshore petroleum province.