The Queensland government has awarded a large new land area in the Taroom Trough to a joint venture led by Omega Oil and Gas (ASX: OMA).
Omega holds 45% equity in the JV, partnering with Beach Energy (ASX: BPT), which holds 25%, and Tri-Star E&P (30%).
The land has been designated as PLR2025-1-9 and covers 750 square kilometres of the Bowen Basin immediately north of Omega’s wholly-owned potentially commercial areas (PCAs), significantly expanding its acreage position to 1,796 sq km in the deep Permian unconventional oil and gas play on the basin’s eastern flank.
The joint venture partners will apply their combined technical, operating and financial capabilities to an accelerated exploration and appraisal campaign focused on bringing oil and gas to the domestic market as rapidly as possible.
Omega now holds a commanding position in the Taroom Trough with a total acreage of 5,041 sq km spanning the eastern and western flanks, comprising PLR2025-1-9, the existing PCAs, and 19.43% equity in local operator Elixir Energy (ASX: EXR).
Major New Energy Province
The eastern flank of the Taroom Trough is emerging as a major new oil and gas province within the Bowen Basin, with highly-attractive geology through five stacked Permian reservoir layers across a large area—only one of which has been tested.
Modelling of the Canyon Sandstone reservoir layer indicated a 10-year estimated ultimate recovery of approximately 0.95 million barrels of oil equivalent (or 5.72 billion cubic feet of gas equivalent) from a single 2,000m horizontal development well at 1,000m well spacing.
Omega has planned an extensive drilling program to delineate the quality and extent of the stacked reservoirs, identify “sweet spots” within each layer and provide essential data for an upgrade to its resource and reserves base.
The company has engaged drilling contractor Helmerich & Payne to supply a FlexRig 648 heavy-duty, high-spec rig for the campaign, which will comprise multiple vertical wells and a contingent horizontal well.
Clear Development Pathway
Chief executive officer Trevor Brown said first results would be available by mid-2026 and are expected to deliver a clear pathway for the development of PLR2025-1-9, providing Omega with a step-change in scale and value.
“Our entire operated acreage position is within a proven and prolific hydrocarbon system with enormous upside potential for both oil and gas,” he said.
“We have built Omega to move fast, and this award gives us a clear runway to rapidly appraise the area and create significant value.”
“Early indications are that the Taroom Trough may be host to internationally significant volumes of oil and gas, and that it shares many geological characteristics with the most prolific, unconventional producing basins in the US.”
Accelerated Exploration
Tri-Star’s Australian chief executive officer Andrew Hackwood welcomed the opportunity to partner with Omega and Beach on PLR2025-1-9.
“This joint venture is well-positioned to move quickly with accelerated exploration and appraisal programs,” he said.
“We see the Taroom Trough as a potentially major source of domestic oil and gas and we commend the Queensland government for its leadership in supporting increased gas supply along the east coast.”
Beach chief executive officer Brett Woods said the company was keen to explore the potential of the Taroom Trough.
“We are excited to partner with Omega and Tri-Star in an area we believe has the potential to become a meaningful new source of domestic oil and gas supply—we look forward to applying our expertise to accelerate exploration and appraisal, and unlock value from the stacked Permian reservoirs.”
