SMH: Northern Territory's 'Vast' Shale Resources Draws Strong Foreign Investment Despite Slump

The scale of shale petroleum resources in Northern Territory's greater McArthur Basin is attracting a world class range of companies ploughing many millions of dollars into exploration, despite the downturn in crude prices, according to NT Deputy Chief minister Willem Westra Van Holthe.

Westra Van Holthe said, at the APPEA breakfast on Tuesday morning, that the vast basin, which covers almost 40 per cent of the NT, had already attracted Santos, Origin Energy and more recently Japan's Inpex Corporation, while other major investments may be "just around the corner".

Recent media reports suggest American Energy Partners, led by Aubrey McClendon, the co-founder of US player Chesapeake Energy, is planning a major investment in exploration in the McArthur Basin. AEP is said to be raising capital to fund the acquisition of 16 million acres in the basin, in a farm-in deal with private company Pangaea Resources.

Estimates of shale gas in the NT total more than 200 billion cubic feet, have already attracted interest from other major international explorers such as Norway's Statoil. However US player Hess Corporation has exited its NT exploration venture, as has larger US energy giant Chevron further to the south in the Cooper Basin, casting a pall over sentiment around the country's shale potential. MORE