Shell outlines plans for new gas drilling phase onshore Queensland

Shell PLC’s Queensland Gas Co. (QGC) will enter a new phase of drilling for gas onshore Queensland to maintain supply to the Australian domestic market as well as feedstock for its LNG export business on Curtis Island.

Between 2022 and 2024, the operator will progressively drill and connect about 145 new gas wells as part of its coal seam gas business in the Western Downs region of Surat basin, which is centered on Miles and Chinchilla west of Brisbane.

The planned wells will be connected to existing processing plants and are expected to supply a total of 210 petajoules of gas over the next 15 years.

All required state and federal government environmental approvals are in place and discussions with landholders are under way to secure access and agree on well locations to minimize impact on farming activities.

Shell’s QGC operation currently includes over 3,000 production wells, 25 field compressor stations, six central processing plants, two water treatment plants, and the two-train LNG export plant on Curtis Island near Gladstone.

Shell is the operator and majority interest holder in the QGC venture. Partners in the LNG plant are CNOOC with 50% equity in Train 1 and Tokyo Gas with 2.5% equity in Train 2.