Sydney, 1 October (Argus) — Australia-focused shale gas developer Tamboran Resources will buy Canadian explorer Falcon Oil and Gas, its partner in the Beetaloo joint venture (BJV) shale gas project in Australia’s Northern Territory (NT).
The company will control a total of about 2.9mn acres (11,700 km²) of permits to explore the Beetaloo after the deal, Tamboran said on 30 September. This will be out of a total prospective area of about 4.6mn acres.
The deal values Falcon, listed on the Toronto and London stock exchanges, at C$239mn ($172mn) and is expected to close in January-March 2026.
Falcon, an international oil and gas developer, also holds acreage in South Africa’s Karoo basin and Hungary’s Mako trough
The deal will strengthen Tamboran’s ownership over the BJV phase 2 development area, the firm’s interim chief executive Richard Stoneburner said on 30 September. Tamboran is aiming to sell down its stake while maintaining a material working interest over its Beetaloo acreage, Stoneburner added.
The company made a final investment decision on its five-well, 40 TJ/d Shenandoah South pilot project on 30 September with first appraisal gas from the project expected in mid-2026.
The Beetaloo holds gas reserves estimated to be 70pc of the NT’s shale reserves of around 257,000PJ (6.87 trillion m³), but the remote region — 500km south of NT capital Darwin — has not proven easy to develop.
Australian gas pipeline operator APA is building a link from Tamboran’s project to the 145 TJ/d Amadeus gas pipeline, expected to be completed in early 2026.
By Tom Major
