Key Highlights

  • The Queensland Government selected a joint venture including Beetaloo Energy as preferred tenderer for PLR2026-1-7, with Beetaloo holding a 25% non-operated working interest.
  • The block covers about 305 km² in the Taroom Trough and was awarded for zero upfront consideration.
  • The initial two-year work commitment covers seismic processing and early exploration, and Beetaloo's 25% share can be funded from existing cash.
  • Joint venture partners are Amplitude Energy, Xstate Resources (initial operator) and Eastern States Energy, each with an equal share.

Beetaloo Energy Australia Limited (ASX:BTL) holds 28.9 million acres of exploration tenements in the McArthur Basin and Beetaloo Sub-basins of the Northern Territory. The company says work since 2010 shows the Eastern depositional Trough of the McArthur Basin, of which it holds around 80%, has conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon potential.

On 2 October 2026, Beetaloo Energy announced that it is part of a joint venture selected for a new exploration block in southern Queensland, adding a position outside its Northern Territory acreage.

Latest Development: Preferred Tenderer for PLR2026-1-7

Following a competitive tender process, the Queensland Government selected a joint venture as preferred tenderer for the PLR2026-1-7 land release. The participants are Beetaloo Energy (through its Wholly Owned Subsidiary Imperial Oil & Gas A Pty Limited), Amplitude Energy (ASX:AEL), Xstate Resources (ASX:XST) and Eastern States Energy. The joint venture has accepted the offer.

Interests are held equally, giving Beetaloo Energy a 25% working interest for zero upfront consideration. It will participate as a non-operator, with Xstate Resources as initial operator. The block covers about 305 km² on the eastern flank of the Taroom Trough, between Miles and Condamine on the Western Downs, within the broader Bowen and Surat basins.

The initial work commitment covers seismic processing and early exploration activities over a two-year program. Beetaloo Energy states that its 25% share of near-term expenditure can be funded from existing cash resources.

Underwood described the award as a low-cost entry into the liquids and oil-rich window of the Taroom Trough. He said the position gives shareholders exposure to two of Australia's premier unconventional plays, the Beetaloo Basin's gas resources and the Taroom Trough's liquids prospectivity.

Sector Context: Taroom Trough Prospectivity

The company describes the block as adjacent to and along trend from Omega Oil and Gas' Canyon play, which is being appraised, on the same liquids-rich fairway and within a similar depth window. It cites stacked, overpressured Permian reservoir intervals and notes that recent exploration and appraisal in the Taroom Trough has found gas, liquids and light crude oil.

The block sits 600 to 1,800 metres up-dip of Fantome-1, which flowed gas from the Permian formation in 2012 according to a cited 2016 report. The company points to nearby pipeline, road and rail infrastructure and to the Coordinator-General's Taroom Trough Development Plan, and says it considers the Taroom Trough to be a future premier unconventional liquids play.

What to Watch Ahead

Managing Director Alex Underwood said Beetaloo Energy will contribute unconventional development expertise while its principal focus remains on its Beetaloo assets. Near-term items are the seismic processing and early exploration work under the two-year program, and the joint venture's progress as operator Xstate begins activity.

The announcement does not include resource estimates, drilling plans or a budget figure for the work program, and the status is preferred tenderer rather than a completed grant.

The Bottom Line

Beetaloo Energy (ASX:BTL) has gained a 25% non-operated interest in a 305 km² Taroom Trough block for no upfront payment, adding a liquids-focused Queensland position alongside its Northern Territory gas acreage. The initial work is limited to seismic processing and early exploration, and the announcement contains no resource or budget figures. Progress on the work program is the next item to follow.