Xstate Resources (ASX:XST) to Operate Taroom Trough Joint Venture After Preferred Tenderer Selection

Sonal Goyal

02 October 2026 08:19 PM AEST

Xstate Resources (ASX:XST) to Operate Taroom Trough Joint Venture After Preferred Tenderer Selection

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Key Highlights

An Xstate-led joint venture has been awarded preferred tenderer status for Block 7 (PLR2026-1-7) on the eastern side of the Taroom Trough.
Xstate will be initial operator, with Xstate, Amplitude Energy, Beetaloo Energy and Eastern States Energy each holding a 25% working interest.
The block lies adjacent to and along trend from Omega Oil & Gas' Canyon project and close to pipelines and infrastructure.
The grant remains subject to Queensland Government processes, including a Native Title process and an Environmental Authority lodgement.

Xstate Resources Limited (ASX:XST) is an ASX-listed oil and gas company focused on its Diona project in Queensland. Xstate owns 51% of the Diona block within ATP 2077 and spudded its first well on the block, Diona-1, on 27 September 2025.

On 2 October 2026, the company announced that a joint venture it leads has been selected as preferred tenderer for a new block in the Taroom Trough, with Xstate acting as operator and holding 25%.

Latest Development: Block 7 Awarded Under the PLR2026-1 Program

Xstate's joint venture with Amplitude Energy Limited, Beetaloo Energy Limited and Eastern States Energy Pty Ltd (each holding a 25% working interest) was awarded preferred tenderer status for Block 7 under the Queensland Government's Public Land Release program (PLR2026-1). Xstate will be the initial operator.

Block 7, also referred to as PLR2026-1-7, covers about 305 km² on the eastern flank of the Taroom Trough, between Condamine and Miles on the Western Downs, and forms part of the broader Surat over Bowen Basin. The initial work commitment entails seismic processing and early stage geological and geophysical activities.

The grant remains subject to completion of Queensland Government processes that Xstate is currently undertaking, including initiating a Native Title process and lodging an Environmental Authority.

The announcement's maps show the block relative to Shell, Elixir Energy, Santos and Omega Oil & Gas tenure, along with key Permian wells, proposed Canyon North locations, gas pipelines and the Wallumbilla to Brisbane and SGW to Tallinga pipeline corridors in and around the block.

Sector Context: Basin Centred Gas and Liquids in the Taroom Trough

Xstate describes the block as highly prospective, within an established hydrocarbon province and close to pipeline infrastructure and services. The acreage contains stacked Permian reservoir intervals of the Basin Centred Gas play, which the company compares with plays in the United States and Canada.

Recent exploration in the Taroom Trough is described as having found Basin Centred Gas as well as large quantities of associated liquids and light crude oil. Block 7 is adjacent to and along trend with the Omega Oil & Gas Canyon play, which is being drilled and appraised. Xstate says the award reflects the Queensland Government's confidence in the joint venture's appraisal strategy and technical capability, with regulatory coordination through the Coordinator-General's Taroom Trough Development Plan.

What to Watch Ahead

Managing Director Andrew Bald said the company is already preparing to commence work on the ground and expects partners to bring expertise to the exploration and appraisal of what he called the new eastern Taroom licence.

Items to follow include completion of the Native Title process and Environmental Authority, the conversion from preferred tenderer to granted status, and the start of the seismic processing and early geological and geophysical work. The announcement does not state a cost or timetable for those activities.

The Bottom Line

Xstate Resources (ASX:XST) has been named operator of a joint venture holding preferred tenderer status for a 305 km² Taroom Trough block, with a 25% share alongside three partners. The award is not yet a completed grant, since Native Title and Environmental Authority steps remain, and the announcement provides no resource figures or work budget. Those regulatory steps and the first exploration activities are the next developments.

FAQs

Q: What did Xstate Resources (ASX:XST) announce on 2 October 2026?

A:An Xstate-led joint venture was awarded preferred tenderer status for Block 7 (PLR2026-1-7) under the Queensland Government's PLR2026-1 program.

Q: What is Xstate's role and interest?

A:Xstate will be initial operator and holds a 25% working interest.

Q: Who are the joint venture partners?

A:Amplitude Energy, Beetaloo Energy and Eastern States Energy, each holding 25%.

Q: How large is the block?

A:About 305 km² on the eastern flank of the Taroom Trough, between Condamine and Miles on the Western Downs.

Q: What conditions remain?

A:The grant is subject to Queensland Government processes, including initiating a Native Title process and lodging an Environmental Authority.

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