Frequently Asked Questions

Hydraulic fracturing, also referred to as fracking, is used to increase the flow of oil or natural gas from a well. It is also sometimes used in other industries to increase the flow of water wells.

Hydraulic fracturing starts with safely drilling into shale and other tight-rock formations kilometres below the surface. Once the well is drilled, cased with steel and cement and tested to ensure its integrity, small perforations (or holes) are made in the horizontal portion of the well pipe. A typical mixture of water (90 per cent), sand (9.5 per cent) and additives (0.5 per cent) arethen pumped under pressure through these perforations. The pressure creates small fractures in the rock and widens existing ones, which helps gas to flow. When the fluid mixture is removed, most of the sand remains to help keep the fractures open to aid the flow of gas.

The method has been implemented in Australia for over 40 years, and the technology behind it is well-established and supported by scientific assessment and regulation.

Hydraulic fracturing has been used extensively within Australia.Since the early 1980s, Santos has hydraulically fractured 30 wells in the Amadeus Basin. In South Australia, the technique has been used for conventional petroleum extraction more than 685 times over the last 40 years and in Western Australia it has been used more than 780 times (including 734 times on Barrow Island). Located off the coast of Western Australia, Barrow Island has been identified as an ‘A’ Class nature reserve –the highest level of environmental protection afforded in the State. Hydraulic fracturing is also commonly used by oil and gas operators in Australia’s offshore waters.

Hydraulic fracturing requires access to volumes of water that are generally not large compared to other uses, such as irrigation, and large industrial and town water supply.

We conserve water use as much as we can by recycling and reusing water across our wells during the drilling process. We must carefully manage our water use and operate under a regulated water allocation plan. We must also gain a water extraction license as part of our approval process. This ensures water is extracted within the parameters of the sustainable yield for the local aquifer. Cattle and agriculture currently use around 6% of the sustainable yield.

Protecting water and the environment is at the heart of almost every conversation about hydraulic fracturing. Natural geological and engineered barriers exist, and we put multiple controls in place to protect water and the environment when we drill a well. Hydraulic fracturing has also been occurring in the Northern Territory for over 40 years. This is because disciplined and safe operating systems and processes are in place, assessed and approved by the relevant government agencies.

No. Water and sand make up about 98 –99% of the mix. The rest are common additives. This includes guar gum to thicken the mix, caustic soda and acetic acid (vinegar) to balance the water, potassium chloride (salts) to prevent drilling equipment from getting stuck and enzymes (similar to what is in washing powder) to break it down and ensure what’s being pumped back to the surface can be disposed of appropriately.

Similar to how you use these chemicals at home —diluted or in small percentages —is no different to the way they are used in hydraulic fracturing.

Natural gas has numerous advantages compared to other sources of energy, including high combustion efficiency, reliable and affordable transportation, and distribution in pipelines, convenience and flexibility of use, low GHG emissions compared to oil and coal, and abundant and reliable supply.

Importantly, IEA analysis has shown that when taking into account both CO2 and methane emissions, coal to gas switching reduces GHG emission by 50% when producing electricity.

Tamboran’s exploration permits are located on Native Title Determined land. The Northern Land Council is the statutory representative of land that is subject to Native Title, and we rely on the advice of the Northern Land Council to guide Tamboran in our engagement activities with Native Title Holders and Traditional Owners. Since becoming operator of our Beetaloo Basin exploration permits, we continue to engage with Native Title Holders and Traditional Owners in the areas in which we operate, to discuss our work plans and activities, sacred site protection and how Tamboran can contribute to the social and economic development of the region.

We work closely with the Traditional Owners and Native Title Holders in the areas in which we work. This includes sharing factual, scientifically-based information that is directly relevant to the geology and geography of the area and the associated exploration activities. We share our annual work programs and other authorization material before we start work, and take part in regular on-country meetings with the Northern Land Council and the Native Title Holders. We provide our work program plans to the NLC in advance so there is adequate time to engage with the Native Title Holders and for culturally appropriate discussions to occur over time. We also work closely with Native Title Holders to ensure cultural heritage sites are avoided and protected in accordance with the Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Site Act.

We work closely and transparently with the Northern Land Council and Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority to ensure sacred sites are protected. This includes sharing our work program plans in advance and allowing culturally appropriate discussions to take place, as well as undertaking sacred site clearances under the NT Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act.

Early work indicates that most of the Beetaloo Basin is likely to contain ‘dry’ gas (the type used in your stove at home), while some parts may contain ‘wet’ gas such as propane and butane, (gases commonly used for BBQs).

These gases are found in a series of shale rock formations up to four kilometres underground, well below and separated from the aquifer’s layers that lie close to the surface. Our current program is focused on finding out if these gases can be safely and economically produced.

The intermittent nature of solar and wind power –much less power is produced if it’s still and cloudy for example –requires a partner energy source to fill in these gaps. This makes gas the ideal partner to support growth in renewables as it’s affordable, has lower emission compared to coal generation, and is responsive to surges in demand, with modern gas generators able to start up in as little as three minutes.

A lot of gas is used for heating Australian homes or for cooking, but it’s also used to produce many important products in our society. A lot of fertilisers we spread on our lawn and garden each year are created using domestically produced natural gas, as is hydrogen, a key ingredient in preservatives for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.Flexible polymers that are shaped and moulded into medical equipment, clothing, and children’s toys are created using natural gas and it’s the only fuel that can economically achieve and sustain the high temperatures needed to produce and refine materials such as iron, steel, silver, gold, aluminium, copper, zinc and tin. These high temperatures are also needed to produce the staples of our construction industry –glass, cement, bricks, and ceramics –all produced in furnaces fired by natural gas.

Yes. We have many controls and safeguards in place when we drill a well and we do not undertake fracking until they are in place. There are multiple layers of steel and cement separating the well from the underground layers of rock.There is also at least 1kilometre of impenetrable rock between the rock being fracked and the aquifer sitting close to the surface. We also ensure independently verified groundwater monitoring is in place before we started our exploration work. This is ongoing.

We work closely with the Northern Land Council to ensure we seek and maintain the support of Native Title Holders in the areas where we are working. We continue to engage positively with Native Title Holders about exploration activities and proposed appraisal and production activities. We are already working with Native Title Holders and the Northern Land Council to ensure the project is a genuine partnership that represents significant and long-term social and economic benefits for Native Title Holders and Traditional Owners in the Northern Territory.

Both the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) have recently flagged the risk of gas supply shortfalls this decade. This primarily due to legacy gas production from locations like the Gippsland and Cooper Basins are set to decline, with new gas production required to offset this fall.

Tamboran’s Beetaloo natural gas project can play a role in addressing this natural gas supply shortfall in the Northern Territory and on Australia’s East Coast.

Tamboran’s Beetaloo project has the ability to help put downward pressure on energy prices, by providing an affordable and reliable domestic gas supply to Australian households and industry.