Australian junior gas firm Central Petroleum has confirmed that it will proceed with a plan to buy new acreage in Australia's onshore Otway and Cooper basins from domestic explorer ADZ Energy.
Central will go ahead with acquisitions announced last month following conditions precedent being met, the firm said on 19 January. Central will buy 20pc of an exploration permit in the Otway basin owned by Victoria state, where drilling is planned for mid-to-late 2026 and 49pc of 24 retention leases and an exploration permit in South Australia (SA) state's Cooper basin.
The SA block will be drilled in late 2026 and early 2027 with plans for two to three wells, Central said previously.
Australian governments are trying to boost supply from southern basins due to increasing concerns about shortfalls of gas in latter years this decade, due to depletion from the Gippsland basin joint venture owned by ExxonMobil and Australian independent Woodside, which will take over operatorship this year.
Central, a partner in Australian joint venture Mereenie, is focused on the onshore Amadeus basin in central Australia, where it holds operatorship and a 25pc stake. The company holds about 169,000km² of tenements in the Northern Territory where it largely produces gas for the government-owned Power and Water.
