Aussie Activists Moaning about Massive New “Climate Bomb” Gas Field in the Northern Territory

Essay by Eric Worrall

“… No amount of jobs or money can compensate for this devastating future. …”

Gas from the Beetaloo Basin will only pour fuel on the climate change fire

Published: September 7, 2026 11.31am AEST
Lily O’Neill
Senior Research Fellow, Melbourne Climate Futures, The University of Melbourne

Gas is now flowing from the Beetaloo Basin, a vast fossil fuel project roughly 500 kilometres southeast of Darwin in the Northern Territory.

…

The Beetaloo is producing its first round of gas amid fanfare about the amount of royalties it could bring the NT. Proponents say the basin could generate more than A$17 billion and support 13,000 jobs over the next two decades. Already, there is talk of the economic opportunities that come with cheap energy, including powering energy-hungry data centres with shale gas.

For those who have long hyped the Beetaloo’s economic potential, this is welcome news. For scientists, environmental groups and communities around Australia and the world bearing the brunt of global warming, it represents a “climate bomb”.

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A ‘stranded asset’

In this context, a “stranded asset” is a fossil fuel project – such as a coal mine or gas pipeline – that quickly loses its value because of the global transition away from fossil fuels. Research suggests demand for liquefied natural gas will decline as early as the mid-2030s. This, combined with dubious employment benefits, means the government is highly unlikely to get a good return on its Beetaloo investments.

…

No amount of jobs or money can compensate for this devastating future. By turning on the Beetaloo tap, we risk watching the climate crisis worsen before our very eyes.

…
Read more: https://theconversation.com/gas-from-the-beetaloo-basin-will-only-pour-fuel-on-the-climate-change-fire-290535

The only “crisis” is a collapse in belief in the fake climate scare. The author claims fossil fuel is on track to become “stranded assets” by the mid 2030s, but the evidence suggests renewables are the real stranded assets. Like the vast solar farm just down the road which has pretty much been abandoned.

Outback residents lose solar farm as Ergon battles push owner to close

By Abbey Halter
ABC North West Qld
Topic:Solar Energy
Posted 3 Oct 2025 at 6:54am

In short:

The Normanton Solar Farm in the Gulf of Carpentaria can power an area almost twice the size of Tasmania.

Owner and operator Doug Scouller has turned off the farm after eight years, citing soured contract negotiations with Ergon Energy.

What’s next?

Ergon Energy says it is willing to speak with Mr Scouller should he contact them.

An outback solar farm has officially switched off its panels after the owner said a failed agreement with Ergon Energy forced his hand to pull the plug.

For eight years, Doug Scouller’s Normanton Solar Farm has kept residential and business lights on across an area almost twice the size of Tasmania.

But his dream of using the region’s abundant sunlight to power his remote Gulf of Carpentaria community has been extinguished.

Mr Scouller said the most recent power purchasing agreement (PPA) offered by Ergon Energy was “completely commercially unviable”.

…
Read more: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-03/normanton-solar-farm-turns-off-after-ergon-energy-negotiations/105843958

Who needs unreliable solar when you have reliable gas?

Demand destruction simply isn’t happening on anything like the scale greens predicted – if anything, the opposite is the case. With AI driving demand through the roof, and renewables failing to even cater for existing demand, in my opinion there is no evidence that new gas field will lose its value by the mid 2030s.

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27 Comments

Jeff Alberts

September 8, 2026 10:39 am

Dr Lily O’Neill is a Senior Research Fellow for Melbourne Climate Futures (MCF). She is a legal researcher examining the energy transition, climate repair, environmental regulation, native title and agreement making.
Her particular focus for MCF is how these issues impact and benefit First Nations people in research projects that are First Nations community identified.
Lily is a former legal practitioner at a major Australian law firm, a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, World Commission on Environmental Law, and on the committee of local environmental group Sustainable Upper Ovens. She lives regionally on the country of the Taungurung people in north-east Victoria.

michael fellion

Reply to Jeff Alberts

September 8, 2026 1:57 pm

“She lives regionally” that has no actual meaning, it is simply a mush word. She lives in the home built with fossil fuels, uses power from fossil fuels, get water and food from fossil fuels, drives a car built with fossil fuels, see the doctors using fossil fuels to get there and back plus the meds made with fossil fuels. Nothing this woman has or ever had does not in some way require fossil fuels including her job and paycheck.

Bill Toland

September 8, 2026 10:42 am

This shows that solar power cannot survive without subsidies.

tom_gelsthorpe

September 8, 2026 10:43 am

A few reality checks might stem the panic many Aussies feel.

The entire country of Australia has significantly fewer people than China’s Shanghai metro. China’s southeastern province of Guangdong, has nearly 130 million people, nearly five times more than Australia’s 28 million. Moreover, Guangdong is China’s most industrialized, and most export-oriented region.
China is apt to provide markets for Australia’s exports of fuel, food, and fiber for generations to come.
China could buy Australia outright, if they really wanted to. Replacing the U.S. dollar with the Chinese yuan could accomplish the same feat without making it official. China can dominate Australia in more subtle ways, especially now that “colonialism” is passé.
In short, nothing Australia says or does can move the climate needle or the world economic needle enough for anyone to notice. Aussies who believe they can hasten or avert climate doomsday is a math-free worry. I doubt they want their country to live up to the aboriginal joke from Crocodile Dundee: “Arguing over who owns the earth is like two fleas arguing over who owns the dog they live on.”

Whetten Robert L

Reply to tom_gelsthorpe

September 8, 2026 12:31 pm

Your pt. 4. says it all, but the rest depends on the Illusive Force of Population – severely outdated.

In the relevant demographic, ages 5 – 30 yrs, Bharat has twice the numbers as the Han-Imperium.

More to the point, the PRC’s young men (in excess) have no siblings, no cousins, are spoiled ‘little emperors’ [their term]. A demographic disaster in the 3rd degree. Their sisters (few in number) are charged with caring for the older (2) generations, in true Confucian tradition. Accordingly, they will not fight, or risk death in battle, as their grandfathers would.

Compare that to the young Americans, many millions of whom have battlefield experience, have grown up handling weapons of war, and are highly motivated to serve in even the most dangerous fields.

Li’l Israel, the IDF, with a population ~ (1/3) of Australia, has a proven stronger & better motivated armed services (IDF) than anywhere else on the Globe.

The combination of the {U.S.A., Yisra-El, Bharat} could defend against anything the P.R.C. could throw at them, and (if necessary) lay waste to its bases and ports … but would rather defend the sea-lanes & blockade ports only to punish the worst of piracy.

Australia & New Zealand in Oceana, never stand alone in the Region against the P.R.C. The First-Island Nations of the Philippines, Taiwan / Formosa, and Japan, not to mention Vietnam & Korea, form a Ring-of-Fire around the Seas of China, one that only a nuclear-missile attack could possibly overcome.

Speaking of which, precisely what is it that precludes Australia from arming itself with ICBMs and a Golden-Dome Missile-Defense Shield?

To its North & Western Flanks, who could imagine less reliable allies than Russia-Siberia, Mongolia & Tibet? All have invaded the Han-Dynasty Heartlands in recent centuries, and would not hesitate to rule it piecewise.

When ‘Z’ wrote ‘To the Stalin Mausoleum’, he was describing a similar demoralisation characteristic of late-stage (dying) Totalitarian States.

Australia’s self sufficiency in an enormous land (mineral wealth) and sea (fishing & sailing) make it a big target, but also too big to swallow or contain. It has a civilisational affinity to the anglophone nations, including India / Bharat and Israel, extending even to liberal Japan-Korea-China (Hong Kong) & Taiwan.

michael fellion

Reply to Whetten Robert L

September 8, 2026 1:42 pm

What’s with all the anti China malarkey. China is a great market for Australian goods nd vice versa. It has a large population base which is growing in per capita wealth pretty fast, faster than Australia. Wealth means people ready and willing to buy, sell them stuff.

kalsel3294

Reply to tom_gelsthorpe

September 8, 2026 3:00 pm

For all intentional purposes Australia is a functioning colony of China given the standard definition of a colony. Albo, or the “handsome boy” as the Chinese dubbed him, fits the role of the ideal colony administrator, all style, no substance.

ricksanchez769

September 8, 2026 11:00 am

~~~~~~

ricksanchez769

September 8, 2026 11:00 am

more more more, how do you like it

Denis

September 8, 2026 11:02 am

“For eight years, Doug Scouller’s Normanton Solar Farm has kept residential and business lights on across an area almost twice the size of Tasmania.”

Only at high noon on a clear day. At any time other than that it’s less and beyond a few hours on either side of noon, its zero. Perhaps Doug had to close his farm because it could not produce power at an acceptable price at the time it was needed especially considering all of the ancillary services needed to integrate DC power with zero inertia into the grid.

bnice2000

Reply to Denis

September 8, 2026 1:22 pm

There would be parts of NT were there would be very few people in an area twice that of Tasmania.. !

And why would you want to keep the lights on during the middle of the day.. Just open the curtains !

michael fellion

Reply to Denis

September 8, 2026 2:05 pm

It is 5mw which means the entire electrical load was a small town at best. The 5mw was at noon as you mention. Nobody needs power at noon only. At say 50 amps at say 220 volts is 1`1,000 watts so the “farm” could at most power 455 homes for maybe 3 hours a day. That is not powering an area twice the size of tasmania unless nobody lives there 455 homes is a very small town. .

Eng_Ian

Reply to michael fellion

September 8, 2026 2:26 pm

NT has an average density of 0.19 persons per square km.

Without powering up the calculator, I’d say that 455 households, (away from Darwin), would more than adequately cover the area of Tasmania, twice over.

And besides, having solar keep the lights on during the day has always seemed to be a wasted effort, just open the curtains.

kalsel3294

September 8, 2026 11:03 am

It is time for us to consider that gas has a value as feedstock for the essential petro-chemical industries that will extend far beyond the need to burn it to generate power given nuclear will become the means to produce base load power after a couple of cycles of having to replace the total intermittent solar and wind infrastructure every 20 years or so and the realisation of it becoming uneconomic without ongoing subsidies. If wind and solar needs subsidies now with high electricity prices, the promise of lower electricity prices is just not going to happen as the replacement cost will not be viable without even higher electricity prices or bigger subsidies.

Tom Halla

September 8, 2026 11:04 am

Fossil fuels as sunk assets is like predicting The Second Coming, which may happen, but is not anything to plan around. And there is the same level of rigor as any milenarian—trust me, I know I am right.

Rud Istvan

September 8, 2026 11:33 am

Did some quick research. The Beetaloo shale basin is equivalent to the US Marcellus. Enormous! Estimates are at least 100-150tcf of recoverable shale gas at current prices.

kalsel3294

Reply to Rud Istvan

September 8, 2026 3:37 pm

All gas is finite, by comparison the Arun gas field in Aceh was considered the major gas field in the region when discovered in 1971. Construction of the export terminal began in 1975 and continued into the early 1980’s producing 10 million tons per annum. The total capacity of the field in 1983 was estimated to be 16tcf, the field was depleted by 2014. Small by todays standards, but demand today is far greater. Gas is a convenient means to burn and generate electricity, but not essential, whereas gas is essential for the petrochemical industries which reach into every facet of modern day life.

philincalifornia

September 8, 2026 11:33 am

STORY TIP(S)

Geographically, a bit off-topic, but a nice short video today, with mention of Venezuelan oil, Saudi Arabia etc., and then a question he obviously didn’t like about the UK’s statement today from ….. yep their new lunatic foreign secretary (deliberately not capitalized):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk_3w8VQQNU

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/foreign-secretary-oral-statement-on-israel-palestine#:~:text=Today%20I%20announce%20that%20the,expansionist%20agenda%20via%20illegal%20settlements.

With a civil war about to break out in the UK over immigration, the idiots are planning wars with Russia and now Israel. The Guardian and BBC loving it.

Google AI Summary:

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a ban on goods from West Bank settlements and stated that Israeli “terrorists” are conducting ethnic cleansing, according to The Guardian.

Key Points of the Statement

Trade Ban: The UK banned all imports of goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
New Sanctions: The government will target individuals and companies that fund, build, or support settlement expansion.
Advertising Ban: All advertising for properties in these illegal settlements is now banned in the UK.
Weapons Restrictions: The UK will refuse new export licenses for military equipment that helps maintain the occupation.
International Support: The UK released a joint statement with 11 other countries—including France and Canada—committing to restrict trade with these settlements. ]

Israeli Response

Israel strongly condemned the remarks and called them lies.
Israel announced the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem and barred several UK lawmakers from entering the country.

Tony Cole

Reply to philincalifornia

September 8, 2026 12:20 pm

Everything Millibrain touches turns into a disaster. No drilling for gas in the North Sea but but the same gas at exorpitant prices from Norway. This will not end well for the UK

Eric Worrall

Author

Reply to philincalifornia

September 8, 2026 1:44 pm

Israel will pull intelligence support. Without access to Israeli intelligence the UK will fail to detect another Manchester Arena style attack in time to stop it. Then the UK will go grovelling back to Israel for restored access. So pathetic and predictable.

bnice2000

September 8, 2026 1:18 pm

LOL.. then they are going to be hilariously p’ed off when Taroom starts producing oil and gas 🙂

Queensland government appoints tenderers for new oil and gas exploration in Taroom Trough – ABC News

Nothing so funny as a whinging greenie. !!

Bob

September 8, 2026 1:32 pm

Numbers are important, what was Ergon Energy offering and what was Scouller asking?

Eric Worrall

Author

Reply to Bob

September 8, 2026 1:45 pm

Probably what the energy was worth.

Eng_Ian

Reply to Eric Worrall

September 8, 2026 2:29 pm

How much would/should a consumer pay to turn on the lights when the sun is shining outside?

Open the curtains, it’s more cost effective.

michael fellion

Reply to Bob

September 8, 2026 2:08 pm

The news never mentions numbers, it is all emotions and face not facts.

michael fellion

September 8, 2026 1:37 pm

The doom and gloomer is a paid activist who makes a living from doom and gloom never mind the facts. All those native peoples died like flies until europeans came along with industrial goods like meds and cloths. They lived in mud huts. Today they live a ten thousand times better than their ancestors off fossil fuels and welfare.

michael fellion

September 8, 2026 1:55 pm

The solar farm is 5 mw and covers 22 hectors. Tiny does not begin to describe this “farm”. It is a joke to anyplace with real power needs. It only runs at 5 mv at shortly before and after noon and when the sun is up and no storm. The rest of the time the power is zero or near zero during the day. A sick joke dumped on the taxpayers for this feel good cult project.