Australian Northern Territory gas developer targets data center power supply market

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 1, Tamboran Resources' Shenandoah South project in the Beetaloo sub-basin of Australia's Northern Territory began delivering natural gas to Darwin, with an initial supply volume of 40 terajoules per day. The project had previously been in the exploration, appraisal, and pilot production preparation phase, and this commencement of gas supply marks the entry of Beetaloo basin shale gas into the commercial supply stage. Beetaloo Energy plans to add a further 15 terajoules per day of supply later in 2026.

Meanwhile, Beetaloo Digital, a subsidiary of Beetaloo Energy, is advancing a data center and on-site power generation project at Weddell, south of Darwin. The Northern Territory government has granted Beetaloo Digital a 12-month exclusive land arrangement covering approximately 185 hectares at Weddell, about 30 kilometers from Darwin. The project remains in the stages of scheme development, feasibility studies, and regulatory approval preparation, with plans to build up to two hyperscale data center campuses supported by up to 2 gigawatts of on-site natural gas power generation capacity.

Beetaloo Digital plans to use natural gas from the Beetaloo basin to generate electricity directly at the project site, rather than relying on the Northern Territory's existing grid to supply all incremental power. According to the design parameters provided by Beetaloo Energy, each 1 gigawatt of data center capacity may require approximately 200 terajoules per day of natural gas, meaning the potential gas demand under the 2 gigawatt full-capacity scenario is far higher than the initial supply volumes already established from the Beetaloo basin. The project's final power generation scale, data center capacity, and construction timeline remain subject to feasibility studies, approvals, financing, and subsequent commercial arrangements.

According to a plan released by the Northern Territory government in July, private investment in the Beetaloo Digital project could reach up to A$40 billion once fully developed, with on-site power generation capped at 2 gigawatts. The land arrangement granted by the government constitutes exclusive planning rights during the project development phase and is not an approval for project construction; the company is still required to complete feasibility studies and obtain the necessary regulatory permits.

Other off-grid data center proposals also exist in the Northern Territory. Energy North's Project Ares plans to build a 1 gigawatt hyperscale data center supported by approximately 3 gigawatts of solar photovoltaic capacity and 16 gigawatt-hours of battery energy storage, with the project design likewise not drawing power from the Northern Territory's public grid. The Northern Territory government has previously stated that multiple data center developers are currently exploring project opportunities in the region.