Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd.
(“Falcon”)
Australian Government Announcement – Beetaloo Strategic Plan
17 December 2020 – Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd. (TSXV: FO, AIM: FOG) is pleased to note the announcement today by the Australian Government that it plans to provide up to A$50 million to accelerate exploration activity in the Beetaloo sub-basin. Falcon holds a 22.5% interest in 4.6 million gross acres in exploration permits (EP76, EP98 and EP117) covering the most prospective core area of the Beetaloo sub-basin.
The funding is designed to fast-track drilling by providing grants to cover 25% of eligible exploration costs, capped at A$7.5 million per well and three wells per exploration venture. The funding will be put towards exploration that occurs before June 2022.
The Northern Territory’s Geological Survey estimates that the sub-basin could hold more than 200,000 petajoules of gas (190 Tcf) and that, even if a very conservative 10% of that gas was recovered, it could still supply Australia’s domestic gas demand for more than 10 years.
A copy of the press release is available at https://www.minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/pitt/media-releases/beetaloo-strategic-plan-will-unlock-gas-jobs-and-development.
Philip O’Quigley (CEO of Falcon) commented:
“The announcement by the Australian Government highlights the strategic and economic importance of the Beetaloo sub-basin which it believes has the potential to be a world-class gas resource, transform the Northern Territory economy and generate 6,000 jobs by 2040.
We look forward to continue working with our partners, Origin, and the state and federal governments and other stakeholders towards the successful development of the sub-basin.”
Ends.
CONTACT DETAILS:
| Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd. | +353 1 676 8702 |
| Philip O’Quigley, CEO | +353 87 814 7042 |
| Anne Flynn, CFO | +353 1 676 9162 |
| Cenkos Securities plc (NOMAD & Broker) | |
| Neil McDonald / Derrick Lee | +44 131 220 9771 |
About Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd.
Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd is an international oil & gas company engaged in the exploration and development of unconventional oil and gas assets, with the current portfolio focused in Australia, South Africa and Hungary.
Falcon Oil & Gas Australia Limited is a c. 98% subsidiary of Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd. Falcon Oil & Gas Australia Limited and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Origin Energy Limited (ASX: ORG) (“Origin Energy”) are joint venture partners in respect of the Beetaloo project.
For further information on Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd. please visit www.falconoilandgas.com
About Origin Energy
Origin Energy is a leading Australian integrated energy company. Origin is a leading energy retailer with approximately 4.2 million customer accounts, has approximately 7,500 MW of owner and contracted power generation capacity and is also a large natural gas supplier. Origin is the upstream operator of Australia Pacific LNG, which supplies natural gas to domestic markets and exports LNG under long term contracts.
Glossary of terms
A$ Australian dollar
EP Exploration permit
LNG Liquefied natural gas
MW Megawatt
TcF Trillion cubic feet
Advisory regarding forward looking statements
Certain information in this press release may constitute forward-looking information. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking information. Forward-looking information typically contains statements with words such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “projects”, “dependent”, “potential”, “scheduled”, “forecast”, “outlook”, “budget”, “hope”, “support” or the negative of those terms or similar words suggesting future outcomes. In particular, forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, comments made with respect to the type, number, schedule, stimulating, testing and objectives of the wells to be drilled in the Beetaloo Sub-basin Australia, the prospectivity of the Middle Velkerri and Kyalla plays and the prospect of the exploration programme being brought to commerciality, the availability of Australian government funding towards exploration up to June 2022. This information is based on current expectations that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. The risks, assumptions and other factors that could influence actual results include risks associated with fluctuations in market prices for shale gas; risks related to the exploration, development and production of shale gas reserves; general economic, market and business conditions; substantial capital requirements; uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities of reserves and resources; extent of, and cost of compliance with, government laws and regulations and the effect of changes in such laws and regulations; the need to obtain regulatory approvals before development commences; environmental risks and hazards and the cost of compliance with environmental regulations; aboriginal claims; inherent risks and hazards with operations such as mechanical or pipe failure, cratering and other dangerous conditions; potential cost overruns, drilling wells is speculative, often involving significant costs that may be more than estimated and may not result in any discoveries; variations in foreign exchange rates; competition for capital, equipment, new leases, pipeline capacity and skilled personnel; the failure of the holder of licenses, leases and permits to meet requirements of such; changes in royalty regimes; failure to accurately estimate abandonment and reclamation costs; inaccurate estimates and assumptions by management and their joint venture partners; effectiveness of internal controls; the potential lack of available drilling equipment; failure to obtain or keep key personnel; title deficiencies; geo-political risks; and risk of litigation.
Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive and that these factors and risks are difficult to predict. Actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. Falcon assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward looking-statements unless and until required by securities laws applicable to Falcon. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in Falcon’s filings with the Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com, including under “Risk Factors” in the Annual Information Form.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
