Vintage Energy and Vault Energy have agreed to negotiate a gas sales agreement for gas that could be produced from the Cullen-1 gas well located onshore in the Bonaparte Basin in the Northern Territory.
The agreement establishes the framework for Australia’s first ‘Natural Gas Well to Wire’ project.
In a departure from traditional gas-to-pipeline models, Vault Energy intends to use the gas produced on-site to generate power for modular, containerised data centres. This mobile infrastructure would be located adjacent to the well site, roughly 350 km southwest of Darwin.
Vault Director Jack Boman noted that the project represents a pioneering step for the Australian sector.
“We are proud to be pioneering this model alongside Vintage Energy and see Cullen as a defining step in demonstrating what the Well to Wire pathway can deliver for Australia,” Boman said.
The first Natural Gas to Well to Wire project converts gas molecules into electrons and delivers dispatchable power directly into the digital infrastructure sector, Boman added.
Cullen-1 was originally drilled in 2014 and recorded strong gas shows over a 1,000-metre interval, but it was never flow-tested.
Vintage’s plans to progress the asset were stalled in 2019 due to regulatory uncertainty after half of the permit area was declared a Reserved Area.
However, recent advice from the Northern Territory government has provided much-needed certainty on tenure, allowing Vintage to proceed with environment management plan applications.
The project remains subject to a successful flow test to prove commercial viability. Vintage Managing Director Neil Gibbins welcomed the progress after years of suspension.
“Our plans for this had been in suspension from 2019 due to access uncertainty,” he said.
“Now, with the expectation that issue will be resolved in the near future, we have agreement with Vault for collaboration and definition of the commercial arrangements for gas supply from the well in the event of favourable test results.”
Vintage intends to fund the upcoming flow test through a farm-out agreement.
If successful, the partnership could redefine how stranded gas assets are utilised in remote Australian basins, providing a blueprint for on-site power generation in the digital economy.
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