A shale billionaire's company has started selling natural gas from Australia's Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory, marking a strategic expansion of US fracking technology abroad. Bryan Sheffield's private equity group Formentera Partners, its Australian operator Daly Waters Energy, and Tamboran Resources sold their first gas to Australia's Northern Territory government in September under a 15-year contract.

The modest volumes will build up to 38.8mn standard cubic feet per day by early 2027, as US producers seek new markets amid the US-Iran war and Strait of Hormuz disruptions. The gas sales mark a victory for Beetaloo project developers in a remote area 500km southeast of Darwin, which has good geology but lacked energy infrastructure.

Sheffield said success in Beetaloo shows how US technology can be applied globally, adding he's exploring locations in Albania, Poland, Venezuela and north African countries. Japan's Inpex invested in the Formentera project, while Australia's Santos plans further appraisal work to determine commercial viability of the shale gas reservoir.