The State Government has appointed Idemitsu Australia as the preferred tenderer for two vanadium blocks near Julia Creek and awarded new coal exploration acreage in the Bowen Basin to the group that runs Foxleigh mine.

It has also announced a raft of successful tenderers for new petroleum and gas exploration areas in the highly prospective Taroom Trough.

Related: New Taroom Trough land win for Omega-led joint venture

Premier David Crisafulli said it was only the beginning. 

“These are the catalytic moments in our history that will propel Queensland into a new era of opportunity,” he said.  

“For too long, governments celebrated cutting access to our resources and found ourselves dangling at the end of global supply chains.  

“The best role we can play as a government is delivering a stable regulatory environment that companies can confidently invest in.”

The tenders awarded to Idemitsu cover exploration areas totalling 269sq km about 25km north-east of Julia Creek that are earmarked for vanadium production.  

New coal exploration acreage about 50km north of Blackwater has been awarded to a CAML Resources, Nippon Steel Australia and Foxleigh Coal consortium.  

The consortium is the joint venture operator of the nearby Foxleigh coal mine with a 700-person workforce.  

The successful tenderers in the Taroom Trough include:  

• Denison Gas and OGT Energy (PLR2026-1-8, about 1069sq km); 
• Shell QGC (PLR2026-1-9, about 411sq km) and; 
• Omega Oil and Gas, Tri-Star Stonecroft and Beach Energy Queensland (PLR2026-1-10, about 1138sq km).  

Shell QGC vice president Krishna Venkatesan welcomed the new exploration acreage.  

“We look forward to expanding our industry-leading exploration and appraisal activities in the Taroom Trough, which we view as an exciting new domestic market and backfill opportunity,” Mr Venkatesan said.  

“We’re grateful for the ongoing support of the Queensland Government as they partner with industry to unlock this critical resource for the benefit of all Queenslanders.” 

Highly prospective land in the Cooper/Eromanga Basin was also opened for petroleum and gas exploration tender, with successful tenders expected to be announced in the coming weeks, along with another successful tenderer for the acreage in the Taroom Trough.