APA Group: don’t light the fuse on the Beetaloo carbon bomb

Incompatible with climate goals

Although Tamboran and Empire’s production forecasts are highly uncertain, if their forecasts are achieved Market Forces estimates the combusted gas could release approximately 1.1 billion tonnes of CO2-e when burned. Our estimate is conservative, with Climate Analytics estimating total emissions from just Tamboran’s developments potentially reaching 2.3 billion tonnes CO2-e over 25 years.

Due to the sheer scale of the Beetaloo developments, projected potential emissions near the total combined emissions from the five projects currently under construction by Australia’s largest oil and gas companies, Woodside and Santos.

Developing new gas fields, such as the Beetaloo Basin, seriously undermines the world’s ability to achieve the climate goals of the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit warming to 1.5°C.

Australia’s big banks are funding catastrophic Beetaloo

Australia’s big four banks, ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac, are backing APA and its climate-wrecking plans to open up fracking in what could be Australia’s biggest proposed gas development, the Beetaloo Basin.

In June and August 2023, APA Group signed preliminary agreements with the leading developers of the Beetaloo Basin, Empire Energy and Tamboran Resources, to construct pipelines that would enable Beetaloo to be opened up and exploited to its full potential.

Since APA signed agreements with the Beetaloo developers, Australia’s biggest banks have been involved in multiple deals with APA.

• In November 2023, ANZ, CommBank, NAB and Westpac all took part in a $1.25 billion loan to APA Group. ANZ, CommBank and NAB loaned $50 million each, while Westpac loaned $80 million. While part of this loan was to fund APA’s acquisition of Alinta Energy’s existing Pilbara gas assets, it will also be used for ‘general corporate purposes’.
• In November 2023, ANZ and Westpac also acted as ‘Co-Managers’ for a $835 million bond issued by APA Group.
• In September 2024, APA issued a $1.9 billion bond, with ANZ, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac underwriting $28 million each according to an Offering Memorandum from the company.

Banks and superannuation funds risk losing customers if they continue to finance companies expanding gas fracking in Beelatoo

A survey by YouGov has found there is significant opposition to gas fracking in Australia across all states and territories, age groups and regions (rural, provincial and metropolitan). Environmental and community impacts of gas fracking are key concerns for most Australians, and a majority believe that expanding gas fracking does not benefit them or Australia.

More than one in three bank (35%) and superannuation fund (38%) customers say they would consider switching if they discovered their current provider funds companies involved in the expansion of gas fracking in Australia.

Banks at risk include ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank (NAB) and Westpac due to their recent funding to APA.

Superannuation funds at risk include Aware Super, IOOF (owned by Insignia Financial), HESTA, Australian Retirement Trust, Rest and NGS Super, just some of the major funds with a significant shareholding in APA Group as at 25 March 2025.

APA’s two-faced Beetaloo play

APA has been doing all it can to get the Beetaloo Basin spewing gas as quickly as possible while also downplaying its involvement and refusing to acknowledge the climate consequences.

In 2024, APA continued to lobby the Federal Government to fast-track Beetaloo, while being circumspect to investors and other stakeholders about the extent of its involvement in the project in its Climate Report.

APA refused to disclose emissions or financial estimates for its involvement in the Beetaloo Basin due to ‘a significant level of uncertainty’ in the potential size of the project.

Despite stating it would be ‘inappropriately speculative’ to provide emissions or cost estimates for Beetaloo to its investors, APA continues to publicly promote the ‘vast gas resources’ the basin holds.

In December 2024, APA signed an agreement with Tamboran Resources to build the Beetaloo’s first pipeline, Sturt Plateau, and connect it to an existing network in the Northern Territory. APA said “The Sturt Plateau Pipeline project is poised to play a vital role in unlocking the vast gas resources of the Beetaloo Basin and contributing to energy supply in the region.”

All this begs the questions, what story is APA telling its lenders, and how thoroughly are they interrogating APA’s climate-wrecking aspirations?

Financial risks

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has found that gas from the Beetaloo Basin is highly unlikely to be commercially competitive, posing significant financial risks for APA.

Tamboran Resources, Empire Energy, and Falcon Oil and Gas require substantial external funding to realise their plans. These projects may have low economic value, high costs, and uncertain returns, potentially leading to underutilised APA pipelines after significant upfront construction costs.

Traditional Owner and local opposition

Traditional Owners including the Nurrdalinji Aboriginal Corporation, as well as local farmers and landholders, have voiced vehement opposition to the Beetaloo fracking plans, including raising concerns about risks to groundwater in the Cambrian Limestone Aquifer, which sustains local livelihoods and ecosystems.

In September 2023, independent expert and UN Special Rapporteur Marcus Orellana, criticised the Beetaloo Basin gas plans over climate, human rights and environmental concerns. A full report will be published in September this year.

Health impacts

In August 2023, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Albanese, stating:

“The proposal to frack shale gas in the Beetaloo Basin and construct a gas processing hub at the Middle Arm Precinct in the centre of Darwin Harbour poses serious threats to the health and wellbeing of our children and our communities”.