Bowen

Commentary

Coal-bed methane development in the Bowen supplies Queensland's LNG export projects, and the state regime is supportive. Federal intervention in the domestic gas market, foreign-ownership rules and safeguard-mechanism costs remain barriers. Outlook: Neutral.

Updated

October 12, 2026

Location

Description

The foreland, Early Permian to Middle Triassic Bowen Basin of eastern Queensland occupies about 160,000sq km, the southern half of which is covered by the Surat Basin. It has a maximum sediment thickness of about 10,000 metres concentrated in two north-trending depocenters, the Taroom Trough to the east and the Denison Trough to the west. Deposition in the Basin commenced during an Early Permian extensional phase, with fluvial and lacustrine sediments and volcanics being deposited in a series of half-graben in the east while in the west a thick succession of coals and nonmarine clastics.

Summary

The Bowen Basin is no longer underexplored for coal seam gas: together with the Surat, it supplied close to 80% of east-coast gas in 2024 and holds almost 90% of the east coast's 2P reserves, mostly feeding the three Gladstone LNG projects. Arrow Energy's Moranbah project supplies Townsville, and its larger Bowen Gas Project and pipeline remain undeveloped. Further growth in the north Bowen depends on new pipeline capacity to the east-coast market.