Rebuilding reserves will be a priority for Australian independent Beach Energy in its July 2026-June 2027 fiscal year, the firm said in its full-year results published today.
It has also set a higher production guidance for the 2026-27 fiscal year, forecasting 19.5mn-23mn bl of oil equivalent (boe) for the fiscal year, up from 19.4mn boe in the 2025-26 fiscal year. This is due to increased volumes from Beach's Waitsia gas plant in Western Australia given that the 250 TJ/d joint venture operated by Japan's Mitsui reached capacity in April after being hampered by performance issues during start-up.
Ongoing discussions are underway with the Western Australian government and the 14.3mn t/yr North West Shelf LNG terminal on extending Waitsia's permit to export LNG beyond the end of 2028. Waitsia can export about 1.5mn t/yr under the existing deal.
Beach's underlying net profit was down by 21pc on the year to A$355mn ($250mn) due to lower sales revenue, impacts of a flood in the Cooper basin in South Australia and a decline in offshore Otway basin assets, with field decline of close to 10pc.
Its capital management strategy aims to grow organic and inorganic reserves and to look at acquisitions, Beach said, with A$983mn in available liquidity on its balance sheet to fund potential acquisitions.
It is targeting final investment decisions (FIDs) for a two-well exploration campaign in the nearshore Otway basin in the first half of its 2026-27 fiscal year and expects to take an FID for the Waitsia inlet compression project in January-June 2027.
Beach holds a 25pc stake in the ATP 2081 exploration permit in Queensland's onshore Taroom trough where a two-well exploration campaign is planned in October-December, with operator Omega Oil and Gas considering a seismic survey in the 2027-28 fiscal year.
The federal government's planned domestic supply obligation (DSO) to oversupply the market with gas from LNG producers' projects has been strongly opposed by Beach.
Negotiations continue on the final design of the scheme, but chief executive Brett Woods said he was continuing to advocate for a fair system for domestic suppliers, noting that the competition regulator the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has said A$12-13/GJ gas prices were needed to continue to support the market. Beach reported a realised gas price of A$11.50/GJ last fiscal year.
Some contracting of gas supply has occurred in recent months, Woods said, despite uncertainty about the DSO's impact, at \"strong pricing in and around ACCC-identified levels\". A final outcome on the DSO design is expected by the end of 2026 ahead of commencement in July next year.
The Argus-assessed AWX for spot gas deliveries in August to Wallumbilla rose by about A$0.08/GJ from a week earlier to A$10.65/GJ on 31 July, while Argus' AVX for August deliveries into Victoria fell by A$0.08/GJ from a week earlier to A$10.35/GJ.