Article by Matt Mckenzie, courtesy of The West Australian.
21.10.2025
Billionaire Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Energy is getting ready to pull the trigger on a major gas investment in the Perth Basin.
Hancock has started engineering and design work on the “Belisama” project east of Dongara, which will develop the Lockyer gas field.
Lockyer was bought from Mineral Resources almost 12 months ago in a $1.1 billion deal and a further $500 million to $1b will likely be needed to build Belisama.
It’s unclear when a final investment decision will be made but it’s believed first gas is targeted for the start of 2029.
A spokesman for the giant private company confirmed the project was in consideration when asked by The West Australian on Tuesday.
“Hancock Energy is in early stages of front-end engineering and design for a gas project known as Belisama, located in the Mid-West region,” he said.
“Gas remains essential to powering WA’s homes and industries, providing much needed reliable energy that supports jobs and living standards. Further detail will be released at a later date.”
Western Australia has been scrambling to meet a forecast gas shortage by the end of the decade and the market will come under more pressure amid analyst concerns that Woodside Energy’s Browse project might not get across the line.
EnergyQuest chief executive Rick Wilkinson said WA would be relying on projects in the Perth Basin — an onshore petroleum region through the Northern Wheatbelt and Mid West — to fill the looming supply gap.
Mrs Rinehart took a major position in the Basin with the acquisition of Warrego Energy in 2023. It is unclear whether that gas could also be developed through Belisama.
MinRes secured approval from the WA Planning Commission to develop the Lockyer precinct in 2024.
The Chris Ellison-led company had wanted to drill six wells and produce up to 250 terajoules of gas per day — about 21 per cent of WA demand — before exiting the project.
The door is open for some of the fuel to be exported after the State Government temporarily loosened restrictions on onshore suppliers last year, until 2030.
Mr Wilkinson also hit back at criticism of those rules, which will allow onshore project developers to sell up to 20 per cent of their gas to exporters.
“The use of LNG exports is a positive for startup fields,” he told The West Australian.
“It’s a way of starting the cash cycle working faster.”
He said supplying an LNG plant would be more flexible than industrial customers which need consistent gas each day.
Hancock opened expressions of interest for local suppliers to work on Belisama last month.
