Brisbane, Australia, Jul 30, 2026 (ABN Newswire via COMTEX) --
Central Petroleum Limited (ASX:CTP) (FRA:C9J) (OTCMKTS:CNPTF) has released its June 2026 Quarterly Report, reporting a new multi-year Gas Sales Agreement with the Northern Territory Government for up to 10.5 PJ (Central share) through 2034, underwriting two new Palm Valley wells. The company fully repaid its gas overlift liability. Drilling of the first new Palm Valley well has commenced.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- New multi-year Gas Sales Agreement (GSA): A new multi-year GSA was secured with the Northern Territory Government for the sale of up to 21 PJ of gas (10.5 PJ Central share) to be supplied through to the end of 2034, underwriting a final investment decision for two new wells at Palm Valley.
- Extinguishment of gas overlift liability: In mid-May, Central made its final delivery against the liability for previously overlifted gas, with future cash flows to be boosted through lower operating costs by approximately $7m per year.
- Sales revenue:
o June quarter: $10.9m - 3.9% lower than the March quarter. Gas sales volumes of 1.0 PJ, were 7% lower than the previous quarter due to scheduled maintenance at Mereenie and preparations for new well connections at Palm Valley. Realised gas and oil prices were 3.6% higher than the previous quarter.
o FY26: $43.9m - 3.7% higher than FY25. A 10% increase in realised prices more than offset lower volumes (6%) which were impacted by oil offtake constraints and pipeline restrictions during the first half of the year.
- Cash balance at the end of the quarter was $20.4m, up from $19.5m at 31 March. Key cash flows included:
o Net operating inflows of $5.5m before net interest and exploration costs. The final payment of the gas overlift liability led to lower cash operating costs in the final two weeks of the quarter, with the full impact anticipated to be more visible on operating inflows going forward;
o Exploration and appraisal related expenditure of $2.0m, including site preparation and purchase oflong lead equipment for the new Palm Valley wells which subsequently commenced drilling on 25 July;
o Capital expenditure of $1.6m, including surface facilities for the new Palm Valley wells and sustaining CAPEX; and
o Share purchases by theEmployee Share Scheme Trust of $0.4m.
- Net debt was $5.0 million at 30 June, including $2.5 million of funds held as security for the loan facility. The June quarter interest payment was capitalised into the loan balance.
- Increased loan facility: The existing loan facility was increased to provide up to $15m in working capital to support the acceleration of drilling at Palm Valley.
- Termination of Dukas / Mt Kitty sale agreement: Central terminated its conditional agreement to sell its interests in two Amadeus Basin exploration permits and withdrew from the Dukas joint venture after assessing the relative prospectivity of the permit and expected future exploration costs.
Subsequent to the end of the quarter
- Commenced drilling the first of two new wells at Palm Valley: The new wells, if successful, are expected to increase Central's share of total gas production capacity across its three producing fields by circa 40%.
PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES
SALES VOLUMES
Central supplied 1.0 PJe (Central share) of gas and oil from its fields in the Northern Territory (NT) in the June quarter, 7.3% lower than the March quarter due largely to a five day shutdown at Mereenie for scheduled maintenance and a pre-emptive maintenance shutdown and temporary partial turn-down at Palm Valley in preparation for new well connections.
SALES REVENUE
Sales revenue for the June quarter was $10.9m, 3.9% lower than the previous quarter due to lower gas sale volumes,partly offset by a 3.6% increase in realised average prices.
MEREENIE OIL AND GAS FIELD (OL4 AND OL5) - NORTHERN TERRITORY
CTP - 25% interest (and Operator), Echelon Mereenie Pty Ltd - 42.5%, Horizon Australia Energy Pty Ltd - 25%, Cue Mereenie Pty Ltd - 7.5%
Average gross gas sales from the Mereenie field was 7% lower at 25.5 TJ/d (100% JV) in the June quarter, impacted by a scheduled five day shutdown in May.
The 2 TJ/d gas overlift liability was fully repaid in mid-May, leading to reduced operating costs and higher free cash flow from operations going forward. Due to timing of collections, only two weeks of these reduced operating costs were reflected in the June quarter cash flows.
The gas sales capacity of the Mereenie field was approximately 26.8 TJ/d (100% JV) at the end of the quarter.
Oil sales averaged 165 bbls/d (100% JV) during the quarter and remain constrained by revised oil specification requirements which have led to reduced offtake. Oil sales have been suspended indefinitely from mid-June and Central continues to seek alternative commercial arrangements for the sale of Mereenie's produced oil.
PALM VALLEY (OL3) - NORTHERN TERRITORY
CTP - 50% interest (and Operator), Echelon Palm Valley Pty Ltd - 35%, Cue Palm Valley Pty Ltd - 15%
Production from the Palm Valley field averaged 5.6 TJ/d over the quarter (Central share: 2.8 TJ/d), lower than the previous quarter due to a pre-emptive 4.5 day shutdown and temporary partial turndown to prepare connections for the two new wells scheduled to be commissioned in 2H 2026.
Sales capacity was approximately 5.8 TJ/d (100% JV) at the end of the quarter.
Joint Venture FID for two new wells was approved in April. Site preparation and procurement was completed during the quarter and drilling commenced on the PV14 well in late July. The new wells can be quickly connected to existing production infrastructure and the PV14 well is expected to be supplying gas to customers from October. If successful, the two wells are aiming to restore Palm Valley's sales capacity to the facility limit of approximately 14 TJ/d (100% JV) and deliver at least 10 PJ of gas (100% JV) over their operating lives. The investment is underpinnedby the new Northern Territory Government Gas Supply Agreement and the new wells are expected to boost Central's share of total gas production capacity across its three producing fields by circa 40%.
DINGO GAS FIELD (L7) - NORTHERN TERRITORY
CTP - 50% interest (and Operator), Echelon Dingo Pty Ltd - 35%, Cue Dingo Pty Ltd - 15%
The Dingo gas field supplies gas directly to the Owen Springs Power Station in Alice Springs. Sales volumes were close to contract maximums and reflected slightly lower seasonal demand at 4.23 TJ/d (Central share: 2.1 TJ/d).
EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES
OTWAY AND COOPER BASINS
Enterprise North (Otway Basin, Victoria, PEP169) and Cooper Basin permits (South Australia, PEL677 and various PRLs), operatedby ADZ.
CTP - 20% interest (PEP169, Otway Basin); 49% interest (Cooper Basin permits)
Central continues to work closely with operator, ADZ, to progress an exploration well at Enterprise North in the onshore Otway Basin (PEP169) and to reprocess seismic data to assist in optimising the locations for drilling two Cooper Basin targets (PEL677 and other retention leases).
AMADEUS BASIN
Jacko Bore (Mt Kitty) (EP125) and Dukas (EP112), operated by Santos.
CTP - 30% interest (EP125); Nil interest (EP112)
In May, Central terminated its conditional agreement to sell its interests in EP112 and EP125 to UKlisted Georgina Energy Plc (Georgina) (LSE : GEX) as the conditions precedent to the sale had not been satisfied by the duedate.
After further assessing the commercial prospects of the sub-salt permits, and taking into consideration the expected substantial cost of drilling the Dukas prospect and its relative prospectivity, Central withdrew from the EP112 Joint Venture with Santos.
Central continues to be a joint venture party in the Mt Kitty / Jacko Bore appraisal well in EP125, which is expected to be drilled by early 2028 under its minimum permit commitment schedule. Central is seeking to farmout the prospect to other parties interested in participating in that well.
COMMERCIAL
NEW MULTI-YEAR GAS SUPPLY AGREEMENT
In April, Central announced a new Gas Supply Agreement (GSA) to supply up to 10.5 PJ (Central share) of gas to the Northern Territory Government through to the end of 2034.
The GSA supports the Palm Valley Joint Venture in drilling two new wells to supply gas on a firm basis from 2H 2026, through to the end of 2034. The GSA has a fixed market price with CPI escalation and take-or-pay provisions.
Palm Valley's potential to quickly supply a material volume of new gas to the market makes it particularly attractive. If the wells deliver at their target production rate, they are expected to boost Central's share of total gas production capacity by circa 40%.
REPAYMENT OF GAS OVERLIFT LIABILITY
Central has now fully repaid the liability for previously overlifted gas from the Mereenie gas field. Central has been repaying this liability with 2 TJ/day of itsgas production, effectively receiving nil net revenue for this volume since 2020.
Central's Mereenie cash operating expenses will reduce as a result of the cessation of the gas overlift repayments, leading to an incremental increase in cash flowof over $7 million per year, or $1.75m per quarter. The cash flow benefit will become fully apparent in the September quarter.
HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT
Central recorded no reportable safety or environmental incidents in the June quarter and the Company's TRIFR (Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate) at the end of the quarter was nil.
CORPORATE
CASH POSITION
Cash balances were $20.4m at the end of the quarter, higher than the $19.5m held at the end of March.
Operationally, there were positive net operating cash flows for the quarter of $3.6m after exploration costs and net interest costs. Key components of operating cash flow included:
- Cash receipts of $12.5m from customers;
- Cash production, transportation and corporate costs of $6.9 million;
- Exploration and appraisal related expenditures of $2.0m, including $1.7m site preparation and procurement costs for the new Palm Valley wells; and
- Net interest receipts of $0.1m. The scheduled$0.76m quarterly loan interest payment was capitalised into the loan balance.
There was $1.6m of capital expenditure during the quarter, including surface facilities for the new Palm Valley wells.
The Employee Share Scheme Trust acquired Central shares on market to the value of $0.4m to be applied towards vesting share rights Net debt at 30 June was $5.0m.
Fees, salaries and superannuation contributions paid to directors, including the CEO and Managing Director, during the quarter amount to $0.225 million as disclosed at item 6.1 of the Appendix 5B.
The statement of cash flows for the quarter and financial year to date are attached to this report as Appendix 5B.
INCREASED LOAN FACILITY
In April, Central secured an increase to its existing loan facility to provide access of up to $15 million, available for drawdown through to 31 December 2026. Any funds drawn under the increased facility will be repayable in equal quarterly instalments from March 2027 to December 2029. Interest charges and other terms are as per Central's existing loan facility, and the loan drawdowns can be repaid early without penalty.
ISSUED CAPITAL
At the end of the quarter there were 750,578,825 ordinary shares on issue.
*To view the full Quarterly Report, please visit:
https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/82R49N1R
About Central Petroleum Limited:
Central Petroleum Limited (Central) is an established ASX-listed Australian oil and gas producer (ASX:CTP) with exploration and appraisal permits in the Northern Territory (NT). Central has grown to become the largest onshore gas operator in the NT, supplying residential and industrial customers in the NT and wider Australian east coast market.
Central is seeking to become a major domestic energy supplier, in addition to helium and naturally occurring hydrogen, with exploration, appraisal and development plans across 169,112 km2 of tenements the NT, including some of Australia's largest known onshore conventional gas prospects in the Amadeus Basin.
Contact:Investor and Media Inquiries:
Leon Devaney: +61 (0)7 3181 3800
Managing Director and CEO
info@centralpetroleum.com.au
www.centralpetroleum.com.au
Source:
Central Petroleum Limited
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