ASX energy share Omega Oil & Gas Ltd (ASX: OMA) is off to the races today following news of a new joint venture with S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) oil and gas giant Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and privately held Tri-Star E&P Ltd.
Omega shares up 14% in late morning trade on Tuesday, changing hands for 49 cents apiece.
Beach Energy shares are up 2.6% at this same time, trading for $1.175 each.
For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.5% at the time of writing.
Here's what's piquing investor interest in the ASX energy shares today.
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ASX energy share leaps on JV success
Omega and Beach Energy shares are both outperforming today after the companies announced the joint venture award of a 750 square kilometre land area in the Taroom Trough from the Queensland government.
The new land area, designated PLR2025-1-9, is situated immediately north of Omega's existing Potentially Commercial Areas, offering a significant potential boost for the ASX energy share.
The new joint venture has Omega as the operator with a 45% interest, while Tri-Star has a 30% holding, and Beach Energy has a 25% interest.
The Queensland land award is part of the government's efforts to secure longer-term gas supplies for the Aussie market, ensuring energy security and reducing gas prices. All of the gas produced in the awarded land will be sold into the domestic market.
What is management saying?
Commenting on JV land award sending the ASX energy share soaring today, Omega CEO Trevor Brown said, "Omega is an agile, well-funded, highly capable, Queensland-based explorer focused entirely on unlocking the resource potential of the Taroom Trough."
Brown added:
Early indications are that the Taroom Trough may be host to internationally significant volumes of oil and gas and it shares many geological characteristics with the most prolific, unconventional producing basins in the USA.
He concluded, "We are pleased to be working alongside high-quality partners, Tri-Star and Beach Energy to rapidly determine the resource potential of our attractive new award area."
As for today's uptick in Beach Energy shares, Beach CEO Brett Woods said:
Beach Energy is excited to partner with Omega and Tri-Star in the Taroom Trough, an area we believe has the potential to become a meaningful new source of domestic oil and gas supply.
And Tri-Star CEO Australia Andrew Hackwood noted:
This joint venture is well positioned to move quickly and accelerate exploration and appraisal… Tri-Star sees the Taroom Trough as a potential next major source of domestic oil and gas, and we commend the Queensland government for its leadership in supporting increased East Coast gas supply.
