Beetaloo Digital, an offshoot of ASX-listed Beetaloo Energy, is progressing plans for a major integrated gas-to-power and data centre development at Weddell, around 30 kilometres south of Darwin.
The Northern Territory Government has granted Beetaloo Digital a 12-month exclusive commitment over a 185-hectare site at Weddell, giving the company time to develop its proposal, undertake feasibility work and pursue the necessary regulatory approvals.
The proposed project would see gas from the Beetaloo Basin piped to on-site power generation of up to two gigawatts, supporting a hyperscale computing complex for AI, cloud computing and large-scale data processing.
Beetaloo Digital has indicated the development could involve up to two hyperscale data centre campuses and, at full build-out, attract up to $40 billion in private investment.
The company is designing the project to add new generation capacity to the Territory rather than draw from the existing grid, positioning it as a potential source of reliable, large-scale baseload power alongside the data centre development.
Estimates suggest the project could generate up to 5,000 construction jobs and around 350 long-term operational roles, with Beetaloo Digital planning to draw primarily on the Darwin and Palmerston workforce.
Beetaloo Energy has also signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with global oilfield services and power generation company Halliburton. Under the MOU, Halliburton will provide strategic technical expertise to support development of the upstream gas resource underpinning the Beetaloo Digital proposal, drawing on its long-standing experience in Territory infrastructure projects, including the Alice Springs to Darwin railway.
The agreement is a further step in Beetaloo Energy’s efforts to build a consortium of specialist partners spanning upstream gas supply, power generation, pipeline infrastructure and data centre development.
The Beetaloo Digital proposal is one of a number of data centre developments being considered across the Territory, including Energy North’s Project Ares in the Barkly region.