PERTH, Australia, Sept. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A 12-year-old exploration drill hole in Western Australia’s Gascoyne is still venting gas containing up to 97% methane and 0.24% helium (air-corrected), as Perth-based explorer Constellation Resources investigates whether it forms part of a potentially significant, previously overlooked 500km-long onshore gas system.
Constellation Resources has secured a first-mover position across approximately 88,000km² of the Edmund-Collier Basin, a vast geological system that has never been systematically explored for natural gas.
The Edmund-Collier shares key characteristics and a similar geological setting with the Beetaloo Basin, which is emerging as one of Australia’s most significant new sources of long-term onshore gas. First gas at Beetaloo was fracked and put into the power grid this week, making the comparison highly topical.
Evidence gathered at Edmund-Collier to date includes laterally extensive organic-rich source rocks, historical gas shows and ongoing gas venting from a drill hole completed more than a decade ago.
Importantly, the basin is also strategically located in proximity to existing gas pipeline infrastructure and large-scale potential customers, including LNG facilities and major iron ore operations.
Further evidence of the basin’s gas potential comes from a historical exploration hole drilled for copper and gold in 1977. At approximately 300 metres depth, the hole intersected significant volumes of combustible gas, resulting in a pressurised gas outburst and surface ignition during drilling, a rare and potentially important indication of an active subsurface gas system.
CSIRO examination of historical core from 12 drill holes located across the basin has also confirmed prospectivity for methane, ethane, hydrogen and helium, adding further support to Constellation’s exploration model.
Constellation is now integrating historical drilling data, geological interpretation, source-rock analysis and gas data to establish a play-type ranking across the basin and identify areas with the strongest potential for future exploration.
Constellation Resources Managing Director Peter Woodman said:
“The scale of this opportunity is compelling. With gas readings of up to 97% methane, multiple indicators of an active gas system and a first-mover position across an unexplored 500km-long basin, Constellation has the opportunity to test whether Western Australia could be sitting on its next major onshore gas province.”
Could Western Australia be sitting on an overlooked 500km-long natural gas system? Constellation has secured a first-mover position before the significance of the Edmund-Collier Basin is fully understood.
