Shell Backs 143-Well Arrow Energy Expansion as Surat Gas Project Central Targets 2028 First Gas

Surat Gas Project Central is moving into its next development phase, with Shell and PetroChina backing Arrow Energy’s 143-well expansion south of Chinchilla and first gas targeted for 2028.

Shell announced the investment decision on 5 August 2026, confirming the next phase of Arrow Energy’s Surat Gas Project Central in Queensland’s Western Downs.

The development comprises 143 backfill gas wells and is expected to produce around 84 terajoules of natural gas per day at peak.

The physical delivery scale is clearly defined: 143 wells, a 2028 first-gas target and another sanctioned development phase moving into the wider Surat Basin construction pipeline.

Surat Gas Project Central moves forward south of Chinchilla

Arrow Energy describes Surat Gas Project Central as its third major development area within the broader Surat Gas Project.

The development is located south of Chinchilla in Queensland’s Western Downs, with planning and early works progressing alongside local landholders in the Kogan region.

Arrow says Stage One is scheduled to begin during the second half of 2026.

The project is expected to create longer-term benefits across communities including Chinchilla, Kogan, Brigalow and Hopeland, placing the development firmly within one of Queensland’s most established gas-service regions.

Well Development

143 wells turn the announcement into a physical construction program

Gas developments require repeated construction activity across individual well locations rather than a single central project site.

Typical field development can involve pad preparation, drilling, completions, wellhead facilities, access, gathering connections, rehabilitation and ongoing well servicing.

143 backfill wells define the physical scale of the expansion

Shell’s investment announcement identifies 143 backfill wells within Surat Gas Project Central.

The 143-well scope provides a clear physical measure of the development even though no project investment value has been publicly disclosed.

Each gas well ultimately needs to connect into the wider production system, creating interfaces across drilling, well facilities, access infrastructure, gas gathering, water handling, electrical and instrumentation systems, field logistics and ongoing maintenance.

The Central expansion sits inside a much larger 27-year gas project

Surat Gas Project Central is one component of Arrow Energy’s much larger multi-phase Surat Gas Project.

Arrow says the overall project extends across Queensland’s Surat Basin, with licences stretching from Wandoan to south-west of Toowoomba and development already occurring around Miles, Dalby and south of Chinchilla.

When fully operational, the broader Surat Gas Project is intended to deliver up to 700TJ of natural gas per day.

The development is underpinned by a long-term gas sales arrangement that allows Arrow’s gas to utilise existing Shell QGC infrastructure.

That use of established infrastructure is strategically important because it allows additional gas fields to be developed without duplicating every major processing and transmission asset.

A gas well is only the beginning of the infrastructure chain

The contractor scope around Surat Gas Project Central extends well beyond drilling rigs.

Producing gas from a dispersed field requires infrastructure that connects individual wells into gathering and processing systems and manages the water produced alongside coal seam gas.

Gathering Infrastructure

Pipeline and gathering work links dispersed wells into the gas network

Arrow’s broader Surat Gas Project uses gas and water gathering networks to connect production wells with field and processing infrastructure.

These types of works can involve trenching, pipe installation, crossings, access roads, valves, testing, rehabilitation and associated control infrastructure.

Surat Gas Project Central could support a broad regional contractor workstream

The investment decision increases certainty around another defined phase of Arrow’s Surat Basin development.

That matters for contractors because a 143-well field program can require repeated mobilisation across drilling, construction, gathering, road access, logistics and ongoing field services.

The following capability areas are relevant to gas-field development and the broader infrastructure types Arrow uses across the Surat Gas Project.

Gas Infrastructure

The development connects into an established regional gas system

One of the defining features of Arrow’s Surat Gas Project is its ability to use existing third-party infrastructure under its long-term arrangements with Shell QGC.

This allows new production areas to feed into a wider network spanning field infrastructure, processing, domestic gas supply and LNG export facilities.

Gas will serve both domestic customers and QCLNG at Curtis Island

The commercial destination of the gas gives Surat Gas Project Central relevance well beyond the Western Downs.

Shell says production from the development will support domestic gas customers as well as international LNG customers through the Shell QGC-operated Queensland Curtis LNG facility on Curtis Island near Gladstone.

That means the project effectively links gas-field development south of Chinchilla with the broader Queensland industrial and LNG supply chain.

Arrow’s arrangement with Shell QGC is based on a 27-year gas sales agreement announced in 2017.

The connection links regional drilling and gas-field construction with downstream industrial infrastructure and export activity around Gladstone.

Related coverage is available through Gas Infrastructure , Energy and Supply Chain .

The investment decision gives SGP Central a defined delivery pathway

Shell’s announcement confirms a sanctioned development phase with a specific operator, a defined 143-well physical scope, an expected production rate and a 2028 first-gas target.

The project has therefore moved beyond concept-stage planning into a defined implementation pathway.

Near-term delivery will depend on how Stage One progresses through landholder engagement, early works, drilling, gathering infrastructure and eventual commissioning before first gas.

Chinchilla and the Western Downs remain central to Queensland’s gas-contractor market

The location of the new development is particularly relevant for businesses already operating across Chinchilla, Kogan, Dalby, Miles, Brigalow and the wider Surat Basin.

The region has an established contractor base across drilling, pipelines, civil construction, equipment hire, transport, electrical services, mechanical maintenance and gas-field operations.

That existing supply chain should be well positioned to follow the Central expansion as the project advances toward first gas.

Regional capability can also be explored through the Darling Downs & Surat Basin Industrial Services Directory or browse businesses listed specifically across the Darling Downs and Surat Basin .