Gas developers in the Beetaloo Basin should be required to clear even higher hurdles, including a requirement that they offset all scope 2 and 3 carbon emissions, a Senate inquiry has recommended – proposals that are widely seen as tightening the screws on delivering gas from the region.

The Beetaloo Basin is widely considered to have enough gas volumes to service and grow existing LNG export markets and secure domestic gas supply, but the region is culturally and environmentally sensitive.