Beetaloo Energy and Halliburton Sign MoU to Develop Gas-Fired Power Plant for Proposed Australian Data Center

Australian oil and gas company Beetaloo Energy has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with US energy services provider Halliburton to develop a natural gas power plant and data center in Australia's Northern Territory. The agreement marks a significant step in the country's push to pair large-scale digital infrastructure with dedicated on-site energy generation.

Under the deal, Halliburton will provide technical expertise to assess and develop gas resources for Beetaloo Digital, a subsidiary launched earlier this month that is expected to serve as the primary developer of the power solution for the proposed data center. The facility is planned for a 185-hectare site at Weddell, near Darwin, and will rely on gas resources from the Beetaloo Basin.

Halliburton's role will span field development, drilling, project execution, and scalable gas-fired power generation. The project's advancement remains contingent on the success of concept studies, partner agreements, financing, and regulatory approvals, according to the companies.

Beetaloo CEO Alex Underwood said the partnership is part of a broader strategy to assemble a coalition of specialist partners across gas supply, power generation, pipelines, and data center development. The approach reflects a growing trend among data center developers to secure dedicated power sources amid constrained grid capacity and rising demand for compute infrastructure.

Earlier reports indicate that up to 2GW of on-site gas-powered generation is planned for the site, with potential investment reaching AU$40 billion (US$28 billion). Renderings suggest at least four large-scale data center buildings are envisioned. The Weddell site is situated near the government's proposed Darwin Energy Hub, which aims to host up to 210MW of solar capacity and battery storage across 940 acres.

Beetaloo Energy is an ASX-listed upstream gas company focused on resources in the Beetaloo Basin, holding millions of acres in the Northern Territory and targeting commercial gas production this year. For Halliburton, the agreement extends its recent foray into the data center sector, following its partnership with modular power solutions provider VoltaGrid to deploy distributed power generation systems globally.

The project underscores the increasing convergence of energy and digital infrastructure, as hyperscale and enterprise operators seek reliable, scalable power sources to support next-generation workloads. If realized, the Weddell development could serve as a model for similar gas-backed data center projects across Australia and beyond.