Western Australia reserves 188 geothermal blocks near Perth until October 2027

The Executive Director Resource Tenure, Jared Andrew Barnett, has declared 188 graticular blocks on the Meekatharra (SG50) and Perth (SH50) map sheets unavailable for geothermal energy titles, closing the ground to new exploration and production applications until 16 October 2027. The declaration was made under section 28(1A) of the Petroleum, Geothermal Energy and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 1967 and published in the Western Australian Government Gazette No. 122 of 25 September 2026 as notice MP402, at page 2063.

A blanket reservation across six geothermal tenures

The notice states that the listed blocks “shall not be the subject of” any of the following geothermal energy titles:

• geothermal energy exploration permit;
• geothermal energy drilling reservation;
• geothermal energy retention lease;
• geothermal energy production licence;
• geothermal energy special prospecting authority;
• geothermal energy access authority.

Barnett signed the instrument at Perth on 21 September 2026, acting under delegation from the Minister for Mines, Petroleum and Exploration. The powers exercised under the Act had been delegated to positions within the Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration by an instrument of delegation dated 22 August 2026, which named the Executive Director Resource Tenure among the delegates.

Perth sheet carries the bulk of the reserved ground

Of the 188 blocks listed, 172 fall on the Perth map sheet (SH50) and 16 on the Meekatharra sheet (SG50). The Perth ranges are:

• 5012-5014, 5018-5019, 5084-5085, 5090-5091, 5153-5157, 5160, 5162-5166;
• 5225-5230, 5232, 5234-5238, 5297-5310, 5369-5370, 5380-5382, 5512-5513, 5584-5585;
• 6164-6165, 6236-6237, 6308-6310, 6380-6382, 6452-6459, 6524-6534, 6596-6606, 6668-6678;
• 6740-6750, 6812-6821, 6884-6893, 6957-6965, 7029-7037, 7101-7110, 7180-7182, 7252-7254, 7326.

On the Meekatharra sheet the reserved blocks are 8324-8331 and 8396-8403.

Duration and legal effect

The declaration of reservation is effective from the date of publication in the Gazette and remains in force until 16 October 2027 “unless varied or revoked at an earlier date”. It is made under the Petroleum, Geothermal Energy and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 1967 of the State of Western Australia, the statute that governs geothermal energy exploration and production tenure alongside petroleum and greenhouse gas storage.

Other tenure business in the same section

The Minerals and Petroleum section of the same edition carried further tenure decisions:

• MP401: extension of a land exemption at Jandakot, covering 28.55 hectares designated S19/152, for two years expiring 24 September 2028;
• MP403, MP404 and MP405: applications for orders for forfeiture of prospecting licences in the Coolgardie mineral field, to be heard at Kalgoorlie on 14 October 2026;
• MP406: forfeiture applications over two Yilgarn mineral field licences, to be heard at Southern Cross on 15 October 2026.

The reservation removes a wide tranche of the Perth and Meekatharra sheets from geothermal competition for just over two years, forcing proponents to look to unreserved ground and signalling that the State is holding these blocks for other land-use purposes. Because the declaration can be varied or revoked before it expires, the position could still change ahead of the October 2027 deadline.

Source: Western Australian Government Gazette, No. 122, 25 September 2026, Minerals and Petroleum, p. 2063 (official reference: MP402).