Natural Hydrogen in Western Australia

The nascent field of natural hydrogen investigations is expanding rapidly worldwide. Recent studies in Australia have documented hydrogen in natural gas samples in both sedimentary basins and cratonic settings, and discussed multiple abiogenic sources for natural Hydrogen (Boreham et al., 2021a,b). The Government of South Australia were the first to allow exploration of natural hydrogen in Australia in February 2021, providing regulatory changes to allow for the inclusion of hydrogen as a ‘regulated substance’ under the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Act 2000, which has since been amended in 2023 to the Energy Resources Act 2000. Legislation for exploration of natural hydrogen in Western Australia was passed in May 2024 by adding hydrogen as a prescribed regulated substance to the Petroleum Legislation Amendment Act 2024. Supporting regulations for natural hydrogen exploration are currently being developed in conjunction with the transport and storage of greenhouse gas regulations.