Oil company wins tenders in Channel Country with supply to stay in Australia

Key points

• Oil company Bridgeport Energy has been named preferred tenderer for an extra 270,000 hectares of land in Queensland's Channel Country, between Innamincka and Thargomindah. Chief executive Christian Lange says any fossil fuels found will stay in Australia, though oil or gas may take years to flow.
• He says the company will work closely with landholders and traditional owners, and aims to drill a first well within a couple of years. The Western Rivers Alliance says it wants activity kept well away from protected flood plains.
• Vintage Energy and a four-business consortium also won tenders in the latest round.