March 25 - Japanese oil and gas producer Inpex ( IPXHF )

said on Wednesday its Australian unit has signed a farm-in deal

with Daly Waters Energy to buy stakes in the Beetaloo shale

basin in Australia's Northern Territory.

* Inpex ( IPXHF ) will buy an 11.25% stake in the First Strategic

Development Area (FSDA) North and FSDA South, and a 20% stake in

the Beetaloo Central Development (BCD) area.

* The deal covers about 68,000 acres in the Beetaloo

Sub-basin.

* The agreement also gives Inpex ( IPXHF ) the option to raise its

stake in the BCD area to 43.75%, adding another 75,000 acres.

* Inpex ( IPXHF ) said its investment as a non-operator in the FSDA

acreage will help support gas supplies to the Northern

Territory, adding to emergency gas already supplied to the

region from its Ichthys LNG project.

* The company sees the Beetaloo Sub-basin as a possible

long-term source of gas for its two existing Ichthys LNG

processing trains in Darwin, and potentially for a third train.

* "The Middle East conflict and the resultant loss of LNG

supply from the Persian Gulf highlights Australia's valued

position as one of the world's most reliable suppliers of energy

to key trading partners such as Japan and Taiwan," said Tetsu

Murayama, Inpex's ( IPXHF ) Managing Director and Country Chair for

Australia.