Sector — Oil & Gas

Finance built for
Australia's energy producers.

From staged drilling campaigns to production facility buildouts, Novara structures finance across the upstream and midstream oil & gas value chain. Deals from single-well completions to multi-hundred-million-dollar field development programs — settled by brokers who understand commodity cycles, reserve-backed lending, and the capital cadence of exploration through production.

$300M
Full-campaign capital
$50M
First-stage facility
60+
Lender panel
$1M+
Minimum deal size
What we finance

Every asset from the drill floor to the processing plant.

Novara structures finance across the full upstream and midstream capex stack — from exploration and drilling equipment through to production facilities and field infrastructure.

Upstream assets

Drilling & completion

Land and workover rigs. Coiled tubing and hydraulic fracturing spreads. Wellhead and christmas tree assemblies. Downhole tools, casing, and completion strings. Mud systems, BOP stacks, and solids control. Directional drilling packages across conventional and unconventional plays.

Drilling rigsCompletion equipmentWellheadsFracturing spreads
Production & infrastructure

Beyond the wellhead

Production separation and processing facilities. Storage tanks and loading systems. Flowlines and gathering pipelines. Compressor stations and gas treatment plants. FPSO and onshore processing modules. Power generation, water treatment, and camp infrastructure for remote field operations.

Processing facilitiesCompressor stationsField infrastructurePower gen
How we structure

Staged capital that matches the drilling schedule.

Oil & gas capex doesn't behave like other industries — capital deploys in stages aligned to drilling campaigns, completion programs, and production ramp-ups. We structure finance that matches your development timeline, not generic lending templates.

Staged project finance
For drilling campaigns
Structured drawdowns aligned to well-by-well drilling schedules. First-stage facilities covering initial wells and operational costs, with subsequent tranches unlocked by production data and cashflow from earlier wells. Suited to multi-well programs in known fields.
Equipment finance
For rigs & fleet
Chattel mortgage and hire purchase structures for mobile drilling rigs, workover units, completion spreads, and support fleet. Claim depreciation, GST, and interest where the asset is used for business. Common for operators building owned-equipment capability. For fleet-scale orders, see fleet funding.
Reserve-backed lending
For producing assets
Finance secured against proven and probable reserves, production history, and offtake agreements. Suited to operators with established production looking to fund expansion, acquire adjacent acreage, or release working capital from producing fields.
Deal in focus

$300M staged drilling campaign

Novara is structuring finance for a multi-well drilling and production campaign targeting approximately seven wells within known fields — supported by existing offset production data, seismic information, and historical field performance.

The program is structured in stages: a ~$50 million first-stage facility covering the initial well campaign and associated operational costs, with the broader development requiring staged capital deployment of up to approximately $300 million across the full program. The strategy is to bring the initial wells through drilling, completion, and production — establishing cashflow and production data to support subsequent funding rounds and future well development.

Current energy security requirements and domestic production demand are viewed as strong positive drivers, with potential for JV restructuring or partner buyout scenarios following successful production outcomes.

The Australian landscape

Why oil & gas finance is shifting.

Australia's oil and gas sector is at an inflection point. Domestic gas supply constraints, energy security policy, and the transition to lower-emission production methods are driving renewed investment in conventional plays — particularly in basins with established infrastructure and proven reserves. For operators with the right geology and the right team, the funding environment is increasingly supportive.

The challenge for most operators isn't finding capital — it's finding capital that understands the asset class. Mainstream bank appetite for upstream oil and gas has thinned over the past decade, but specialist energy lenders, resource-focused funds, and structured finance providers have stepped in. Novara's role is matching the right capital source to your specific project stage, risk profile, and development timeline.

Lender appetite

Energy lending is a specialist market.

The Big 4 banks have largely stepped back from upstream oil and gas exposure, particularly for smaller operators and exploration-stage projects. That doesn't mean the capital isn't there — it means you need to know where to look. Specialist resource lenders, energy-focused private credit funds, and infrastructure financiers all have active appetite for the right deals. The key variables are reserve quality, management experience, existing production history, and the clarity of the development plan. Our job is knowing which lender will look at your specific deal at this specific point in their portfolio cycle.

Related

Related sectors & finance products

Oil & gas operations share capital-intensity with mining and draw on many of the same equipment finance structures. For operators running owned support fleet, see truck finance and earthmoving equipment finance. For unsecured working-capital needs, see business loans.

Got an energy deal to structure?

Whether it's a single-well completion or a multi-stage drilling campaign, speak with our team about what's possible. We'll tell you in the first call whether the deal is fundable and what shape the capital should take.

1800 855 516  ·  info@novarafinance.com.au