Triangle Energy will ramp up its oil and gas chase after receiving $15 million from Pilot Energy for the sale of its share in the Cliff Head oilfield and carbon reinjection joint venture (JV) in waters off the Dongara coastline in Western Australia’s Mid West.
The consideration will be paid in three stages – $3 million on securing regulatory approval for carbon injection, $4.5 million when the regulator issues a reinjection license and up to $7.5 million in royalites from the carbon sequestration JV, which will provide Triangle with continuous financial exposure to the project.
The transaction is expected to be completed early next year and Triangle will support the ongoing operations of the Cliff Head oilfield until it is finished. Completion of the agreement is dependent upon the refulator approving the Cliff Head reservoir for carbon capture and storage (CCS) and Pilot proving that it has the financial security to assume full abandonment liability in line with legislative requirements.
Triangle Energy Global managing director Conrad Todd said: “We are pleased to have revised the Sale and Purchase agreement with Pilot. which leaves Triangle Energy Global to pursue its aim to become a mid-cap oil and gas company which offers growth through a combination of domestic and international conventional petroleum production and exploration projects. In the interim period between signature and consummation of the agreement, Triangle will continue to support the operation of the Cliff Head oil field and Pilot’s efforts to secure the transition to carbon sequestration. As a result of this deal, Triangle’s improved balance sheet will allow it to focus on existing and new projects including the upcoming Perth Basin drilling programme”.
Cliff Head was the first commercial oil discovery to be developed in the offshore Perth Basin and after coming onto production in 2006, the field has produced more than 14.8 million barrels of crude oil and is currently producing at 700 to 800 barrels per day.
The oil is piped to land and stored before being shipped to refineries in Asia. Produced water is reinjected back into the reservoir, providing pressure support to oil production in reservoirs with low virgin pressure.
After acquiring the remaining 78.75 per cent interest in Cliff Head, Pilot will be take full ownership of the project as it transitions from oil production to become the first CCS development operation in the Mid West.
Triangle previously noted the CCS development could increase the lifespan of the Cliff Head oilfield by 20 years and deliver a sumptuous net present value of up to $210 million. The Cliff Head offshore platform and processing facilities feature the only offshore and operating onshore infrastructure in the Perth Basin area. It is important infrastructure for any nearby development.
Triangle still has plenty of prospective areas in which it will pursue conventional oil and gas leads with its newly-acquired cash.
The company gained two highly-prospective oil and gas permits, L7 and EP 437, about 50km east of Dongara and within the Perth Basin from ASX-listed Key Petroleum. It has since farmed out out 50 per cent of its L7 production license and EP 437 exploration permit, with New Zealand Oil & Gas and Perth-based Talon Energy each taking a 25 per cent share.
Earlier this year, Triangle reinterpreted the Bookara 3D seismic volume covering its newly-acquired acerage and revealed seven new leads. It has now picked out four high-grade prospects – three gas and one oil.
Management says the three gas prospects have a combined best-guess gross prospective resource of 393 billion cubic feet (BCF) of gas within the Booth prospect at 279 BCF, Mountain Bridge South at 53 BCF and Huntswell Deep with 61 BCF. Significantly, the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline runs between the Booth and Hunstwell Deep prospects, representing an opportunity to significantly reduce development costs.
Oil propect Becos is estimated to contain a best-guess gross prospective resource of 5 million stock tank barrels (MMstb) of oil with a highside of 21MMstb and the company expects it to have low drilling and development costs due to being at shallow depth.
The sale of Cliff Head will boost Triangle’s bank account and the company plans to put the cash to good use with $6.56 million set aside for drilling two planned holes in L7, in addition to another $1.5 million for a well in EP 437.
That should mean an exciting period ahead as it looks forward to its well results.
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By Andrew Duffy
