Triangle extends loan for stake in WA oil & gas play

Perth-based oil and gas explorer Triangle Energy has thrown a financial lifeline to joint venture partner Pilot Energy, in a deal that gives it a low-cost entry option into an offshore exploration permit, whilst allowing Pilot to finalise funding and strategic initiatives.

Triangle says it will provide Pilot with a $250,000 short-term loan, to be repaid by as soon as June of this year, in exchange for a one-year option to acquire a 7.5 per cent interest in Pilot’s WA-481-P permit for an additional $250,000. 

The deal also includes a second option should Pilot proceed to farm out the project. If more than half of the interest in WA-481-P is farmed out, Triangle can elect to acquire an additional 2.5 per cent stake for $500,000. 

The deal provides a small loan to a neighbour and in return, Triangle gets a seat at the risk table, with a one-year, no-obligation look at a potentially lucrative bit of offshore acreage in the prolific Perth Basin. 

Meanwhile, Pilot has bought itself some breathing space as it works through corporate manoeuvres. At the top of the list right now is securing strategic partners and investment to drive value from its assets, with the Cliff Head carbon storage project near Dongara as the headline. The company is also looking to farm out the WA-481-P permit. 

Triangle currently holds a hefty 78.75 per cent stake in the nearby Cliff Head oil field, which Pilot is looking to acquire and repurpose into a carbon capture hub.

In addition to its carbon management ambitions, Pilot is also focused on developing plans to produce blue and green hydrogen together with up to 1.2 million tonnes per annum of clean ammonia for export to Asia-Pacific markets.

In a savvy twist, the company has also locked in a binding deal with renewables player SN Energy to co-develop a hybrid solar and battery storage project at its Three Springs site in WA.

Under the agreement, the pair will roll out a combined solar and battery energy storage system just north of Perth, with the project also earmarked to power a proposed 50-megawatt data centre, setting the scene for a future-ready clean energy hub.

Triangle Energy managing director Conrad Todd said: “Triangle has extended a short-term loan to Pilot so that they may continue the finalisation of a funding initiative. We are pleased to have secured an option to join the attractive WA-481-P permit, which we can exercise at our discretion any time in the next year.”

Triangle’s broader portfolio, meanwhile, extends to the UK, where it holds interests in two licences in the Outer Moray Firth targeting shallow gas prospects. However, its core focus has now turned closer to home in Indonesia.

Triangle Energy recently signed a joint study agreement for a future production sharing contract (PSC) with the Indonesian government. 

The framework allows the Indonesian government to receive a detailed technical assessment of offshore acreage, while the company performing the work gains priority rights to negotiate a PSC upon completion.

Triangle has flagged the area as unexplored and highly prospective for both natural gas and oil, pointing to Indonesia’s long-standing production history as a clear sign the country remains a serious hunting ground for new discoveries.

The company is also looking to spin out of its Philippine portfolio into its wholly owned subsidiary, Tetragon Energy, which will house its interests in petroleum service contracts SC-80, SC-81 and SC-82.

Triangle holds a 37.5 per cent interest in the assets in the Sulu Sea, containing a massive contingent resource of 470 billion cubic feet of gas and five million barrels of condensate across two existing discoveries. According to management, the acreage is also prospective for multi-trillion cubic feet of exploration upside. 

With a low-cost option now secured in WA-481-P and a pipeline of international energy opportunities, Triangle appears to be stacking its portfolio with smart, low-risk entry points. Add in its Indonesian study ground and the company is keeping itself well-positioned across multiple fronts. 

If the right pieces start to click, Triangle could be quietly lining up a much bigger seat at the table in the next phase of regional energy development.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au