Triangle Energy Global has casing and wellheads lined up for two of three high-value wells it will drill at the onshore Perth Basin in the first half of next year.
The company has received regulator approval to farm out a 50 per cent interest in its licence L7 and exploration permit EP437, which will see some $20 million enter the company’s coffers to offset drilling and seismic processing costs.
Triangle gained the two highly-prospective permits, about 50km east of Dongara in Western Australia’s Mid West region, from ASX-listed Key Petroleum. It has since farmed out 50 per cent of the license and permit, with New Zealand Oil & Gas and Talon Energy each taking a 25 per cent slice.
As operator of the newly-formed joint venture (JV), Triangle has submitted the necessary applications for environmental permits, which must be approved before drilling can begin. Negotiations with other operators drilling in the area are continuing in a bid to secure a suitable drilling rig for slots at the first two wells. A third well is expected to be drilled once the results of the first two have been assessed and integrated with existing prospects.
The JV’s most likely targets for the first two wells are the deep Booth gas prospect in L7 and the shallower-depth Becos oil prospect in EP437, which have mid-case prospective resources of 279 billion cubic feet of gas and 21 million barrels of oil, respectively.
Further seismic processing and interpretation of the Bookara 3D survey has refined the prospects and turned up additional targets to add to the JV’s portfolio book in the highly sought-after region of the Perth Basin. They include Huntswell Deep, Mountain Bridge South and Mt Horner up-dip.
Triangle says its prospects are on trend in similar stratigraphic and structural setting to surrounding prolific fields such as Waitsia, Lockyer Deep and Dongara.
Recent merger and acquisition activity within the onshore Perth Basin has highlighted its commercial attractiveness to monetise any hydrocarbon discoveries and that has been further enhanced by the predicted gas shortfall and rising gas prices in WA.
Triangle Energy managing director Conrad Todd said: “I am pleased to report to shareholders that the Joint Venture is progressing the drilling planning for the wells having committed to purchase of the Long Lead Items and is also progressing the environmental applications and rig negotiations. In addition, following further seismic processing and data enhancement, further prospectivity at both the Jurassic and Permian interval has been identified.”
The company will receive a further $15 million cash injection early next year from the sale to Pilot Energy of its share in the Cliff Head oilfield and carbon reinjection JV, which is offshore from Dongara, once approval is granted by the regulator. It will remove the significant financial liability associated with the regulatory abandonment of the Cliff Head platform that the company faced.
With a growing war chest of cash and the legacy asset Cliff Head platform about to disappear into the horizon, management is poised to unlock the potential of its highly-prospective onshore Perth Basin permits with the drillbit. The backroom moves have also paved the way for Triangle to seek opportunities abroad, with applications for permits in the offshore United Kingdom and Asia pending.
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By Gary Kjellgren
