Triangle sees 36 million barrels of oil in Perth Basin

New seismic data has revealed that Triangle Energy may be sitting on a gushing 36 million barrels (MMbbls) of oil and 535 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of gas as best-estimate prospective (P50) resources in the North Perth Basin.

The volume – interpreted from the Bookara 3D seismic survey – sits within 11 new prospects mapped in the company’s L7 block, with an additional 5MMbbls P50 resource in a separate prospect. Triangle plans to start drilling two wells in the first half of this year as it looks to mature the ground.

The first well will be in an L7 prospect dubbed Booth, which has a P50 resource of 279Bcf of gas within the Kingia-High Cliff reservoirs and the potential for another 19Bcf of gas or 8.5MMbbls of oil in the overlying Dongara sandstone.

The Booth-1 well will also pass through the Cattamarra reservoirs that contain a P50 resource estimate of 2.7MMbbls of oil, with another 3.2MMbbls tied up in the Booth Footwall reservoir section adding to the prospectivity.

Triangle Energy managing director Conrad Todd said: “Our two blocks in the Perth Basin have not been drilled for 30 years, during which time the introduction of 3D seismic data has played a pivotal role in some of the major discoveries in the Perth Basin in recent years. Triangle and our JV partners are now using our new 3D seismic to great effect in our blocks in the lead up to drilling next year.”

Todd said the company’s latest 3D data interpretation further highlights the “immense potential in what is the most underexplored acreage in the lucrative Perth Basin”.

Management says following the work at of Booth, it plans to drill its Becos oil prospect (within its EP437 permit), which the company says can be drilled by a smaller rig than that required by Booth-1. Becos has a low-side estimate of 1MMbbls of oil, a best-estimate of 5MMbbls and high-side estimate of 21MMbbls hosted within the Bookara sandstone.

Triangle says additional gas prospectivity in L7 lies in the MH-2 Updip prospect, which represents an untested play and is defined by a basement high underneath Jurassic-to-Permian-aged oil-prone reservoirs. The prospect contains a P50 resource estimate of 142Bcf of gas and 2.7MMbbls of oil.

The company says L7 also contains other gas prospects that may be drill candidates, including Huntswell Deep and Mtn Bridge South, which have been mapped on the new seismic cube and are estimated to contain P50 resources of 61 and 53Bcf of gas, respectively. Significantly, the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline runs between the Booth and Hunstwell Deep prospects representing an opportunity to significantly reduce development costs.

Triangle has farmed out a 50 per cent interest in both L7 and EP 437 to Talon Energy, which is now part-owned by Strike Energy and New Zealand Oil and Gas with 25 per cent each, and its net cost of the first three wells in the basin will be about $4 million.

The acreage is about 50km east of the seaside town of Dongara on Western Australia’s west coast, giving the company export potential at the nearby port of Geraldton, in addition to the ability service the metropolitan area to the south of the State.

The Australian Energy Market Operator has modelled that WA will run short of gas through to 2026 when new projects come online, but that gap may be extended due to project delays. The State’s gas supply shortage is modelled to return and worsen to a deficit of about 231 million standard cubic feet per day by 2030, as many pundits fear the type of domestic gas crisis that has plagued the Australian east coast in recent years.

So, investors were pleased to see Triangle’s exploration success with its Perth Basin assets today, giving the company a share price rise of more than 15 per cent to hit 3 cents – its highest mark since June 2021.

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