Offshore staff
PERTH -- Finder Exploration and Carnarvon Petroleum have agreed transactions concerning four newly awarded exploration permits offshore Western Australia.
Subject to approval from government authorities, Carnarvon will swap 50% of its WA-435-P concession for 50% of Finder’s WA-436-P, WA-437-P, and WA-438-P permits.
Finder will also assume operatorship of the concessions, all in the northwestern part of the Bedout sub-basin within the greater Roebuck basin. They are sandwiched between the Carnarvon Basin hydrocarbon province to the southwest and the Browse basin to the northeast.
Water depths range from 35-265 m (115-869 ft), and the acreage extends across 21,000 sq km (8,108 sq mi). The nearest towns are Port Hedland, 150 km (93 mi) to the south, and Broome, 250 km (155 mi) to the northeast.
Six wells have been drilled across the acreage, including two discovery wells on the Phoenix gas structure in WA-435-P. A larger untested structure in this permit is directly on trend with Phoenix, 5-15 km (3.1-9.3 mi) to the southwest. There is a further large, untested structure to the south-east in WA-437-P.
According to Carnarvon, regional geology suggests that reservoir quality improves heading south towards these Triassic prospects, although this model can only be confirmed by drilling. Potentially, the structures could hold several tcf of recoverable gas.
Other plays recognized in the blocks include oil exploration potential at shallower Cretaceous-age levels.
The initial three-year term requirements comprise seismic reprocessing, recording of an aeromagnetic survey, and technical studies, including a comprehensive analysis of the gas intersections on the Phoenix-1 and Phoenix-2 wells.
08/05/2009
